Sounds like you're in a high management role with potentially a lot of power. Why don't you control you're environment to make it more suitable for you? Delegate tasks you don't like. Make other people attend meetings for you.
Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
161–170 of 175 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#162If your job is making you miserable, how are you even worried about some hypothetical future job? You have a 1.1 million dollar safety net and you're worried about having to take a random job. I think this is a classic case of having too much money for to long. You need to make a change but you need to be 100% that change is likely to increase the happiness of the people in your family. You have the finances to live…
The other advice is rather sensible but I'll go ahead and support this point. I'm at a $22/hr help desk job on the phone for 90% of the day and every morning pray that I don't end up getting killed by a moron on the freeway going to a job I vehemently dislike. I'm only there to buffer my savings while studying and working towards something else but even if it goes to shit I know I have other options (this being in my…
I think if you want to view your life as an economic asset then the advice on offer in most of this thread is pretty good. If you want to view your life as anything more than that it's completely insane. Think about this. The only really good thing about making lots of money is it gives you freedom. And what people in this thread are saying is this person makes too much money to be free to change their life because of "opportunity cost". Then what's the point of getting rich at all!?
I love economics. It's totally fascinating to me, the way money can be seen to behave like physics in many ways. But it's not physics and seeing everything in terms of Econ 101 island economies breaks down eventually.
Think about it this way. The advice in this thread would say that you could quit your job whenever because of the low opportunity cost of $22/hour. But whose life is going to get more messed up by quitting their job today? Yours or this person with 1.1 in the bank? And if you need any time at all to answer that question you need to burn your PhD in Econ right now, move to a small apartment in a working class neighborhood and live in the real world for a couple years.
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#163I’ve been in this exact same situation. My best advise would be to start your business aside while maintaining your current job. Do not quit until you have some sort of version #1 of your product or whatever that is. You need data before making your desicion. I planned everything in my head but my steps were way too vague. I will build this kind of products or I’m even gonna try that business that has nothing to do w…
I would give just the opposite advice - a man with one behind can't dance a two weddings. He has the savings, go for it. If he fails, go out and get another job. Either decide to go all out or don't do it all. The stress of trying to juggle a full time job and a starting a business and being there for your family isn't worth it.
My point was for him to at least light up something first not to fully run a business on the side. Of course it's hard to maintain a 9-5 job and to run a business at the same time. Do you know Tarzan? It's exactly the same thing, make sure you're getting a grip on another liana when you make a move otherwise it'll hurt.
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#164Yeah, it can feel stupid to let go of a "golden ticket". But, like others, I suggest looking into going the FIRE (financially independent, retired early) route. Once FIRE'd, you'll be in a better place to start your company. That $1.1M of unsheltered assets, invested properly, can yield you more than $40K of passive, nearly tax-free income. But, you'll need to get your expenses down to live off of that and start investing that cash hoard. Take the next year to work on that. Over the course of that proceeding year, you'll earn another $500K. The $300K-400K of this that you'll take-home can be put toward long-term housing (whether that be renting or owning). If you keep your income low enough, a huge portion of your health care premiums will be subsidized.
I just this year started my own FIRE "experiment". Feel free to email me or read here - https://blog.michaelscepaniak.com/starting-stopping-working
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#165Bit of advice if starting a startup: make sure it's something you are willing to cry over. A lot of smart people out there start startups, only to bounce over one thing to the next for several years, never achieving something because they don't care enough.
Startups get harder the more you age. If it is something you really want, that you would regret not doing when you're old, make the leap.
If it is something you're doing because you think it's a better way to make money, then don't. In your situation, you have other options, like buying a team. I know a great guy running a startup while he's working, about as well paid as yourself. He could afford to pay a lot of young, ambitious people.
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
The other advice is rather sensible but I'll go ahead and support this point. I'm at a $22/hr help desk job on the phone for 90% of the day and every morning pray that I don't end up getting killed by a moron on the freeway going to a job I vehemently dislike. I'm only there to buffer my savings while studying and working towards something else but even if it goes to shit I know I have other options (this being in my…
I think if you want to view your life as an economic asset then the advice on offer in most of this thread is pretty good. If you want to view your life as anything more than that it's completely insane. Think about this. The only really good thing about making lots of money is it gives you freedom. And what people in this thread are saying is this person makes too much money to be free to change their life because o…
I'm not sure we're disagreeing here. Maybe I read some of the thread wrong - most of them seem to be saying "you have money - you have options. take a break, do something else, etc". Then there are the FIRE people kinda saying 'suck it up and get true independence' and the like.
Maybe I was tired and my comment didn't come across as intended. I was intending to say "I'm much poorer than you and still, due to my personal circumstances - white, American, passport, etc, have options so OP, in seemingly far far better circumstances has far, far more options"
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#167I climbed my corporate career ladder up to VP/CTO at a large publicly traded company. The total comp was... Wow. I didn't stay there too long, though. I wanted to launch a startup, and I had enough saved that I could do it without worrying too much about the first few years without a salary at all.
I am doing that now. Happiest I've been in years. This is not to suggest this is the only way. I am only reporting one case, the only one I know very well.
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#168I was at a FANG peer, making > 900k/yr. I have savings similar to yours, a little bit more perhaps, but also expenses (mortgage, private school x2 kids, 2x car payments). I'm not bragging, just providing context. I quit my job a month ago to go join a much smaller company and took a 70% pay cut. I'll still make enough to pay the bills, and I have some equity so that if it works out I'll probably break even in 5-6 yea…
I think you responded to the post rather than a comment. Not sure what is the parent of this comment
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#169I would take the risk and go the other path. Why work at a place you don't enjoy
Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?
#170Geez. What does one have to do to earn 500k/year? Asking for a friend...