These kind of posts keep making me think I should go work for a FAANG so I can actually retire one day. Anyways, as someone on the other side, who has never worked for or applied to FAANG, I have a few reactions. First, your salary is absolutely ridiculous. I know hard working people who have built their own businesses with blood and sweat, and they still don't make as much as a slacker engineer at FAANG. So I'd say…
What's FIRE?
Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
251–260 of 418 posts
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#252These kind of posts keep making me think I should go work for a FAANG so I can actually retire one day. Anyways, as someone on the other side, who has never worked for or applied to FAANG, I have a few reactions. First, your salary is absolutely ridiculous. I know hard working people who have built their own businesses with blood and sweat, and they still don't make as much as a slacker engineer at FAANG. So I'd say…
What's FIRE?
Financially Independent Retire Early
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#253Just curious, which level are you?
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#254These kind of posts keep making me think I should go work for a FAANG so I can actually retire one day. Anyways, as someone on the other side, who has never worked for or applied to FAANG, I have a few reactions. First, your salary is absolutely ridiculous. I know hard working people who have built their own businesses with blood and sweat, and they still don't make as much as a slacker engineer at FAANG. So I'd say…
What's FIRE?
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#255Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a shame, what would you have done instead? Also, at what age cut-off would you consider it being easier than being labelled "old" ?
"what would you have done instead?" Maybe teach or try to make it as an artist... or try to get in to making movies. I have so many other interests apart from computers. Trying to pursue any of them professionally might have lead to something, and, honestly, maybe I would have burnt out on whatever it was or just failed, but at least I wouldn't have kept banging my head against something I hate and dread over and ove…
I realize this may come off poorly, but I intend this as a serious question: What is stopping you from trying a career switch now?
I get we all need to pay the bills, but hear me out: could you explore alternative options slowly?
One piece of insight I received from my advisor: “How do you know someone really wanted something. They DID it.”
If you are serious about wanting to try something else, start doing it. See if it is something you get excited about. Maybe you can’t do it full time right away, but you can do something toward that goal now, regardless of your age.
My 2 cents...
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#256These kind of posts keep making me think I should go work for a FAANG so I can actually retire one day. Anyways, as someone on the other side, who has never worked for or applied to FAANG, I have a few reactions. First, your salary is absolutely ridiculous. I know hard working people who have built their own businesses with blood and sweat, and they still don't make as much as a slacker engineer at FAANG. So I'd say…
What's FIRE?
Financial Independence Retire Early
Short version is organising your finances and life in such a way that you can retire as early as possible. Things like maxing out the right kind of investment (not sure in the US but in UK it's things like ISAs), controlling outgoings, being frugal, ...
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#257I quit full-time work in 2001, after being burned out in the dot com boom. I did well for myself financially after the startup I was in got bought. The phrase "well" is of course subjective, considering that no colleague of mine quit. I left a whole lot of money on the table, but never once have I regretted it. I decided that the name of the game is to optimise quality of life. That means, infrequent brutal deadlines…
Your answer is very inspiring and also perfect example for youngsters to understand money and productivity are not the only things that matters in life. I had a similar junction in my life and I selected money instead of pursuing family and academic life, now I'm starting to think maybe wasn't a good decision. I'm getting older (38) Do you mind if I ask did you also quit your job to pursue Phd? Nowadays started worki…
The grass always seems greener on the other side. Academic careers have their own stresses and challenges with many postdocs and pre-tenure professors working slave hours at just-above-poverty wages for many years.
If you want to do academic research (and teach a lot), you are definitely young enough to get a PhD. But make sure you are switching because academia is what you love doing, not because you hate your current state (success in academia requires a major committment). My 2c.
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#258I woke up at 5:15 this morning because I was so excited to go into work at my startup. At Google, I wasn't excited a single day. Think of something you care about, and do that. For me, that was renewable energy. My friends who stayed probably make twice or three times as much as me but who cares; they spend 3 hours a day on a bus and 8 hours at a desk they hate. Most days, I spend less than 1 hour doing things that I…
I would be curious to hear what your startup does exactly.
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#259Earlier quoted context omitted.
> That means, infrequent brutal deadlines, minimal (pref. zero) commute, opportunity to learn, and spend time with family and friends and be of use to society at large. This is what I'm aiming for in the near term, but how on earth do you find a position with infrequent brutal deadlines?
I have had exactly two hard deadlines in the two years I've worked at my current startup. One of those was brutal but the other was very fair. I don't know if I have a trick for finding a position like this other than to pay close attention to who your manager will be and what _they_ value. My manager believes strongly in the mission of the company (decarbonize the electric grid) but also has young kids that he cares…
If you don't mind me asking, who do you work for?
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#260I planned on retiring in 1998 when my wife and I moved from San Diego to the mountains of Central Arizona. I had some ‘getting bored’ issues and had some concern that our savings wouldn’t last forty+ years so I started periodic remote consulting gigs. In the last six years, I increased the amount of work I did, going to Google in Mountain View, doing an on site gig in Singapore, and lastly temporarily moving to Illinois to manage a deep learning team.
I had meant to start a small one person company when my wife and I returned home to Sedona, but my heart is not in it. So, I have been retired for six months and I am enjoying it immensely, no ‘getting bored.’