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Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

#31

Post by bshimmin »

zump wrote: post #14
gigatexal wrote: post #8

Doesn't anyone else think this post is full of arrogance? Sure you don't have to be the best programmer in the world to earn millions but this just screams "I want to be mediocre and make much, much more than others." But yes, the quickest way to millions is starting a company as others have said.

It's real talk partly fueled by the anonymity HN offers. Some people, like me, may find themselves wanting to maximize their pay. Period. I don't believe people making this money are one-in-a-kind super geniuses, our system doesn't optimize for that. They are people who made a series of decisions, I want to know what they could be.

Why? Do you think it will make you happy? I used to think money would at least make life easier, but past a certain point (and that point is vastly less than $1m/year), it really doesn't - you just end up spending it on stupid and pointlessly expensive things that mean you have to make more of it in order to be where you were before.

And when you look at the really rich people, like Zuckerberg, Buffett, or Gates, what do they do with their money? Why, they give it away.

Re: Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

#32

Post by frinxor »

gigatexal wrote: post #8

Doesn't anyone else think this post is full of arrogance? Sure you don't have to be the best programmer in the world to earn millions but this just screams "I want to be mediocre and make much, much more than others." But yes, the quickest way to millions is starting a company as others have said.

I always see a post like this questioning a posters character in various random posts, and it bugs me to no end.

1) it's not relevant 2) why bother judging?

Re: Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

#33

Post by warent »

zump wrote: post #14
gigatexal wrote: post #8

Doesn't anyone else think this post is full of arrogance? Sure you don't have to be the best programmer in the world to earn millions but this just screams "I want to be mediocre and make much, much more than others." But yes, the quickest way to millions is starting a company as others have said.

It's real talk partly fueled by the anonymity HN offers. Some people, like me, may find themselves wanting to maximize their pay. Period. I don't believe people making this money are one-in-a-kind super geniuses, our system doesn't optimize for that. They are people who made a series of decisions, I want to know what they could be.

You can easily see what decisions highly successful individuals have made. Executing them doesn't guarantee success. The decisions are a byproduct of a more important abstraction, which is just a mindset.

Be persistent, work exceptionally hard, and think very big.

Re: Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

#34

Post by karyon »

zump wrote: post #14
gigatexal wrote: post #8

Doesn't anyone else think this post is full of arrogance? Sure you don't have to be the best programmer in the world to earn millions but this just screams "I want to be mediocre and make much, much more than others." But yes, the quickest way to millions is starting a company as others have said.

It's real talk partly fueled by the anonymity HN offers. Some people, like me, may find themselves wanting to maximize their pay. Period. I don't believe people making this money are one-in-a-kind super geniuses, our system doesn't optimize for that. They are people who made a series of decisions, I want to know what they could be.

Well, "real talk" doesn't contradict "full of arrogance". In my opinion, maximizing pay just for the sake of accumulating/spending a lot of money is quite unsympathetic, and indeed to some extend arrogant. Unless of course you plan to make a positive impact on others or our planet with that money, but to me your posts don't make that impression.

Re: Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

#37

Post by myrandomcomment »

I know software engineers at one of the startups I was at that went public pulled down $2-10m depending on when they joined (and sold). They all are top 1%. Also they spent 4-6 years pre-IPO.

Top 25%? Yah no.

You best bet is a steady job at the big 4 with a good RSU plan.

Re: Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

#38

Post by jdoliner »

gigatexal wrote: post #8

Doesn't anyone else think this post is full of arrogance? Sure you don't have to be the best programmer in the world to earn millions but this just screams "I want to be mediocre and make much, much more than others." But yes, the quickest way to millions is starting a company as others have said.

Brimming with arrogance and a complete lack of self awareness. There are a lot of programmers in the top 25% that are willing to work for a lot less than 1 million a year. Why would anyone hire this guy who has no social skills, is arrogant and expects to be paid more than everyone else who brings the same value as him? There isn't some magic set of decisions you can make which will circumvent the rules of supply and demand, and if there is I don't think you're going to find it in an Ask HN post.

Re: Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

#39

Post by lutusp »

> How can I make pull in $1mn+ as an engineer?

> I don't want to have to be in the top 1% like Jeff Dean, but top 25% and still get these results.

That's a contradiction in terms. If you made a million dollars, that outcome would place you in the top 1% among software engineers.

If the Efficient Market Hypothesis is valid and in operation in the software marketplace, then to make a million dollars, you will have to earn it. It's really as simple as that. Speaking as someone who made plenty more than a million dollars -- by earning it.

> Don't have social skills and want to make more money.

But people without social skills end up working for people who do have social skills. The latter collect the money, the former do the work.

Re: Ask HN: How to make more than $1mn+/yr as a software engineer?

#40

Post by thinkloop »

bshimmin wrote: post #31
zump wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's real talk partly fueled by the anonymity HN offers. Some people, like me, may find themselves wanting to maximize their pay. Period. I don't believe people making this money are one-in-a-kind super geniuses, our system doesn't optimize for that. They are people who made a series of decisions, I want to know what they could be.

Why? Do you think it will make you happy? I used to think money would at least make life easier, but past a certain point (and that point is vastly less than $1m/year), it really doesn't - you just end up spending it on stupid and pointlessly expensive things that mean you have to make more of it in order to be where you were before. And when you look at the really rich people, like Zuckerberg, Buffett, or Gates, wha…

They give it away while still keeping millions/billions for themselves. Money is the worst if you give your life for it, but otherwise it's pretty good.
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