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Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

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Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#341

Post by rco8786 »

JohnHaugeland wrote: post #329
rco8786 wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can talk about normal expectations without having to explicitly state that black swan events can happen. If you took a stance of “I’m not going to take any pay in equity because I saw what happened in 2001” you would have left millions of dollars on the table over the last 20 years.

I think that once you start looking for hard evidence on software company stocks, you're in for a learning experience.

? I’ve been in this industry for…a while. I watched people around me packing up their cubicles in 2001. What is it that you think I am missing? Genuine question because I’m not sure how to interpret your comment at all. Tech stocks have had strong growth as a sector for about 2 decades. Even if they hadn’t, even if they had been flat for 20 years, companies are still paying out $100k+ a year in equity (in addition to base salary).

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#342

Post by FloNeu »

I once heard the saying 'developers are like prostitudes - pretending to be excited costs extra...' so i take from that you should pretend to be very excited about every idea your higher-ups managers throw at you - i mean that will make everybody else that has to deal with the shit they come up with hate you - but they will surly pay your gratefully because you make them think they are not retarded worthless space (most of the time they are - don't know if anyone doesn't know that open secret).

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#343

Post by [deleted] »

virtualritz wrote: post #323
deagle50 wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2 weeks (as in 10 non-holiday days) is pretty normal in the US, even if you get more. I get 4 paid but I barely take two and bank the rest. My European parents think I'm crazy but they're used to a pretty nice safety net when you get old, and the concept of early financial independence never entered their mind.

There is a curious symmetry in that the idea that you only do certain things when you are young(er) or may not live (or be healthy enough) to harvest (or enjoy) the fruits of your early financial independence does not seem to enter the mind of many people chasing this. In my thirties I worked in many different countries for many different companies. Going new places with different cultures and being able to enjoy my…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#344

Post by rco8786 »

JohnHaugeland wrote: post #328
rco8786 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incredibly untrue. I’m sorry that your particular company saw a 60% decrease in stock price over 3 years. But this is not the norm for any reasonably healthy company.

In reality, most stocks decline. You know this from VCs hitting 10x semi-frequently and still losing money. Statistically speaking, they're correct.

This is literally the opposite of reality. The private/VC market is not relevant here. We’re strictly talking about publicly traded companies.

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#345

Post by eatYourFood »

wpietri wrote: post #305
eatYourFood wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hourly is unprofessional and a conflict of interest with your client. The worst deal I would sign is a day rate (no logging hours) but fixed scope/duration is far better.

As a blanket statement, I think that's ridiculous. Hourly is a good choice for contracts where they are looking to buy labor. Which is a common model, because they often see contract labor as a substitute for employee labor. The other models you mention can be much better, but also require the contractor to have both particular skills and enough relationship power to make them work. I have seen well-meaning developer…

You can’t do hourly in London, the lowest you can go is a day rate, hours being 1:1 with fees is a great way to leave money on the table as a contractor. As a contractor you want to structure your deliverables on your terms so you can choose how the spend your time. Alan Weiss wrote a lot about this and his writings changed my life. Also, if you’re hourly in London you can’t claim to be independent and you’ll get smashed on tax as HMRC will treat you as a perm employee because your client controls your hours and activities.

How do clients get screwed with fixed fee? Clients should pay for value, not hours sat in a chair.

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#346

Post by gopher_space »

seadan83 wrote: post #313
hihihihi1234 wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How realistic is it to get hired fully remote at this kind of comp if you don't live in the US? I'm British and live in the UK and I'm pretty sure I have enough experience to be making these kinds of high salaries if I lived in the US. Relocating isn't an option for me, at least not in the next few years, but I wonder, am I a fool for taking a UK-based job? Should I find a remote position with a US-based company and…

Quite realistic. Working for a small team, we are desperate to hire. I think the trick would be to look for a smaller employer in one if the US tech hub cities and then if they can work with you on the time difference, you should v ed pretty good. My current company has interviewed 3 ppl in 6 months, lack of candidates. Someone good, but in the wrong timezone would be a compelling hire.

Where are you posting jobs? I am focused on small teams when I'm looking but most of the jobs I come up with are already over a hundred people.

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#347

Post by eatYourFood »

ghaff wrote: post #269
eatYourFood wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hourly is unprofessional and a conflict of interest with your client. The worst deal I would sign is a day rate (no logging hours) but fixed scope/duration is far better.

It really depends. In general I prefer charging by the task but that assumes a well-scoped and predictable task. That works for some things and not for others. Of course, there are a number of professions (law, accounting, etc.) where hourly charges are absolutely the norm. I've done some legal work and it was in some ways very nice to get paid whenever you were "on the clock."

I agree with Alan Weiss, lawyers are unprofessional and mostly terrible at maximising income. They charge 1:1 hours to fees which is a bad deal for a professional.

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#348

Post by ativzzz »

throwawayboise wrote: post #324
jason-phillips wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I'm 50 and don't feel as though the sun has set on my usefulness yet. I'm definitely experiencing more demand than ever. My personal philosophy is similar and I very much love the work I do. 1. My role is to help the team. 2. Stay humble. There is always a better way to do something and we're very lucky to be in our position. 3. Practice not talking. Let others have the experience of figuring it out for them…

I'm 55. I'm tired of learning. I've been learning for 30+ years of professional software work, and none of it applies to any new jobs I might want to seek (I'm talking about specific languages, platforms, buzzwords, etc.) The pace of change is faster than the average person can keep up with and still be competent. I can see that by the time I retire, the knowledge I have spent my adult life acquiring will be useless…

> The pace of change is faster than the average person can keep up with and still be competent.

The pace of change is faster than the average person can keep up with each change, but because more and more new technologies and niches are being created, there are more and more opportunities to be competent in a certain niche.

It's also so much about your mindset. Seeing the difference in positive and negative mindset between you and the comment root is eye opening. When you think everything is "useless historical trivia" and is "depressing", of course anything you try to learn will be useless, tiring and depressing.

One of the things I'm trying to really improve in my own personal life is my mindset. I have/had a mindset similar to yours (I'm much younger too) and I've noticed how draining it is to my overall mental health. I'm trying to be more optimistic and positive about things. Life is too short to be depressed and upset about something you spend 1/3 of your waking hours doing.

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#349

Post by noogle »

vmlinuz wrote: post #216

This kind of post is somewhere between depressing and surreal to me. I live a long way outside the US - UTC+8 - and these sort of numbers are utterly unreal for most of the world. In my recent experience, pre-, during- and 'post-'pandemic, the vast majority of remote companies aren't willing or able to consider people outside their local timezone(s) and/or tax jurisdictions, while my local market is masssively under-…

The logical conclusion is to move to the US, then. But seriously, the software industry concentrates in the US. The high salary represents (in part) this concentration rather than something about the US itself. Thus, it makes sense that companies are not looking outward - employees that are worth this kind of salary have already moved to the US. Similar to how other industries chose other places to concentrate. Any "market" of numerous agents requires an agreed-upon "marketplace" - not just geographically, but also legally.

Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job

#350

Post by halfmatthalfcat »

mnemotronic wrote: post #319

$250k. Wow. I'd have to say you'd need multiple doctorates, you'd written at least one book that every programmer regards as "The" reference manual, and gotten a Nobel Prize for something. I've been writing software professionally since 1979 and I'm at not quite 3/4 of your goal. Maybe location and choice of tool set has something to do with it. Good luck.

Nope, can easily clear 300k+ TC as a senior/staff/principal at FAANG fully remote without any of those accolades. Just need skill and a bit of luck.
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