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Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

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Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#351

Post by bradlys »

maehwasu wrote: post #171
bradlys wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OP is likely completely invested in the region. It's easy to say "move somewhere else" but I've done enough traveling and investigations in the rest of the USA to know that moving somewhere else would mean a huge setback in terms of career. (Which, go figure, many people here prioritize)

If you’re not able to think creatively enough to find a place in the US or the world to live off a $1-2M starting point, then early retirement probably isn’t for you. Meant with no disrespect: some people are naturally better suited to be employee types imo. Everyone fantasizes about life on their own, but most aren’t willing to make the tradeoffs to do so. Source: retired by 33, while making tradeoffs and living pla…

I don't think the "think creatively enough" is the issue. It's more of a lifestyle difference. Some people are happy with living off the $50k/yr they'd get from a 4% slice of $2m for the rest of their life. Some aren't. I'm in the "some aren't" group. The things I enjoy and the places I like being in require a lot more money.

So - it's not just a matter of if early retirement is for someone but also if they can enjoy the lifestyle they want with the savings they have. And, unless I had like $10m+ saved - I doubt I could fully enjoy the life I'd like to lead. And since I don't think $10m is just gonna land in my lap anytime soon - I'll continue to work to get to the lifestyle I enjoy.

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#352

Post by mike_hock »

debaserab2 wrote: post #117
sriram_malhar wrote: post #53

I 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…

It's inspiring reading this. In many ways, I feel I'm on a similar track. The thing I struggle with the most, though, is keeping up with the trends. I tend to do things the same way I did them years ago -- and while these are battle-tested methods of doing things that I know will work, I'm aware that the industry is evolving and maybe I'm not keeping pace. The older I get the more I see patterns repeat themselves and…

I don't find it hard to find motivation to learn something that has genuinely new concepts to teach me. But I can't motivate myself to keep up with fads, or to learn bad technologies just because all the lemmings are running toward them right now.

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#353

Post by PascLeRasc »

sriram_malhar wrote: post #312
mertnesvat wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes indeed, I've read with enthusiasm :) Thanks for sharing, I want to congratulate you and your wife because I assume as we get older big changes like quitting job, moving to another country or even moving to another house is getting harder to decide. But I guess hard choices are mostly fruitful in the long run.

Ha, thanks! Some choices are hard because of uncertainty and fear of the unknonwn. People live through terrible relationships, suffer terrible commutes, work in soul-sucking places etc and are yet unable to quit because the alterntives are less defined. While I have enough finances to be comfortable (and reduce uncertainty), I don't know of anyone personally who has made the choices I have, even though many are vastl…

I really agree with your comment, but the problem with "What's the worst that can happen?" for a lot of us is that it's so easy to go down a rabbit hole and find a way that your life would end or be ruined, no matter how unlikely it is. When I'm feeling anxious, like if I'm driving, I genuinely believe that I will be hit and killed at any moment, and there's nothing I can do about it.

So the technique I use is I say to myself "It's pretty likely that I'll be 35 years old at some point, regardless of whether I try to get a post-bac or not. It'd be really nice to be a doctor by then". Substitute in whatever long-term goal you have like founding a company or running a marathon.

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#354

Post by MarioKurt »

sriram_malhar wrote: post #53

I 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…

I enjoy your sentence, "Clients remember you for the quality, not for the time taken."

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#355

Post by SchoolboyBlue »

OnlineGladiator wrote: post #8

> First, what is the environment like for exiting high-level former-FANG employees? For most employers, it will be a positive. There may be a handful of very small startups that see it as a negative, but the reality is a very small startup is so different from a giant tech firm that the hiring team is probably correct in assuming you've never had to do something incredibly arduous without enormous support (I once had…

> The best advice I can give anyone that wants to start a company: ask yourself why do you want to start a company? If the reason is anything other than "there is this huge problem that needs to be solved and I know a way to do it!" then you are chasing a bandwagon of the glory that comes from being a successful technology entrepreneur, and aren't actually building a company with any value behind it.

Couldn't agree more.

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#356

Post by cubicmeter »

I was in your shoes working at a FANG after selling my first company and I quit 2 years ago.

First of all I completely understand that your position bores you to tears. Been there and I know how it feels, especially if you are the type of person who could start a company.

Also, it is hard to connect with a company mission. All company missions boil down to just serving users and making money.

I wanted to quit and start a company all the time.

The fact is though, startups are really really hard to pull off. I came to realize this after building several, completed, shipped, but non-monetized projects after quitting.

Especially if you are at a FANG, probably where you live is also not that cheap. And given the loss of income, you will eventually come to a point of struggle where you are both not making money and trying to bring up a really-hard-to-bring-up startup project.

I'd say that is the surprise. Lifestyle-wise though, it has been awesome. E.g. Your entire day is not programmed by somebody else and telling you what to do. Be creative as you wish. Truly follow your dreams (the projects I built were my dreams and glad I did them). Do a workout any time of the day when you feel like to, these have been great, and my stress level has been lower.

You need to figure out how to make money though, and that's not easy if you plan on doing a startup.

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#357

Post by TurkishPoptart »

artificialLimbs wrote: post #348
adventured wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What language/s are you starting out in (if you don't mind answering)?

My path started with my wife coming to me with a unique gold-mine of a video game idea, so I started learning C# and Unity. Quickly realized that I needed and wanted to learn more programming, so started OSSU and did the Python course. Had a kid, then decided to fast track to get a decent paying job, and so switched to ODIN project. Have learned web (HTML/JS/CSS) and am learning Ruby/Rails stuff there. Have done some…

Congrats!

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#358

Post by TurkishPoptart »

sriram_malhar wrote: post #148
rhlsthrm wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you a consultant then? What type of projects do you do and how do you find clients? This is something I'd love to do once my current gig is done.

I consult, I teach (distributed systems) at a university, I sit on a few technical advisory boards for a few companies. I don't really go out of my way to find clients; word gets around and I get referrals. If the problem interests me, I'm happy to sit with the potential client and give pointers and advice (for no charge) even if I don't want to take that project (cf. rule 1 -- never pack my calendar). It is a win-wi…

Sorry, can you clarify how you got your health insurance taken care of? I know a number of people that would retire if they could, but need the health insurance for themselves/family/kids.

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#359

Post by TurkishPoptart »

GuiA wrote: post #250
schnable wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's FIRE?

Financial Independence/Retire Early The core idea is to define your annual expenditures (let’s say $50k), a long term investment strategy you personally feel comfortable with (say 5% ROI), and from there you can deduce the amount you need to save to be financially independent (in this case, $1M).

What do they tend to recommend in terms of generating passive income? Just investing in index funds and high dividend-yielding stocks (Ford, AT&T)?

Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?

#360

Post by fatnoah »

gumby wrote: post #44
OnlineGladiator wrote: post #8

> First, what is the environment like for exiting high-level former-FANG employees? For most employers, it will be a positive. There may be a handful of very small startups that see it as a negative, but the reality is a very small startup is so different from a giant tech firm that the hiring team is probably correct in assuming you've never had to do something incredibly arduous without enormous support (I once had…

I've found FAANG experience typically a negative in hiring. (note: "typically" not "always"). That kind of big company experience doesn't really prepare you for the day-to-day, frantic, resource-starved environment of most startups. The consequence of most decisions is more immediate* -- and can be company-killing. Whereas at any big company there's rarely true pressure (lots of pressure, very much so, but in my gf's…

> I'm a startup only guy and my gf has worked at most of the big guys (FB, Goog, msft, LinkedIn, Amazon). I would hate the idea of working for any of those companies and she would not really be comfortable with the uncertainty I face all the time, even when the startup is well funded. Neither of us is wrong.

I've done all of the above. I started at large companies (Sun, Raytheon), spent 15 years at early, mid, and late stage startups, ended back at a big company by acquisition, and am now at one of the mentioned "big guys."

Each environment had it's own advantages and disadvantages, each of which was weighted differently depending on where I was in my own life's journey. As I look back from the perspective of 20+ years (still a long ways to go!), each of those environments taught me invaluable lessons. Obviously the pay is fantastic, but that'll be less important once the kiddo is out of college and a big dent has been made in the mortgage and I'm less worried about my company running out of cash at the end of the month!

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