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Ask HN: How was life for a regular dev during the dot com burst?

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Re: Ask HN: How was life for a regular dev during the dot com burst?

#51

Post by k__ »

im_down_w_otp wrote: post #35
Ididntdothis wrote: post #29

I went from being a hotshot who had multiple offers all the time with sign up bonuses to somebody who could send out 100 resumes and not get a single response and once I got a response I was offered much less than I was used to. It was very depressing but also educational. It took me quite a while (probably too long) to accept this new reality. I feel the same may happen to a lot of Startup guys who make big money in…

> It was very depressing but also educational. Indeed. When 2008 hit, it was reminiscent of what ~2002 felt like, except instead of tech it was basically happening to everyone. In that way I felt more prepared to deal with the new crisis because I'd learned from the old one.

I was so lucky to be in university from 2007 to 2011. When I got out, things were cooling down again...

Re: Ask HN: How was life for a regular dev during the dot com burst?

#52

Post by midnitewarrior »

I worked at a large web incubator, we build web sites and applications and helped out clients find funding and tried to support them in other ways. Round after round of layoffs. People were on edge. We had offices around the globe, maybe a dozen or more. The final straw was 9/11, as our largest client was revamping their national hotel chain website. Their occupancy went down to 4% and the whole multi-months-long web site development project was mothballed. I was one of the chosen few to stick around and work in the last office of the company that ended up splitting off into its own company.

Re: Ask HN: How was life for a regular dev during the dot com burst?

#54

Post by Spinosaurus »

phd514 wrote: post #37

I was ~1.5 years out of college and at a small dot-com with a niche SaaS at the time. I distinctly remember 9/11 and the chill that came over our office that day. That passed in time, but our economic prospects never recovered. I used to hit the gym in the mornings and then work ~10am-7pm and I distinctly remember the day ~9 months later when the VP of engineering called me on my cell while I was finishing up my work…

> found one in fintech in NYC

I'm interested in hearing which, if you care to share.

Re: Ask HN: How was life for a regular dev during the dot com burst?

#55

Post by Baeocystin »

I spent two years welding ships together at the shipyards in San Diego. Yay fallback skills!

There are times when I miss it. Of all the jobs I've had over the years, it was the most meritocratic. If you did your job well and didn't cause too much rework, they loved you. I don't miss the hazardous/chemically toxic work environment, though. Those two years felt like a decade of wear on my body.

Re: Ask HN: How was life for a regular dev during the dot com burst?

#57

Post by semiotagonal »

phd514 wrote: post #37

I was ~1.5 years out of college and at a small dot-com with a niche SaaS at the time. I distinctly remember 9/11 and the chill that came over our office that day. That passed in time, but our economic prospects never recovered. I used to hit the gym in the mornings and then work ~10am-7pm and I distinctly remember the day ~9 months later when the VP of engineering called me on my cell while I was finishing up my work…

Did the company manage to IPO before it tanked?

Re: Ask HN: How was life for a regular dev during the dot com burst?

#59

Post by seibelj »

H8crilA wrote: post #24
shams93 wrote: post #2

Got stuck with a huge tax bill on my stock options when Yahoo went under, took 10 years of brutal back to back contracts to pay it off. The state didn't care that I had nowhere near the opportunities again they just mercilessly hammered me for taxes until I paid it off a couple years ago but took nearly 15 years to pay off the tax debt and meanwhile I could invest in nothing else.

That happened because you exercised and didn't sell? Also, we may be hearing many stories like that after the Bitcoin bubble when IRS goes through the records more carefully. Always remember to take profits the instant you make those profits, put some of that cash aside for yours and IRS's sake. Always.

No, that is nothing like bitcoin. Stock options get exercised at fair market value and you immediately owe taxes on the paper profits, even if you never get a cashout. For example, if your strike is 10 cents and when you finally exercise the FMV of the company is $1 per share, you have 90 cents of profit per share even if the company is still private.

Bitcoin is a commodity, if you buy at $10k and the value drops to $5k, you have straight losses. You don’t owe taxes on paper gains unlike the totally ridiculous and insane situation with stock options. The government blows.

Re: Ask HN: How was life for a regular dev during the dot com burst?

#60

Post by phd514 »

semiotagonal wrote: post #57
phd514 wrote: post #37

I was ~1.5 years out of college and at a small dot-com with a niche SaaS at the time. I distinctly remember 9/11 and the chill that came over our office that day. That passed in time, but our economic prospects never recovered. I used to hit the gym in the mornings and then work ~10am-7pm and I distinctly remember the day ~9 months later when the VP of engineering called me on my cell while I was finishing up my work…

Did the company manage to IPO before it tanked?

No. And, thankfully, I had not early-exercised any of my options, either.
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