321–330 of 353 posts
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It only makes you independent for chunks of 6 months per month worked. You still have to work some 5-10 years before you are independent for the rest of your life.
People generally refer to that as 'retiring'; financial independence usually means, "don't need to ask parents for small loans/handouts".
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Then he shouldn't have taken the low offer to begin with. That's on him at least as much as the employer. He's free to leave of course, but complaining about it after the fact?
I don't feel complaining about being paid under market rate is a strange thing. 20% raises are not ludicrous in any way, if this prevents an employee from leaving.
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Meh, he could have replied "let me know when you have a stadium full of people screaming your name."
Hmm, at first I thought: If you have a billion dollars you can get 50,000 people in a stadium screaming your name. I mean, you could get me to scream your name for $20k easy, and I don't even like stadiums that much. But, ok, that's a fairly prohibitive expense. Musicians can get that and have the audience pay for the privilege. They can do so repeatedly, which certainly qualifies as some kind of asset. So call it a…
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Of course there's a path, but it's a very difficult, not at all guaranteed path. Compare this path to a guy with money in the bank, a college degree, a decent resume, and 60 hours of spare time a week saying "just study a little and start applying to jobs, anyone can do it", and you can see why this thread seems so condescending. And imagine saying "you've got nothing to lose" to someone like this with a kid. This is…
Depends on the kid, the family and the market. Willing to move for the job? No? Why not? Willing to work in a related field until you can get into your first choice? Why not? Willing to switch jobs 3 times in the first 5 years? Why not? Folks have unequal chances for sure. But a significant fraction of the differences are, what they're willing to do.
> Willing to move for the job?
Sure, how? What if I have no money and no credit? You're asking me to come up with a down payment on an apartment, transportation to another city, some kind of rental van or moving service, and a landlord who will take someone like me.
> Willing to work in a related field until you can get into your first choice?
Related field? I can't get anything above a minimum wage job. My "first choice" would be literally any job with predictable pay and hours.
> Willing to switch jobs 3 times in the first 5 years?
I'm working three jobs right now so my family can eat.
Again, this is not a contrived example. Millions of people live like this.
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It only makes you independent for chunks of 6 months per month worked. You still have to work some 5-10 years before you are independent for the rest of your life.
People generally refer to that as 'retiring'; financial independence usually means, "don't need to ask parents for small loans/handouts".
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I've always wondered how employers measure "market rate". If there were a reliable public source of market rate, negotiations would be much simpler, and they aren't. And presumably the managers themselves aren't actively interviewing at other companies to see what they'd get offered. So I think the only good source of market rate is people (either candidates or current employees asking for counteroffers), and if you'…
We buy market data from two sources every year. They get their data by collecting it from the companies that buy their data. Obviously that's not perfect, but it's more objective than most other methods. That hardest part is figuring out which generic categories match our specific positions, since every company in the survey has different definitions and requirements. Our employees seem pretty happy with the results,…
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I make low 6 figures doing network security. If I hit 200k, literally the only thing you could do to motivate me would be to treat me well and give me interesting things to do. Fortunately, my employer already does both of those. I just wish it wasn't almost a requirement to leave in order to get a decent raise. Note: I'm not expecting to make $200k in a technical role as a security analyst any time soon, its just hy…
I used to think that, but now I make $500k and I think you could convince me to work on something I like slightly less well for $700k. Once I achieve financial independence, it will be different, but until then, changes that significantly impact the distance to that goal are motivating. The interesting thing though is that you wouldn't really want to entice me that way, because I'd guess you'd get a worse product out…
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
And this nifty calculator: https://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement
It's mostly about the savings rate.
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Depends on the kid, the family and the market. Willing to move for the job? No? Why not? Willing to work in a related field until you can get into your first choice? Why not? Willing to switch jobs 3 times in the first 5 years? Why not? Folks have unequal chances for sure. But a significant fraction of the differences are, what they're willing to do.
These questions are still from the perspective of someone with money, education, and options. Imagine you're talking to someone below the poverty line, not your friend with a comfortable but unsatisfying job. > Willing to move for the job? Sure, how? What if I have no money and no credit? You're asking me to come up with a down payment on an apartment, transportation to another city, some kind of rental van or moving…
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These questions are still from the perspective of someone with money, education, and options. Imagine you're talking to someone below the poverty line, not your friend with a comfortable but unsatisfying job. > Willing to move for the job? Sure, how? What if I have no money and no credit? You're asking me to come up with a down payment on an apartment, transportation to another city, some kind of rental van or moving…
My buddy from down south moved to Silicon Valley, with his wife and newborn baby. They camped in the State Park in a tent while he interviewed. It took moving, taking an entry-level job and doing whatever was asked for him to succeed.
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My buddy from down south moved to Silicon Valley, with his wife and newborn baby. They camped in the State Park in a tent while he interviewed. It took moving, taking an entry-level job and doing whatever was asked for him to succeed.
That's great, but you're essentially describing the last steps of a successful transformation. How did he get the skills and experience to qualify for entry level jobs in Silicon Valley? How long was he interviewing, and how did he pay for food during this time? Did he have any savings or fallback plan in case he couldn't get a job? If so, how did he prepare that? How much did it cost to get his family to the valley,…
Its good to plan things; but sometimes the friction prevents action. That's all I'm getting at.