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Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

#81
I've had a few years when I made over $200K. I expect that whatever years remain in my career will all be above that level. Instead of participating in the usual -size war, I'll try to focus on the "what did I have to do" part.

First, I had to be willing to learn. Everything. Constantly. Whatever I knew was never enough. There was always some new specialty, some new technique, some new tool. I didn't waste time on puttering around with these things for their own sake, but nor did I balk at picking them up just because they were unfamiliar.

Second, I had to take risks. I changed specialties. I took jobs at companies, or with technologies, that had uncertain futures. I bit off more than I was sure I could chew. It's much easier to make these kinds of leaps by switching companies, but it's not unheard of to do it within the right kind of company either.

Third, I put in the effort. Part of this is developing depth as well as breadth. Neither alone is sufficient, you need to develop both which means you need to recognize when to pursue each kind of opportunity. Also, nobody likes fair-weather friends and quitters. You have to show you can stay with the ship through rough weather, even if you don't always choose to.

Fourth, I kept myself sane. Charging hard can literally drive you nuts. You need friends, and hobbies, and sometimes you just need a break. I went part-time for a couple of years to avoid burnout. Sooner or later most people will hit that point. If they don't steer away from the abyss, they'll fall in - quite often right before they hit their best earning years. Dumb move. Learn to ease up on the throttle when you need to.

Re: Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

#82

Been a Googler for >8 years, currently among top 10% of engineers at Google. Base: >200K, Total comp (w/ bonus + RSU): >500K Total comp number counts RSUs which are going to vest in 2017, at the current GOOG price of 825+. If GOOG tanks, total comp would go down accordingly. Didn't have to do anything special, neither I am a rockstar/ninja like Jeff Dean or Amit Singhal - just worked hard, made sure to be on a team w…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

#83

Been a Googler for >8 years, currently among top 10% of engineers at Google. Base: >200K, Total comp (w/ bonus + RSU): >500K Total comp number counts RSUs which are going to vest in 2017, at the current GOOG price of 825+. If GOOG tanks, total comp would go down accordingly. Didn't have to do anything special, neither I am a rockstar/ninja like Jeff Dean or Amit Singhal - just worked hard, made sure to be on a team w…

Mate, Care to elaborate? I got offer from goog but something seemed off about the manager. He is of Indian origin. I have offer with total comp of 1/3 of what you make. But, I want to make sure that I am on right team and right manager. What are things to watch out for good/bad managers?

Re: Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

#84
post #33

I have the opposite question for people here: what drives you to more money? A very expensive house costs a few million dollars, which you should afford quite easily, especially if you have a partner making a decent amount of money. Children and their education cost quite a bit in the US, but even that shouldn't cost a lot. A few expensive holidays per year plus retirement money should be easily doable. So, basically…

Money in itself was never my goal.

I always wanted two simple things in life: 1.) To be great at doing something that creates value for others. (sense of duty) and 2.) To be compensated equitably for my work. (sense of fairness)

If you do both of those and succeed, you will make a lot of money during your career. Some people just want to do #1--Linus Torvalds would be a great example--which I'd agree is a more noble, though he's certainly not starving.

As far as what money's good for, it gives you options. It means you can take risks in your career and play the long game. It means you don't have to work a bad job or keep your head down if people are being mistreated. It means your partner doesn't also have to work long hours to raise a family. It means you can start your own business or invest to make a little dent in the world. It means you can retire early if you get burnt out.

Material things are nice but you can have a very, very nice material life with an upper-middle class job. Beyond that, most things are really overrated. I used to like material things a lot more when I didn't have much money. Now that I have plenty, I don't bother much with them. A lot of those purchases came from status insecurity or trying to buy fulfillment. In my first job out of college, I leased a fancy BMW. Now I drive a decade-old Toyota.

IMO feeling "rich" is feeling like you don't have to do anything--your life is entirely on your own terms. It has little to do with buying stuff.

Re: Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

#85

I'm at $95k Canadian. These threads make me feel bad.

Location? If you're cracking $200k, you are likely in a major city, silicon valley, etc, and the cost of living is pretty outrageous. Either that, or I am severely under-paid.

Toronto

Re: Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

#87
I'm at $160k in the Valley (lead developer with engineering management focus & high quality developer background, originally hired as just an engineer at this amount), but I could easily flip the switch to make over $300k if I want (I have turned down offers greater than this) - I'm very happy where I am right now is my caveat, as my workplace checks every single mark I have as desired/nice to have except compensation.

Earlier in my career I would job search & up my compensation through job hopping. I always had done some substantial open source work on major projects (several of the 150 most starred on GitHub), but I accelerated my work in open source at one point and demonstrated the high quality & unusually high volume I was able to output, while still having a full time job & not doing open source during work for the most part. That experience, along with the volume of accomplishments I have from my work experience, has resulted in excellent dividends for me, as it has allowed me to have my pick of engineering jobs for the most part (whether it'd be a founding engineer, principal engineer, or director of engineering role). I picked my current job very carefully after getting laid off from my previous job (and I was already checked out and actively interviewing at other companies by that point because I was fed up), ending up with a company I still am at almost 2 years later, longest I have been at a job.

I started my career late though - I only am 3 months removed from 4 years in software engineering, after dropping out of a PhD program in math and a stint in the Marine Corps. I did not program prior - I was actually desperate for any job.

Re: Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

#88

Been a Googler for >8 years, currently among top 10% of engineers at Google. Base: >200K, Total comp (w/ bonus + RSU): >500K Total comp number counts RSUs which are going to vest in 2017, at the current GOOG price of 825+. If GOOG tanks, total comp would go down accordingly. Didn't have to do anything special, neither I am a rockstar/ninja like Jeff Dean or Amit Singhal - just worked hard, made sure to be on a team w…

Mate, Care to elaborate? I got offer from goog but something seemed off about the manager. He is of Indian origin. I have offer with total comp of 1/3 of what you make. But, I want to make sure that I am on right team and right manager. What are things to watch out for good/bad managers?

If you think a manager being of Indian descent is a relevant detail, you're probably not a good fit for Google, or any software company really.

Re: Ask HN: Do you make more than $200K? What did you have to do?

#90
post #54

Side question: What is the current average rent per apartment in SF/SV? What's the current average income? This report from 04/2016 states around $118k/year for income, probably base, and $4,5k rent: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-05/san-franc... - What do you think - still up to date and realistic?

With a roommate and no rent control monthly cost is 1500-1800. For a studio ~2500. 1br closer to 3000. 3 bedroom homes for a family are easily 6k+.

If you are young and don't mind living with others or in small spaces you can save a lot here. This usually ends with children where families frequently move to cheaper locales like Austin.

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