Live data from Hacker News

Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

blog.ycombinator.com

291–300 of 632 posts

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#291
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

40% of $45k is 12% of $150k, and that doesn't value in the experience and networking opportunities of working in the Bay Area

That's an unreasonable comparison. Where would you be working for 45k that would equate to a 150k salary in SF?

Ohio, rural Utah.

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#292

This is rather true in practice, but I find it tremendously depressing. I have found that the executive path is actually the one that most of the scumbags take, it is the one that attracts the most people, and those people are usually not likable, they're salespeople that sell themselves all day. The third group, the one that actually creates value, is accurately represented as not as successful both in terms of mone…

[deleted]

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#293

This is rather true in practice, but I find it tremendously depressing. I have found that the executive path is actually the one that most of the scumbags take, it is the one that attracts the most people, and those people are usually not likable, they're salespeople that sell themselves all day. The third group, the one that actually creates value, is accurately represented as not as successful both in terms of mone…

I agree with you. The third group is also the first people to get laid off and thrown away when there is an economic downturn.

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#294
post #45

Missed the all important contractor. More money, more control over types of projects taken but little control over actual project.

If I had to recommend any path, contractor would be at the bottom of the list. The stress, constantly shifting from one company to another, not knowing when you're going to land another client or if your contract will be extended, having to constantly look for new gigs, etc. Finding a new job is like moving. It just sucks all around. Being a contractor is like constantly having to find a new job.

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#295
post #287
post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not sure your preaching about this not being Reddit contributed to this discussion anymore than my comments. Yeah and it was painfully pointed out in two comments (and your downvotes) that your behavior is unacceptable here. > You can see how I might have been confused about which site I was on since the level of entitlement is exactly the same. Entitlement? You're the one assuming that it's all A-OK in the Bay and…

>>>At this point I will not engage with your comments any further, as you have demonstrated you do not meet HN standards here. Do as you please - how about this - I'll stop engaging you after this comment as well. 1) We haven't discussed finances at all. Not sure where you are drawing that I "don't know anything about finance" other than the fact I disagree with you. Again, making assumptions. 2) Again stop putting w…

> And by the way, this is all made EVEN MORE ridiculous by your previous comments in other threads about not wanting to make everything in the tech industry about diversity. Liberal when it's convenient I suppose.

You done taking things out of context? I'll repeat this for you here again:

> At this point I will not engage with your comments any further, as you have demonstrated you do not meet HN standards here.

This includes you trying to say some is or isn't for diversity. For those that are confused, he's referencing how many users including myself felt that a "diversity" comment didn't fit a story which can be found here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15358785

At this point I have to flag your comments, act like a professional already. For being in your 30's you are not acting like it.

I will not engage your trolling behavior, which has resulted in you stooping so low to dig through a user's history. I stand by my HN comments, and will continue to disengage you when you spout further misinformation.

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#296

> Often times there are hard barriers preventing people from starting a company. In these cases my best advice is to move to a tech hub (preferably the Bay Area) and work for a tech company until you can save the money I had to laugh there. Moving to the Bay Area will reduce your ability to save money, not increase it. I was probably saving 40-50% of my salary when I worked in Nowhereville, Florida. With the housing…

counter anecdote - I moved from Atlanta, GA earning $70k/yr ($4k/mo after taxes) to SF earning ($6.5k/mo after taxes).

In Atl, I saved $2k/mo.

In SF, I saved $3k/mo.

Its hard to save $3k/mo if you're only making $4k/mo. In SF, I took a huge lifestyle hit. No car, no apartment to myself, eating out less. which let me save a lot more.

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#297
post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything you listed is just a multiplier on if the technology actually works . If you have a sucky multiplier of course your product won't do well but if it isn't technically executed right you still have a zero.

It isn't binary: value is created by all parties involved. It's just, in my opinion, that if we normalize the value created to be 1 for the product team, then engineering's value is less than 1, and sales and marketing is (more often) greater than or equal to 1, most of the time. Exceptions exist. But they're not normal, by definition.

An engineer's value can be exponential and can even go well beyond their own lifespan.

Sales and marketing impact is immediate and falls off over time while engineering's impact is slow and can speed up over time.

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#298

This is rather true in practice, but I find it tremendously depressing. I have found that the executive path is actually the one that most of the scumbags take, it is the one that attracts the most people, and those people are usually not likable, they're salespeople that sell themselves all day. The third group, the one that actually creates value, is accurately represented as not as successful both in terms of mone…

You have to change the way money/funding is acquired, otherwise the pressure structure and hierarchy for will lead to this. This system would fall apart - in a positive way - if we have a good quality of life with Universal Basic Income. People could then work on projects without requiring an external source of funding, and so then the best projects/platforms/systems could evolve over 5, 10, even 20 years - without pressure from VCs wanting any return at all.

VCs have limited attention and those who are best at being loudest are likely to capture that available attention - similarly some people try to win arguments by being louder and making more noise than others.

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#299

This is rather true in practice, but I find it tremendously depressing. I have found that the executive path is actually the one that most of the scumbags take, it is the one that attracts the most people, and those people are usually not likable, they're salespeople that sell themselves all day. The third group, the one that actually creates value, is accurately represented as not as successful both in terms of mone…

> I wish it layed out a path of how to build an industry that doesn't attract all those ambitious selfish (executives) people

Given that ten thousand years of human history have utterly failed to produce any system at any point in time where the value-makers are rewarded over the salespeople, I don't think any such system can be made. At least executive positions aren't quite at the level of a winner-takes-all competition and you have a plausible chance of making it to that level.

Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee

#300
post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe he can come up with a better pivot of it.

- Use CRISPR to create hypoallergenic cats - Create a mobile cat service in a high end Winnebago or Gulfstream business jet; stock with hypoallergenic cats from step 1 - Use mobile cat service to fly/drive in to festivals and corporate events; create pop-up cat lounges where visitors can have a drink and pet a cat - ?? - Profit

CAAS (Cats As A Service) business. Acronym-ready. I like it.
Post reply on HN