301–310 of 632 posts
How about freelancing? I've been doing that since 1995 -- and my income and happiness have never been higher. Pros: - Work on what you like, with the people you like - Potentially very high salary, definitely more than you would get as an employee - Want to work on side projects (e.g., software, books, and courses)? Go for it, and benefit from multiple income streams. Cons: - You're running a business. That requires…
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…
p.s. That was rather negative response. May be it's the ecosystem and how things are.
p.p.s. Good post and stuffs like this should be taught in CS schools.
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I have a different (admittedly controversial) take, having been on the "tech ladder" for some time now (as a Senior SWE and Lead Engineer): most individual contributors overestimate how much value they actually provide, especially in the Bay Area. That isn't to say we're not under-appreciated and under-compensated (we are both). But realistically much of the time work we do is easily done by literally thousands of ot…
I agree and both disagree. I'm working right now for a client that is a large corporation that didn't do any of those "fad" things - and it is _tremendously_ costly. For example, one team has spent several weeks and thousands of dollars to get another team's SOAP integration working correctly, when it would have taken five minutes in REST. The codebase did not follow a "elegant" practice and is an absolute spaghetti…
I think you mean undervalued.
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…
It's worth noting that this is simply in the "Tech Industry" which is much different than a "Good Life", "Adventure Quest", "[religion] walk", or any other form of purpose/success-based ranking.
Regardless of which path you'd like to go down, learn some basic financial planning, frugality, and learn to live like a miser. It'll pay dividends, both figuratively and literally. Regarding the executive path, or more generally any management role, learn early on if it's for you. If you're the type that gets caught up in human interest stories, considers it inhumane to fire low performers, or generally believes in…
However, I disagree with you second point. You seem to be saying that good managers should be sociopaths. That is simply not true. Some managers can operate that way, but the great managers that I have had in the past are the ones that truly empathize with and take care of their employees. This pays dividends in work output from those employees. As I've moved into management myself I have incorporated this mentality. As for firing low performers, the result is almost always better for both parties if it is handled correctly (again, empathy). If they were given sufficient opportunity and still cannot complete their job, then there is a reason they are a poor performer: they are not in the right position. Don't believe that empathy precludes you from management. It's quite the opposite.
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For someone who recently graduated and quite clueless about financial planning, do you have some resources to get started?
The usual generic financial advice I give is: - Maximize every retirement vehicle offered to you (max 401k, HSA, etc). - Pretend that any money you sock away for retirement doesn't exist. This is best done with automated withdrawals so you never even consider it money in your checking account. - Learn to cook. This doesn't actually save much money at the individual level but is huge for families. - Set up separate ac…
I'd say it can save a ton of money at the individual level and is likely much healthier, and often time as well (probably biased because I can passively cook because I understand the science of cooking)
My example meal that is paleo friendly is grilled chicken breast and frozen vegetables; my dinners cost ~ $3/day that way. Add in rice or quinoa for about $0.30/day.
If you're cooking more complex meals the savings or nutrition might not be as much - or if your grocery store is far away or expensive.
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A good measure of where the best engineers are is where the best engineers migrate to. In the smaller communities I’ve been in over time I’ve seen the top engineers in the community migrate away. Engineers that come back from effectively unsuccessful 1-yearish stints at Big X companies often become top engineers in the communities to which they return. I think I’d want a lot of people evidence to agree with the claim…
> A good measure of where the best engineers are is where the best engineers migrate to. I would say that is only a good measure of where more money is being spent.
Missing from the strategies for the first two (really all three): come from wealthy background.
What is the bar for "wealthy background" and "founder". My parents clawed there way to what I would call middle class (most of the time). I am not a founder of a software product firm, but am a founder of a successful consulting firm. We are 4 years into it now. On the executive front, yes, you are more likely to reach that level of position having a "wealthy background" but there are plenty who don't. Your odds of b…
I really want to take this path at some point. I don't feel like I fit into either of these categories very well and the idea of having my own consulting firm has always appealed to me. I don't know where to start. Can you share some knowledge or tell me where I can contact you? If you're in the Bay Area I'd love to buy you a coffee and pick your brains.