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A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

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Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#181

Post by throwawayyy9876 »

I am curious as to why some people think being paid $140,000 a year is 'disgusting'? I live in Australia so the comparison is a bit different, but here electricians and carpenters will very frequently make over $130,000 a year. Traffic controllers can make up to $180,000 a year, which is an unskilled job with only two days training [1].

In the prime of their careers, dentists, lawyers and doctors can commonly make over $300,000 per year. At the top end of the spectrum, specialist doctors and commercial lawyers can make over $1,000,000 a year, as can those who work in investment banking for instance.

What is it about software engineering that people think is less valuable that these other occupations? Why do people think that earning $100k a year is overcompensation? My personal theory is that it is because impressive wages are a relatively new phenomenon in software (there is a much longer history with doctors and lawyers) and people are not comfortable with the idea yet. But I can assure you that there are many groups in society earning over this amount and one shouldn't feel disgusted by doing so. (Of course, there are many who are not - but that is a longer conversation)

[1] https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/sweet-deal-traffi...

Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#182

Post by sflicht »

throwawayyy9876 wrote: post #181

I am curious as to why some people think being paid $140,000 a year is 'disgusting'? I live in Australia so the comparison is a bit different, but here electricians and carpenters will very frequently make over $130,000 a year. Traffic controllers can make up to $180,000 a year, which is an unskilled job with only two days training [1]. In the prime of their careers, dentists, lawyers and doctors can commonly make ov…

envy?

Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#183

Post by oculusthrift »

throwawayyy9876 wrote: post #181

I am curious as to why some people think being paid $140,000 a year is 'disgusting'? I live in Australia so the comparison is a bit different, but here electricians and carpenters will very frequently make over $130,000 a year. Traffic controllers can make up to $180,000 a year, which is an unskilled job with only two days training [1]. In the prime of their careers, dentists, lawyers and doctors can commonly make ov…

it’s weird because that’s starting salary levels in a lot of silicon valley..

Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#184

Post by dankohn1 »

amirrajan wrote: post #168
dankohn1 wrote: post #150

I spent every morning for several weeks playing A Dark Room while commuting by subway with my 7yo, so I this story really engaged me. My biggest takeaway is to think about this advice from Sam Altman: http://playbook.samaltman.com “A word of warning about choosing to start a startup: It sucks! One of the most consistent pieces of feedback we get from YC founders is it’s harder than they could have ever imagined, beca…

I'm really really happy that ADR gave you some (hopefully) great moments during your commute. Seeing thing comment means the world to me (it really, truly does). If you get a chance, download A Noble Circle and play it with your child. You may find that you can connect over it's ridiculous story and crazy gameplay. I'd love any feedback you may have about it.

Thanks, my son and I really enjoyed playing A Dark Room, and were definitely freaked out when we saw the workers had become slaves.

I'll try A Noble Circle with him.

Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#185

Post by raverbashing »

tikhonj wrote: post #118
JamesBarney wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ycombinator has made a lot of money based on the idea that some people are better at creating start ups than others. They don't just bet on ideas they also bet on people.

On the flipside, it could be that Y Combinator has made a lot of money by creating an environment that helps startups succeed . Apart from money, they provide founders advice, structure and a set of motivated peers. More cynically, they also provide prestige, validation and connections. I have no doubt Y Combinator would still be successful even if their selection method was not very good. (I tend to think about top…

Yeah, it's probable that a couple of teams are less stellar than others, they can probably work it out though

It would be interesting to know about some companies that don't get to Demo day or that doesn't put out a great presentation

Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#187

Post by [deleted] »

throwawayyy9876 wrote: post #181

I am curious as to why some people think being paid $140,000 a year is 'disgusting'? I live in Australia so the comparison is a bit different, but here electricians and carpenters will very frequently make over $130,000 a year. Traffic controllers can make up to $180,000 a year, which is an unskilled job with only two days training [1]. In the prime of their careers, dentists, lawyers and doctors can commonly make ov…

[deleted]

Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#188

Post by downandout »

amirrajan wrote: post #76
downandout wrote: post #69

I have never been directly employed at a large Silicon Valley tech company. Is it really that difficult to work on side projects on your nights/weekends while working at these places? To be sure, it would take longer to get your projects finished, but you would also be doing so with the benefit of a steady paycheck and health insurance. If you happen to hit the lottery with your finished project, great - quit your jo…

+1. This guy took a huge risk and is an idiot. He got stupid lucky.

I didn’t say you were an idiot. You bought a lottery ticket, and won. All I was saying is that most people in the app business lose, especially if they don’t use aggressive monetization.

Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#189

Post by beambot »

rak00n wrote: post #169
beambot wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can always still work (job, contract, consulting, etc) even if you're "soft retired." It's just that you have a lot more freedom in the selection, and you can pursue things that carry more personal fulfillment than MegaCorp job with lots of responsibilities. As for living frugally: Don't live _in_ SF. For a short BART or Caltrain ride, you can live in a $1500/mo. apartment that is beautiful.

Where? Apartment in Oakland or Berkeley aren't that cheap. You'll have to spend at least $2500 for a decent studio/1BR.

Fremont. $3k for 2bdrm split 2-ways

Re: A Dark Room: From Sabbatical Year to $800k

#190

Post by aetherson »

fragsworth wrote: post #5

This is incredibly depressing. It hits home for me because I'm in a very similar situation. I and one other guy almost went broke making Clicker Heroes, but it turned out to be a great success. But so far since then every project has not been worth doing. > I didn't do ads, I didn't do micro-transactions, scummy energy bars, and all those other bullshit monetization tactics. We did this in Clicker Heroes, and I don't…

I hope CH2 does okay too. I liked Clicker Heroes. Good luck!
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