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Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#111

Post by notheguyouthink »

tachyonbeam wrote: post #49
poof131 wrote: post #10

Avoid drastic moves. The older I get the more I realize most “drastic move” stories are bs PR pieces. Think how you can move in the direction you want to go in steps. Move to a cheaper location: see if you can move to a satellite office or work remote. No, then look at other jobs you could interview at in the area you want to move to. Translate your FANG experience into a career jump. Then you will have experience an…

I agree that drastic moves are not always wise. OP said they had 1.1M in the bank. If that money was invested in dividend stocks, they could have over 38K of passive income a year. In the US, dividend income is only taxed at 15%, too. They could opt to withdraw the 600K from the 401K, use that to buy a condo in cash, and live off the dividend income. Retire now, basically, and live a fairly comfortable life. It's not…

> If retiring on 1.1M cash + 600K 401K doesn't seem like enough, then sucking it up and staying at the 500K/year job for 2-5 years more is also an option. Cut down on champagne a bit, delay the yearly car upgrade, and you should easily be able to put away 100K a year.

Definitely. Decide how much a modest retirement is, and then hit that goal. If non-city dwelling is something you like, you can live far away from the city very cheaply.

On top of that, I'd try to find ways to cheapen your life now. 500k/y is a lot, and while everything's relative, you could lower your standard of living and put away a ton of money in just a year or two, getting your goals faster.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#112

Post by scarface74 »

bsvalley wrote: post #109
scarface74 wrote: post #104

I don't see how it takes "courage" or how it's a risk. If you're a software developer with in demand skills and have one of the FANG companies on your resume, it shouldn't take long to get a job if your startup fails. I don't have but one company that anyone has ever heard of on my resume, and I historically I can get a job in less than two or three weeks. If you have $1 million in cash you have plenty of runway to f…

It depends how long the OP has been working at that FANG company. At 40 the only difference is that you’ve built solid roots inside of a company and that your high salary is there to keep you around for a long time. You’re definitely smart but how many young and fresh people are smarter that you out there? How many people want your job? You’re like an octopus holding on to a lot stuff so as soon as you leave your pow…

I didn't think about the context of his question - if his skill set is more managerial than technical and not as easily transferrable, it might be riskier.

I was only looking through the lens of someone who had transferable skills. I've found that once you get away from being hands on, it takes a lot longer to get a job even if you are willing to be "just a software developer".

But he may not need the same salary if he has already funded his kids college like he said he has, saved for retirement and is willing to live in a cheaper area.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#114

Post by chrisherd »

Just founded my startup - left a high paying job, have two kids, own my house, a lot of liabilities etc.

Figured if I didn't take the risk now I'd always regret it. Things are tight, but each morning I awaken invigorated by the opportunity to create something that matter. Never underestimate the vitality gained by working on something you love.

Realise the liklihood that I don't succeed is high, but when faced with the certainty of lifelong regret if I didn't it simplified things. Time is the only thing I can't get back, honestly, I'm just upset I didn't do it sooner. Managed to convince the CEO/Founder of an existing unicorn to invest, but probably won't be able to draw a salary for 6-12 months, and that is scary.

Would love to discus more, drop me a line if interested: chris@nexves.com

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#115

Post by sigi45 »

I don't get why you would invest your money into it?

You have more than enough money to retire for life. Get a nice house, add solar power, get your water out of the ground, make your living expense low but with quality.

THAN start putting the most valuable thing into your idea/startup: Your Time. When you have something good enough, to show, find investors. IF your idea is good enough and it is relevant enough, you get help from others. If not, yeah forget it.

I have tons of ideas and do non of them. I have accepted that when i even had an idea, which spun enough in my head that i would talk about it to others, others always didn't like it as much i did.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#116

Post by ryandrake »

OK, time to blow some karma. This is one of those “only on HN” posts. Seriously? “I have $500k income and $2M savings but I’m still not happy!”

Here’s some blunt feedback: get some perspective.

You can do pretty much whatever you want with that kind of coin. If you milked that job for a decade or so, you could retire in opulent luxury almost anywhere in the world. Hell, you could retire now and live modestly in a low cost area. Most people in the world couldn’t imagine having that kind of opportunity. I’d trade places with you in a heartbeat and so would 99% of the people reading this.

Stick with that $500k job that makes your feelings sad, and wipe away your tears with $100 bills. Sheesh!

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#118

Post by ryandrake »

drenvuk wrote: post #63
throwaway93192 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At many companies, including all FANG-like companies, you can't start a business on the side. Your employer may claim ownership and you can be fired for breaking your employment contract.

In California, that's not the case. As long as it's not a competitor or in a similar space the company should have no claim to your business or ideas generated while not using the companies resources.

If you’re working at a FANG company, everything you could possibly do is “in a similar space.” They will lay claim to everything you do while simultaneously employed there.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#119

Post by segmondy »

tachyonbeam wrote: post #49
poof131 wrote: post #10

Avoid drastic moves. The older I get the more I realize most “drastic move” stories are bs PR pieces. Think how you can move in the direction you want to go in steps. Move to a cheaper location: see if you can move to a satellite office or work remote. No, then look at other jobs you could interview at in the area you want to move to. Translate your FANG experience into a career jump. Then you will have experience an…

I agree that drastic moves are not always wise. OP said they had 1.1M in the bank. If that money was invested in dividend stocks, they could have over 38K of passive income a year. In the US, dividend income is only taxed at 15%, too. They could opt to withdraw the 600K from the 401K, use that to buy a condo in cash, and live off the dividend income. Retire now, basically, and live a fairly comfortable life. It's not…

If you retired with a family and have 38k and got $28.5k after tax. Do you know how much health insurance costs for a family? Property tax on a property that's $600k is not going to be cheap either. Add utilities, property maintenance. You are going to be looking for another job fast or dipping into your savings.
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