Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
danielvassallo.com
Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
1–10 of 241 posts
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#2I do think this is stupid on the surface, but better overall for the economy.
If people have the ability to make things themselves and build a business, then should pursue this under the banner of providing greater choice to consumers.
Particularly if the entire industry is bifurcating between a few enormous, ossifying tech conglomerates.
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#3I’m going all in on independence, and I’m going to try to make a living with my own bare hands starting from nothing.
500k/year in your last year is "nothing", huh? It really undercuts the entire thrust of the post, because you're starting with a nice big war chest and a hell of a safety net, not "nothing".
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#4The tl;dr is that when someone is paying you $500k a year then the work itself might not be all that motivating. However, within time, the money isn't enough to motivate you either.
You gotta wonder, though, what the rest of the world would think if they stumbled across this kind of blog post.
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#5I’m going all in on independence, and I’m going to try to make a living with my own bare hands starting from nothing. 500k/year in your last year is "nothing", huh? It really undercuts the entire thrust of the post, because you're starting with a nice big war chest and a hell of a safety net, not "nothing".
Yeah - if anything it's another indication of the huge bubble many of us in the tech community live in.
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#6> When I first hit $100K income, I would take a peek at my W2 for a few days admiring the six digits, but then it wore off. When I hit $200K, $300K, $400K, and $500K, it was the same thing. I would be delusional to think that earning $1M, or $10M would suddenly make it different.
>What is out there that I could do that would make me excited waking up every day for the next 45 years that could also earn me enough money to cover my expenses?
At $500k, with UK tax rates (probably higher than US), you'd have $275k net. If you remove generous expenses, you have $200k a year in savings. Five years working would get you $1M.
With $1M, you would probably never have to work again (~$40k in safe withdrawal per year).
Then you'd have the ability to pick any job, irrespective of pay. Go help charities, help with research, spend all your time on open source projects, whatever you want.
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#7I’m going all in on independence, and I’m going to try to make a living with my own bare hands starting from nothing. 500k/year in your last year is "nothing", huh? It really undercuts the entire thrust of the post, because you're starting with a nice big war chest and a hell of a safety net, not "nothing".
Yes, I saved a lot. About $1M in liquid assets. But I meant that I'll start with no income, no product, no business. I'll write another post about how I set up my safety net.
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#8TL;DR OP liked his job, but his motivation was decreasing. Could be possible earning much more in the next few years. Gonna build his own things from now on.
Long story short money is not everything. I understand it. I'm currently unemployed working on my own things and I pretty like it. Although I don't have that much money saved and probably I'm gonna find work soon, I've found out that I'm that kind of person, who wants to explore the world by myself and on my own terms.
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#9This might just be envy speaking, but I don't feel like this was a very tough decision (not that it needs to be!). Either way, congrats on the early retirement!
Re: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
#10I’m going all in on independence, and I’m going to try to make a living with my own bare hands starting from nothing. 500k/year in your last year is "nothing", huh? It really undercuts the entire thrust of the post, because you're starting with a nice big war chest and a hell of a safety net, not "nothing".
I've seen the same attitude a lot of times. "I was an investment banker for 10 years but then I moved to Colorado and became a ski bum and I couldn't be happier!" Like alright man live your life but stop acting like you discovered some dark secret that anyone can reproduce. You know you ain't out here paying student loans.