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Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#221

Post by theonewolf »

some_furry wrote: post #148
stu2b50 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean that would be true in the US, but OP explicitly said he's not in the US. It really depends on where he is; 1.5k/month could be considered a very good wage where he is.

> It really depends on where he is; 1.5k/month could be considered a very good wage where he is. But if you're competing with the US market, no reason not to aim for 15k/month or even 150k/month while you're at it. Then you can take some of your earnings and invest it in your local economy. Help friends start local companies, etc.

I think what the others are getting at is it's more like the US market is competing now with cheaper labor markets.

But I understand what you're saying.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#222

Post by pb7 »

klipt wrote: post #194
WesleyJohnson wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This frustrates me a bit, personally. I've been a professional developer (as in getting paid to do it) for 15 years, full time. I know a lot of tech terms are overused and misused, but I consider myself full stack. Frontend, Backend, Database, some devops. I've worked, in depth, with MSSQL, .NET, C#, Apache, Nginx, MySQL, PHP, Python (Django/DRF), JS, NodeJS, React, Flash/Flex. I've dabbled in Java, Clojure, ClojureS…

Location is definitely a factor. The only way I've heard people making make Bay Area money in places like Ohio is to land a remote gig with a Bay Area company, which isn't easy. You probably have better quality of life in Ohio with your salary than many much higher paid people in the Bay Area. A starter home near Google costs around 2 million.

There’s more to life than owning a home as soon as possible.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#223

Post by alibaba_x »

3pt14159 wrote: post #70
latenightcoding wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is bad advice for someone who has only been coding for 3 years (according to OP). People who can make $500k/year through connections they make contributing to open source projects could most likely just apply to a FAANG company directly. It is way more common to see brilliant developers make $0 from open source projects.

Not true. One of the people I'm referring to was under 25 when he landed a $500k USD remote job at a FAANG company. I'd share more, but too many people would figure out who it is. He didn't get that offer by applying directly. The point is not that OP is going to make $500k a year. The point is to be smart about the language and project that you pick and to be reliable, professional, and open to learning quickly and…

Was it @feross?

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#224

Post by downerending »

WesleyJohnson wrote: post #184
3pt14159 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know many people that did this. Not all of them are making $500k a year, but here is some more examples: - Multiple Rails contributors, one that turned core. Those folks are making well north of $200k a year. - Ember contributors or contributors to projects around ember-data or similar. Multiple people making north of $200k a year. - A guy that dove into contributing to Postgres. He wouldn't even share how much his…

This frustrates me a bit, personally. I've been a professional developer (as in getting paid to do it) for 15 years, full time. I know a lot of tech terms are overused and misused, but I consider myself full stack. Frontend, Backend, Database, some devops. I've worked, in depth, with MSSQL, .NET, C#, Apache, Nginx, MySQL, PHP, Python (Django/DRF), JS, NodeJS, React, Flash/Flex. I've dabbled in Java, Clojure, ClojureS…

I've been in a rather similar boat. I spent a few years in "the show", but am back down in the real world now. Not sure I regret getting it out of my system, but it did harm my life.

Am also an introvert, and it does reduce the possibilities, in my opinion. Still struggling with that. But trying to meet technical people who can hire or refer you is pretty useful (and try to maintain relationships like that when you leave a job).

Location is a problem. If you move to a place like BA or NY, you can probably double your salary right off, even if your skill level is rather low. This is very hard, though, if you have a family or your local social connections are important.

I doubt you're an imposter. Most of the people I met at my high-paying jobs were no more skilled than those I meet in the hinterlands. (And the brilliant ones are often insufferable.)

Rich companies are rich, so they can pay more. That's about it. There's a lot more competition for high-paying spots, but generally the people hiring are doing it pretty randomly. Having a resume that looks good and being able to talk a good game are more important than actual skill.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#225

Post by downerending »

pb7 wrote: post #222
klipt wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Location is definitely a factor. The only way I've heard people making make Bay Area money in places like Ohio is to land a remote gig with a Bay Area company, which isn't easy. You probably have better quality of life in Ohio with your salary than many much higher paid people in the Bay Area. A starter home near Google costs around 2 million.

There’s more to life than owning a home as soon as possible.

Not much, if you want to have kids and raise them with a decent quality of life.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#226

Post by downerending »

starpilot wrote: post #202
3pt14159 wrote: post #21

What I've seen that has worked in the past is this: Pick an open source project that is in a language that is respectable and commit to contributing to it for three or four months. Full time. Try to make sure that your written English is clear and professional in things like PRs. Try to keep your code as clean and as well tested and linted as possible. Once the core team gets to know you a bit you'll be able to reach…

This just seems impossible. Any nontrivial open source project with a decent amount of stars (i.e. something that will give OP visibility) is impenetrable for a noob. I don't know why people keep recommending this as a way to break into software dev. It will take a couple months just to setup a testing environment AND get familiarity with the codebase where you can actually start modifying it. Then you need to identi…

It's not just that they're impenetrable from a technical stand point. It can also be rather difficult to identify contributions that are useful and will get past the core gatekeepers.

Probably the best bet there is to target several projects, and then move towards the ones that seem to appreciate your work.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#227

Post by downerending »

3pt14159 wrote: post #21

What I've seen that has worked in the past is this: Pick an open source project that is in a language that is respectable and commit to contributing to it for three or four months. Full time. Try to make sure that your written English is clear and professional in things like PRs. Try to keep your code as clean and as well tested and linted as possible. Once the core team gets to know you a bit you'll be able to reach…

> If I knew you were good at Python and you were asking for $1.5k a month I would hire you and laugh all the way to the bank.

One way to avoid exploitation like this is to try to develop a number of offers simultaneously. Go in with the plan of getting a couple of offers early, and then let them twist in the wind while you develop better ones. Having an offer is good leverage for getting a better offer from another place without seeming "greedy". (Be courteous and humble, of course, or at least fake it.)

Also, the FAANGs seem to recruit endlessly, even when they're not really hiring. Good place for practice interviews, even if you don't care to work there. My offer from one got me a lot more money elsewhere.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#229

Post by libertine »

yakshaving_jgt wrote: post #107
goatherders wrote: post #64

Learn to write well. You can make 1k-1.5k/month starting next month if you can author good blog posts for businesses. Writing content, like coding, is something where the time investment cannot be "hacked." For a 1200 word blog post someone has to sit at the computer and actually write the 1200 words. That takes time. In many cases there is no content writer on staff and someone has to do the work. I'd say 90% of the…

> I'd say 90% of the posts you read by a company CEO, CTO, or COO are in fact written by someone else and at least half the time in those cases they were written by someone that doesn't even work there. I'd love to see some kind of evidence to support this claim.

It's called Ghost Writing.

If it's 90% or more or less, I have no idea, but it's quite common. From blog articles to books.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#230

Post by eaxix »

stu2b50 wrote: post #133
eaxix wrote: post #127

Don't ask for $1.5k/mo. No one will think of you as valuable if that's what you ask for. People who do pay you that much will treat you like shit and are not the kind of people you want to work with. The problem is you're referring to yourself as a newbie. I don't know where you're from, but generally in America that would be seen as lack of confidence. Don't be humble. You can learn on the job. Working from home you…

I mean that would be true in the US, but OP explicitly said he's not in the US. It really depends on where he is; 1.5k/month could be considered a very good wage where he is.

That's the wrong way to go about it. You want to be pricing based on supply and demand, not based on your costs.

OP stated he wanted to work remotely, hence he's competing in the global (remote work) market. Many US and other companies hire in this market and often pay US-level (but generally not Silicon Valley-level) salaries. A lot of digital nomad types have those jobs.

Judging by OP's good grasp of English and the fact that he reads Hacker News, I'd say that alone makes him more qualified for those jobs than the bulk of developers from his country. I'd wager many of them don't even compete in that market to begin with.

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