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Poor in Tech

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Re: Poor in Tech

#81

Post by jacobolus »

Ekaros wrote: post #38
ideamotor wrote: post #19

Assuming the trip to Greece was a joke was pretty good, as was the comment about hearing other people’s hobbies and just thinking about the expense. There are definitely cultural signifiers from wealth. Discussing housing endlessly is the biggest one.

Found that bit surprising one. For European startup long weekend in Greece isn't that special. The flights can be quite cheap and Greece generally isn't that expensive country. A few hundred all together could probably be done.

Would the European startup workers you know fly to Malaysia or Peru for their 3-day weekend?

Re: Poor in Tech

#82

Post by htamas »

avancemos wrote: post #7

Instead of seeing the bright side of life, in which this person clearly vastly improved their situation in life, all they can see is what they don’t have. “I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I had the only fat body in the building.” I’m sorry, but no, being poor doesn’t make you fat. Your eating choices make you fat. Poor people have agency too. Agency is not something you buy. This is comin…

Exactly my thoughts. This person just wants to make herself feel good about victimizing herself. Justifying unhealthy behaviour and habits by being poor earlier in her life? Come on. Yes, some of her colleagues seem to be on the other extremes, but many of her examples are just ridicolous. Eg: adult soccer leagues are one of the cheapest activities I can think of, besides running (which is also done by "rich" people).

I'm also coming from a poor family and area, and I also had a few revelations, but nothing like this. My very first of these experiences was at a company paid dinner, where the waiters rolled out a trolley of beverages next to our a table and went away for a couple of minutes. I joked to my colleagues at the table that we could just steal that trolley and nobody would notice it. Nobody laughed, of course and I realised that at that point in my life I could buy a truck of those beverages on my hourly wage. That was nearly 3 months into my career and I just moved on right away.

Re: Poor in Tech

#83

Post by istjohn »

tester34 wrote: post #13

But why focus on those things? We're on news hacker out of all places, where I guess salaries range between 300$ month to $40k month easily Temporarily embarrassed millionaire is healthier way, delusional, but healtheir in my opinion

It's good to recognize that there is a monoculture in tech and that not all of us fit into that monoculture. We should strive to be more inclusive, and we can only do that if those who are marginalized or alienated can speak out and be heard.

Re: Poor in Tech

#84

Post by FriedrichN »

avancemos wrote: post #7

Instead of seeing the bright side of life, in which this person clearly vastly improved their situation in life, all they can see is what they don’t have. “I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I had the only fat body in the building.” I’m sorry, but no, being poor doesn’t make you fat. Your eating choices make you fat. Poor people have agency too. Agency is not something you buy. This is comin…

I must say I was rather triggered by that statement. I'm 100% sure that at one point my earnings were much lower than hers and I wasn't "a fat body". I had a second hand road bike that consisted of many different parts and I loved that thing, I've put thousands of kilometers on that old frame. And guess what, I still use it to this day, even though I could buy a fancy new one.

As a matter of fact, not having a lot of money only emphasizes the fact that your health is one of the things you can influence.

Re: Poor in Tech

#85

Post by Aeolun »

MattGaiser wrote: post #34
creshal wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking a 3 day vacation overseas definitely is a joke. You'll spend as much time sitting in a plane or waiting at the airport as you'll spend at your destination, how's that supposed to be relaxing?

If you fly business/first class. I know people who went to Macau for a weekend or Paris and that is how.

Business and/or First class do not make up for the jetlag.

I had this near mythical idea of flying business class, but when I finally joined a company that actually had me fly in it, I was sorely dissapointed.

I mean, it’s definitely better than flying economy, but you’re still stuck in a pressurized tube for 10+ hours.

Re: Poor in Tech

#86

Post by stephencanon »

MattGaiser wrote: post #34
creshal wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking a 3 day vacation overseas definitely is a joke. You'll spend as much time sitting in a plane or waiting at the airport as you'll spend at your destination, how's that supposed to be relaxing?

If you fly business/first class. I know people who went to Macau for a weekend or Paris and that is how.

First/business class is not miserable, but it’s also not relaxing. For a three day trip, spending a whole day of it in airports or on a plane is not at all relaxing, no matter what class you’re flying. Personally, I draw the line at a week for non-business travel to Europe, and two weeks for Asia.

Re: Poor in Tech

#87

Post by dack »

If you're poor but also have tech skills and are in the bay area, I would recommend working at a public tech company for a while first - then you're no longer poor and can afford to work at a risky startup.

That's all I could think about when reading this post.

edit: Maybe the point of the post was not losing touch with reality or becoming an ass to people when you start making money (which I can agree with), but they also came off a bit self-righteous to me.

Re: Poor in Tech

#88

Post by js8 »

watwut wrote: post #12

> Gym membership was included in my benefits. I went half a dozen times before it was made crystal clear to me that I did not belong. I would be curious about this one. What did happened in the gym? Not really doubting, some people in gyms are quite unfriendly when you dont look fit. But I am still curious what happened there.

Just say no to the gym, go out to a nearby forest and exercise there. A friend of mine (who I used to go jogging with) did that. He always found a suitable tree branch and that's all he needed for pull-ups. All other exercises can be done in nature too. It's gonna be healthier and cheaper, I assure you.

Re: Poor in Tech

#89

Post by giantg2 »

I wouldn't consider myself poor or having grown up poor. I identify with many of the points on this list. I make less than many of my coworkers and my career has stagnated. I sometimes wonder if it has to do with this cultural gap. It seems like it's usually the people with an expensive image that are the ones who get promoted. Meanwhile I'm doing basically anything to save money and trying to leave work on time so I can watch the kid while my wife goes to work in the evening.

Re: Poor in Tech

#90

Post by Aeolun »

cblconfederate wrote: post #37
creshal wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking a 3 day vacation overseas definitely is a joke. You'll spend as much time sitting in a plane or waiting at the airport as you'll spend at your destination, how's that supposed to be relaxing?

Plus nobody would 'recommend a hotel'. An island, maybe

Why would you not? I would definitely disrecommend hotels.
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