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My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

software.rajivprab.com

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Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#481

Post by giantg2 »

gxespino wrote: post #453
lordnacho wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in mind you can be disappointed in more than one way. Either you tried the impossible with an optimistic mindset and failed anyway, or you failed at something doable because you took pessimistic choices. It's not actually obvious which category this is in.

Yes, but the optimistic mindset would probably have a better outcome than the latter regardless if they failed to meet their original expectations or not.

That's what an optimistic person would say. A pessimistic person might believe they have a better outcome because of hedging against the pessimistic possibilities.

It seems we should need objective data to filter through the bias.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#482

Post by vanusa »

anamax wrote: post #426
borski wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are equating guilt with acknowledging privilege, and those aren’t the same. I feel privileged for having gone to MIT, and acknowledge that privilege. I feel privileged for having grown up Jewish and white-appearing, and acknowledge that. I feel guilty for neither, and acknowledging that particular privilege takes nothing away from how hard I worked anyway. The son of two very poor Russian Jewish immigrants, I wor…

> You are equating guilt with acknowledging privilege, and those aren’t the same. When someone says "check your privilege", they're saying that you've done something wrong and should feel guilty.

When someone says "check your privilege", they're saying that you've done something wrong and should feel guilty.

This shouldn't be downvoted. It's become a socially acceptable insult, in some circles (which basically means the receiver is less empathic / socially aware than thou) -- or at the very least, a thought-terminating cliché.

I know there's a bunch of nice and wholesome stuff it's supposed to mean (like the sibling commenter points out); but the way it's typically bandied about in modern discourse (as an STFU signal, more or less) -- it isn't what it really means.

See also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_cliché

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#483

Post by vanusa »

borski wrote: post #433
anamax wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You are equating guilt with acknowledging privilege, and those aren’t the same. When someone says "check your privilege", they're saying that you've done something wrong and should feel guilty.

No, they aren’t. They are saying you should consider if and how your privilege helped you out, because sometimes that isn’t transferable to other people; someone black in a job interview may not have the same experience someone white does, and that’s okay, but it’s important to recognize if and how being white helped so that someone who isn’t white can account for that and adjust. It has nothing at all to do with gui…

It has nothing at all to do with guilt.

Guilt is too strong of term. But it is very much used as a kind of penalty box, or way of distancing the receiver from the speaker. And as far as enlightening those who supposedly need uplifting to the higher, more evolved plane that the speaker inhabits -- it just doesn't do much.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#484

Post by boopboopbadoop »

alexk307 wrote: post #310
_dark_matter_ wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a software engineer with two kids and a wife with a more stressful job than mine, I have no hobbies anymore. I don't even work crazy hours.

Your kids are your hobbies. Don't you want to spend more time on them?

No, they’re not a hobby. People need happiness both in and outside of their family.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#485

Post by VirusNewbie »

2-718-281-828 wrote: post #446
onos wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of encouragement of guilt in the USA today. In general, shouldn’t we embrace a value system that encourages good behavior? Eg honor those who do relatively well in life, given the circumstances they are born into? The immediate leap to discredit the success of others through assertion of privilege seems like it would discourage doing well. A better solution imho would be to celebrate success but to als…

> but to also encourage the successful to share their insights with others laughing my ass off ... I expect the successful first and formost to share their success through actually paying taxes - then we can talk about their advice which won't be useful for the majority anyway b/c success in monetary terms is always defined by being focused on a minority.

I'm not sure where you live, but in the US, the government has done a terrible job with capital allocation and for every dollar given to the government in taxes what % do you think goes to helping those in need who deserve the help?

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#486

Post by AYBABTME »

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #460
AYBABTME wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to change your mood but I hope someone else reading this interaction early in their career will come out of it with an optimistic mindset instead of a cynical one. It pays off better.

I'm early in my career and I'm bullish on myself, but I would never go around preaching that there's a "high probability of success" of a SWE making >$500k because clearly there is not. I'm bullish because I have evidence to support that possibility. Most people have zero evidence that they would ever make >$500k, let alone having a "high probability of success".

But you don't need to pull 500k/y to end up with >1M$ after 12y. Just compound interest will get you there rather quickly if you save half of your 105k median dev salary. Of course doing so isn't comfortable, but I'm sure you can agree it's doable.

Also while 500k/y is a stretch and usually occurs due to stock appreciation (not salary), you can reasonably assume that landing a job at big tech will lead you to a 300k total comp within 12y. If you care enough to play the career game.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#487

Post by AYBABTME »

giantg2 wrote: post #481
gxespino wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but the optimistic mindset would probably have a better outcome than the latter regardless if they failed to meet their original expectations or not.

That's what an optimistic person would say. A pessimistic person might believe they have a better outcome because of hedging against the pessimistic possibilities. It seems we should need objective data to filter through the bias.

There's research supporting the optimist strategy but I'll be lame in that I can't link you to it without searching for it longer than I can dedicate time for. I think Codex Alpha talked about it fwiw. Personally, I'm in the "shoot for the stars, hope for the moon" camp. Pragmatic optimism or realistic optimism? Some such.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#488

Post by AYBABTME »

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #474
gxespino wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You worked on improving your poor abilities rather than accepting it as just.

You can work on your abilities and be pessimistic though. They aren't mutually exclusive.

Yes but it's harder, so your expected outcome is lower.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#489

Post by gxespino »

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #474
gxespino wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You worked on improving your poor abilities rather than accepting it as just.

You can work on your abilities and be pessimistic though. They aren't mutually exclusive.

I understand where you're getting at.

I think many pessimistic people don't start or give up earlier and this leads to the self fulfilling prophecy.

Could be wrong, objective data would be needed for sure.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#490

Post by gxespino »

giantg2 wrote: post #479
gxespino wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It's simply not possible for an average person like me to make that kind of money." Putting these sort of limitations on yourself, from my experience, will dampen the effort that you put in to achieve new levels, if you even try at all. That reduced effort will result in exactly what you predicted for yourself. So, begs the question, what sort of effort have you put in to increase your pay past the median dev salary…

Masters, extra hours, working above my level, taking on extra responsibility, volunteering for initiatives at work, working on personal projects in my own time, multiple certs, business acumen certs, etc. The number of opportunities to make significantly more money are exceedingly rare. Especially with family constraints like not being allowed to move or no longer able to work extensive unplanned extra hours due to c…

You have the resume for sure.

Have you worked on your social/emotional intelligence/interviewing skills?

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