11–20 of 56 posts
Continue to learn and try to get some contract work meanwhile. In security this is very common: audits, penetration testing, etc.
Good luck!
I’d read PG’s essays (someone compiled them in a pdf on github) and learn about startups. Long term you don’t want to sell your soul to corporations. Continue to learn and try to get some contract work meanwhile. In security this is very common: audits, penetration testing, etc. Good luck!
Updated to november 2022
Ah this reeks of bs but welcome to hacker news where everyone gets the 350k+ offers. Lol posting the #2 for Epic Games, this totally is very real and very possible for a 10 year old to even do.
To give a bit more of a realistic point of view to this thread: I have around 10 years of working experience as a software engineer working in a few countries in Europe. Just recently I have reached my personal highest salary: 95K EUR/year before taxes, which is around 5K after taxes per month. I know there are fresh graduates in the US that are probably making double of that in their first year at FAANG; but hey tha…
I make $170k a year after 20 years, in the US, and I barely consider myself a success (sometimes I don't - had I not messed up I'd likely be a millionaire today). I messed up early on with college and won't have a B.S. in C.S until next year. I pay roughly 30% a year in taxes, and have around a $10k total deductible for self/family, though a lot is covered with only a minimal co-pay of $10-$50 per visit (figure 2 visits per month, $1000 per year).
Look at the whole compensation package:
- Salary
- Taxes
- Employer 401k contribution
- Vacation
- Healthcare
- Profit sharing
- Etc.
Besides that, I've worked full time on Linux administration at a large scale and in the last years on cloud architecture. When starting university, my colleagues were all envious of me because I was working on interesting stuff and because I had a steady income, but I don't know if the sacrifice of not having a life during high-school was worth it.
Some advice to my younger self: - enjoy your young, no-care-in-the-world years and experiment as much as possible outside work and jobs; this will come in handy later on because you will end up working with people - try finding a bachelor and master that can deepen your knowledge on the subject; for various reasons I've picked telecom and now I regret not picking CS for my current day-to-day job. I made the right choice by picking a networking master's - if in or near Europe and if you like traveling, search for Erasmus+ exchanges during high-school and university years - there are lots of certifications that can give you insight on the industry you're on. For example, I've only learned about Cisco certifications years after working in the networking field. Why? One constraint was budget and I initially implemented everything using Linux and cheap switches. - don't get hired full-time early (this I'm glad I didn't do), because there will be plenty of time to climb corporate ladders. A few of the university colleagues are now on a higher corporate level than me, but should I care?
TL;DR enjoy your young years and don't sweat it too much by working during university; you're way ahead of everyone else and will easily land a job when the time will come.
I’d read PG’s essays (someone compiled them in a pdf on github) and learn about startups. Long term you don’t want to sell your soul to corporations. Continue to learn and try to get some contract work meanwhile. In security this is very common: audits, penetration testing, etc. Good luck!
Found it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22323562 Updated to november 2022
I’d read PG’s essays (someone compiled them in a pdf on github) and learn about startups. Long term you don’t want to sell your soul to corporations. Continue to learn and try to get some contract work meanwhile. In security this is very common: audits, penetration testing, etc. Good luck!
Ah this reeks of bs but welcome to hacker news where everyone gets the 350k+ offers. Lol posting the #2 for Epic Games, this totally is very real and very possible for a 10 year old to even do.
FWIW: I'm doing extremely well for where I live.
Ah this reeks of bs but welcome to hacker news where everyone gets the 350k+ offers. Lol posting the #2 for Epic Games, this totally is very real and very possible for a 10 year old to even do.
Hi. I've edited my profile description for proof, https://hackerone.com/f9cd8782?type=user
conviencefee999, you'd do well to be a little more respectful when asking for a proof...
Many of the techies who I've met who dropped out of school had career struggles afterwards: I can't stress just how important it is to do college while you are college age. You can delay it 1-2 years if you like, (and it will really be nice to have spending money when you're in college,) but going to college when you're significantly older than everyone else will really suck.
College isn't just about the book education. That's the easiest part. It's also about the social experience; but it's much harder to apply for jobs without the degree.
Computer security is a lucrative field, and a broad one.
You could continue the bug bounty approach, which leads into vuln selling (with the attendant morality questions). You could go into systems security research, a long term project but worthwhile intellectually. You could contract (needs networking and business), you could FAANG (needs patience and soft skills), you could government (needs patience and more patience).
My advice: don’t rush. You have at least 50 years of career ahead of you. The decisions you make now will influence your direction for years, but there’s very little you can do to completely derail your future. Try some things, see what resonates and clashes and learn more about you.
Context: 25 years in computer security in a variety of roles, currently FAANG, currently management. My 17 year old self would likely be somewhat surprised at my circumstances, but hopefully not upset :)