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Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

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Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#41

Post by randomnamehere »

bobfirestone wrote: post #36

$100,000 a year works out to be ~$50/hr. Enterprise consulting will get you into the 6 figure club. It is not as sexy as working for a startup but a lesson that took me too long to learn is work for the people who have lots of money to spend. The company I work for is hiring for front-end developers on the project I am working on in Denver. It would put you over $100k. If you have strong JS skills and are willing to…

I wouldn't mind enterprise consulting at all. Do you have any suggestions on how to start down that road?

I would actually love to move to Denver but my wife is currently working on a masters degree so moving is out of the question for the next couple of years.

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#42

Post by randomnamehere »

garrickvanburen wrote: post #33

It's definitely achievable. I'm and independent consultant in Minneapolis, with a mortgage and kids. I went independent just before I turned 30 and have passed that threshold every year since. How? through a ever changing mix of consulting clients (throughout the US) and my own product dev. I agree w/ benjamincburns - focus on solving client problems rather than being a tool operator. It's both more lucrative and mor…

That is great to hear. Could you go into a little more detail on how you got started consulting and exactly what type of consulting you do? Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#43

Post by hardwaresofton »

_progger_ wrote: post #32
hardwaresofton wrote: post #5

Dive into something that compiles. And also, what is the job pool like around you? Certain companies just don't pay as much as others. If you want to continue web dev, learn the backend. Take some time, and write a small webapp in Django, Rails, Play Framework, Node, and anything else that sparks your fancy (and learn their accompanying languages). Also, one other thing that will get you paid really quickly is databa…

"Dive into something that compiles. ... Take some time, and write a small webapp in Django, Rails, Play Framework, Node, and anything else that sparks your fancy (and learn their accompanying languages)." Err... None of that compiles - they get interpreted.

Ah I probably should have written that clearer --

I started off answering his question but then stopped going in that direction when I figured he could get full-stack experience (which was more what he seemed to be looking for), instead of writing C kernel code somewhere.

This... was not my clearest post

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#44

Post by hardwaresofton »

danneu wrote: post #40
rco8786 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Play Framework compiles ;) But yea...other than that, wtf.

> Dive into something that compiles. > If you want to continue web dev, Django, Rails, Play Framework, Node, and anything else... I imagine they're alternative options.

This is exactly what I meant, congratulations on discerning it haha, I got confused about what I wrote also.

But the point stands, those things will give him full stack experience while staying in web land

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#45

Post by timmm »

johnmurch wrote: post #7

If you are that good with Javascript - jump on the node.js bus rather than Ruby or C#. In terms of making more $ the first thing I would work on is salary negotiation, not necessarily skills. There are a few great salary courses on udemy that can help with asking/answer the right questions when looking for something new or even a raise. In terms of location/salary - I would also recommend looking to freelance for com…

"What products/site could you build that charges $30/month (SAAS) and can get 500 signups. Just that would get $18k/month in revenue [...]"

Well if that's the process then why not just up the ante and figure out how to make some absurd amount of money?

The reality is you're not going to be able to answer that question with any degree of accuracy as to make the exercise meaningful.

All you can do is put something out there that you believe has potential and gauge how profitable it is and consider the growth potential in the future.

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#46

Post by timmm »

drharris wrote: post #22
noahc wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can verify that $70k outside of SF/NYC is very achievable for less than exceptional programmers doing Ruby/Python work.

Maybe at the moment, but not by the time he's 30. It will go the way of people turning in a resume with "HTML" experience. It'll be expected as a minimum.

This will not happen, especially with the recent surge in python.

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#47

Post by playing_colours »

benjamincburns wrote: post #25

I'm 27. I've crossed the 6-figure barrier twice. 1: Consulting on the side. Find a company that has you working an actual 40 hours per week (government contractors are good for this), which doesn't bar you from doing some side work (bonus points if they have a culture which supports this). Then, find a client or two. You won't have to charge much in order to cross the six figure barrier. 2: Work outside of the softwa…

>>Quit focusing on what solutions you'd need to learn in order to get to the next level. Instead focus on what problems pay the most. Never, ever market yourself in terms of the tools you use. Market yourself in terms of the problems you solve.

This sounds great, but will it work in the current job market? If I have large experience say in Rails and want to join a company working on interesting problems, but they use Django. What are my chances to sell myself to them?

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#48

Post by drharris »

mjolk wrote: post #29
drharris wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe at the moment, but not by the time he's 30. It will go the way of people turning in a resume with "HTML" experience. It'll be expected as a minimum.

Yes, in 3 to 4 years, programming in Ruby or Python will be considered a skill that entry-level positions should have. In fact, I envision a future in which even the doormen of a building hook into hackernews APIs to verify the account standing of visitors.

Now, now... I can accept snark for snark. Entry level programmers, not entry level people. I already expect any resume for a direct-from-university applicant to have at least "HTML, Ruby, Java, Python". It's basically a bare minimum for a programmer these days. You don't have to know Ruby specifically, but it's a red flag if you only have one or two languages. If they don't have a lot of depth, they at least need plenty of breadth.

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#49

Post by benjamincburns »

playing_colours wrote: post #47
benjamincburns wrote: post #25

I'm 27. I've crossed the 6-figure barrier twice. 1: Consulting on the side. Find a company that has you working an actual 40 hours per week (government contractors are good for this), which doesn't bar you from doing some side work (bonus points if they have a culture which supports this). Then, find a client or two. You won't have to charge much in order to cross the six figure barrier. 2: Work outside of the softwa…

>>Quit focusing on what solutions you'd need to learn in order to get to the next level. Instead focus on what problems pay the most. Never, ever market yourself in terms of the tools you use. Market yourself in terms of the problems you solve. This sounds great, but will it work in the current job market? If I have large experience say in Rails and want to join a company working on interesting problems, but they use…

Thanks for asking this - it raises a point that I forgot to make.

You're not going to do as well at a company which hires based on the solution as one which hires based on the problem. Ideally you want to be in a position where you're being held accountable by people for which the specific technical details of the solution are mostly out of their scope.

Re: Ask HN: I'm 26 and would like to make 100k/yearly before I'm 30. How do I do it?

#50

Post by benjamincburns »

randomnamehere wrote: post #38
benjamincburns wrote: post #25

I'm 27. I've crossed the 6-figure barrier twice. 1: Consulting on the side. Find a company that has you working an actual 40 hours per week (government contractors are good for this), which doesn't bar you from doing some side work (bonus points if they have a culture which supports this). Then, find a client or two. You won't have to charge much in order to cross the six figure barrier. 2: Work outside of the softwa…

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it! It seems like a lot of people are suggesting consulting. Do you know of any good resources on how to start consulting? I live in an area with a population around 200k and there really aren't any large business interested in hiring people to do web dev work. Also, businesses here severely undervalue developers so the chance is finding a decent paying gig is quite low. Is it poss…

Remote consulting exists, but it's harder to find work that way -- infinitely so if you have no reputation.

The only advice I can really offer on how to get started is to network. Talk to people about their problems at work and take genuine interest, even when they're not a potential client. Where possible, help people out in meaningful ways and show (don't tell) them that you're smart and that their problems are important to you. You'll probably end up doing some free work this way, but you'll make friends who trust you and that's far, far more valuable. As long as you're clear that you're looking for consulting work, it'll find you eventually. Just don't belabor the point.

One trick of mine is to focus on selling the minimum amount of complexity. Figure out exactly the value that the customer is looking for - often times they don't know what it is. There's a saying that a person in a hardware store looking for a quarter inch drill doesn't need a quarter inch drill, they need a quarter inch hole. But more importantly almost nobody needs a quarter inch hole -- maybe they need a new shelf. If they need a new shelf, maybe they just have too much stuff. No matter what it is, get to the bottom of their problem and sell them the simplest solution with the maximum value, even if it doesn't make you any money today.

Also consider trying to tackle some stickier problems in well-known open source projects. PostgreSQL is a favorite example of mine for this as they make it very easy to contribute. Why hire someone who "knows" PostgreSQL when you can hire someone who helps write PostgreSQL?

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