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I quit the tech industry

eev.ee

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Re: I quit the tech industry

#31

Post by jkot »

yc1010 wrote: post #11

I have been working for myself for last 8 years after completing my masters, in hindsight financially I did not do too badly (tho there was some great and ups and incredible downs!) and it is NICE working from home and watching your kid grow (tho there are quite a lot of distractions!!! says he who is procrastinating reading HN :D ) BUT if I was offered a job with guaranteed employment and steady wages and (gaaasp pe…

Some source on Irish taxes? Last time I checked income tax in Ireland was one of lowest in Europe. Bellow €40K (+-) was 20%, everything over 40%. Same income in Germany is taxed way higher.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#32

Post by 72deluxe »

mavdi wrote: post #10

I couldn't believe what I was reading. I have the exact same feeling about current state of the tech industry. No one pushes barriers anymore. Rarely anyone makes anyones life better by doing things radically different. We keep reinventing the same wheel again and again. I've been paid handsomely in the last 5 years by doing pretty much the exact same things, using different frameworks for different (and at times the…

Well done for being paid handsomely! I think we are deluding ourselves if we think anything really new is coming along. A lot of the development on microcomputers and mobiles is just rehashing the client/server model of the 70s, but with different technologies every 5 years. Web apps are just the database interfaces of the 90s, and layers over CRUD. They are just more accessible.

I think if we realise this and become comfortable with it, it'd be good for income (if perhaps not soul destroying creatively).

Re: I quit the tech industry

#33

Post by probablyfiction »

aaggarwal wrote: post #26
probablyfiction wrote: post #17

This is what burnout looks like. Unless Yelp has a toxic work culture, it's likely the author brought it on themselves by pushing too hard. After several months, the author will probably start thinking about work again, and begin the job search once more. Not to say that the author's points are invalid; it's a terrible feeling to have to spend your most productive hours working on someone else's problems. He or she m…

I am going to start working soon. This makes me think if full-time work is really worth it. Wouldn't multiple short-term contracts with regular breaks be able to cut it in today's world? Isn't there people with experience on working on short-term contracts and still living well-off?

Full-time work can be worth it. Financial stability goes a long way towards contributing to happiness. You ultimately have to ask yourself what your goals are, and why you're working. A job should be a tool to help you get what you really want out of life.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#34

Post by johan_larson »

probablyfiction wrote: post #17

This is what burnout looks like. Unless Yelp has a toxic work culture, it's likely the author brought it on themselves by pushing too hard. After several months, the author will probably start thinking about work again, and begin the job search once more. Not to say that the author's points are invalid; it's a terrible feeling to have to spend your most productive hours working on someone else's problems. He or she m…

Generally speaking, if you have to pay people to do it, there is something nasty about the work. It's strenuous or dangerous or dirty or degrading or stressful or boring. If it were actually fun, people would be doing it for free.

(Exceptions, anyone?)

We programmers are quite lucky. At its worst our work is only frustrating. And we are well compensated, usually.

Don't get me wrong; programming itself can be lots of fun. But what you get paid for isn't the fun stuff. I doubt there is anyone who gets excited about upgrading and debugging aging Java applications.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#35

Post by 72deluxe »

aaggarwal wrote: post #26
probablyfiction wrote: post #17

This is what burnout looks like. Unless Yelp has a toxic work culture, it's likely the author brought it on themselves by pushing too hard. After several months, the author will probably start thinking about work again, and begin the job search once more. Not to say that the author's points are invalid; it's a terrible feeling to have to spend your most productive hours working on someone else's problems. He or she m…

I am going to start working soon. This makes me think if full-time work is really worth it. Wouldn't multiple short-term contracts with regular breaks be able to cut it in today's world? Isn't there people with experience on working on short-term contracts and still living well-off?

The difficulty is guaranteeing a steady stream of short-term contracts. If you can get them and line them up I am sure it is great but I would not like the "unknown" factor of that.

I would do it once you have a steady foundation and some savings to fall back on should these contracts not materialise for a while.

Working fulltime is alright (it means you can be stable for a while) but not all of us are paid huge sums :-(

Re: I quit the tech industry

#36

Post by 72deluxe »

kayoone wrote: post #6
Jimmy wrote: post #2

Having a traditional job is such a terrible experience. At the very least, it's terrible if you're not 100% in love with whatever company project you're working on. I think there are some personality types that are suited to traditional jobs though, since most people don't share my concerns when I tell them how terrible it is to have a job. Because of this, I think more people like the author of this post should purs…

While i feel similar in that i don't think i could go back to a "normal" job, i also realize how incredibly lucky i am to have this choice. So many people have to do much more grueling work that is not even remotely their passion and earn much less doing so. It's not even a question of education really, imo it comes down to luck in where you were born and some choices that made you end up in an industry that allows a…

This is very true - we are fortunate and should not forget that. It could be worse (like it is for others).

Re: I quit the tech industry

#37

Post by stevejones »

mavdi wrote: post #10

I couldn't believe what I was reading. I have the exact same feeling about current state of the tech industry. No one pushes barriers anymore. Rarely anyone makes anyones life better by doing things radically different. We keep reinventing the same wheel again and again. I've been paid handsomely in the last 5 years by doing pretty much the exact same things, using different frameworks for different (and at times the…

If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants. -- Isaac Newton

In computer science, we stand on each other's feet. -- Brian K. Reid

Re: I quit the tech industry

#38

Post by iopq »

probablyfiction wrote: post #17

This is what burnout looks like. Unless Yelp has a toxic work culture, it's likely the author brought it on themselves by pushing too hard. After several months, the author will probably start thinking about work again, and begin the job search once more. Not to say that the author's points are invalid; it's a terrible feeling to have to spend your most productive hours working on someone else's problems. He or she m…

I quit the tech industry over a year ago and I'm not itching back.

Maybe if I did something part time that could work, because I don't want to spend more than 20 hours a week working.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#39

Post by aaggarwal »

probablyfiction wrote: post #33
aaggarwal wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am going to start working soon. This makes me think if full-time work is really worth it. Wouldn't multiple short-term contracts with regular breaks be able to cut it in today's world? Isn't there people with experience on working on short-term contracts and still living well-off?

Full-time work can be worth it. Financial stability goes a long way towards contributing to happiness. You ultimately have to ask yourself what your goals are, and why you're working. A job should be a tool to help you get what you really want out of life.

Yeah, as obvious as it is, one always tends to forget what are the ultimate goals one is working for? As long as there is motivation, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Re: I quit the tech industry

#40

Post by yc1010 »

jkot wrote: post #31
yc1010 wrote: post #11

I have been working for myself for last 8 years after completing my masters, in hindsight financially I did not do too badly (tho there was some great and ups and incredible downs!) and it is NICE working from home and watching your kid grow (tho there are quite a lot of distractions!!! says he who is procrastinating reading HN :D ) BUT if I was offered a job with guaranteed employment and steady wages and (gaaasp pe…

Some source on Irish taxes? Last time I checked income tax in Ireland was one of lowest in Europe. Bellow €40K (+-) was 20%, everything over 40%. Same income in Germany is taxed way higher.

Try this calculator, in the last few years taxes have increased a lot. Also keep in mind if you are a director of a company (Startup etc) you lose a good chunk of your tax credits

Anyways to answer your question, play around with calculator http://download.pwc.com/ie/budget-2015/index.html

A single 30 year old (average age of HNers?) earning €100K will receive €58,869 after all the income taxes

From this money he/she will have to then pay water tax, local property tax (if renting the landlord will pass it on), VAT of 23% on almost everything and so on, and god help you if you buy a car!

---

41% is the highest tax band BUT there is also USC and PRSI tax which needs to be paid which brings up the highest rate to above 50%

basically there are a lot of hidden taxes and it is a very complex tax system which allows the government to make the figures appear palatable

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