You don't have to justify yourself for quitting your boring full-time job. Most people don't have that option and you're in a fortunate position. I wish I knew more people like you with the courage to actually quit once you're able. I have too many friends who continue to slave away, complaining about their jobs, yet have banked 7 digits+, all because they think that they'd feel out of place and without things to do if they quit, or just want to continue accumulating more money. I don't see a reason to accumulate money if you have no time to spend it.
I quit the tech industry
141–150 of 565 posts
Re: I quit the tech industry
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Between that and the cost of property in Dublin (rental prices are insane at the minute, and I haven't looked at buying but I figure it's the same) that's why everyone graduating in ireland is leaving
Well they're idiots because there are plenty of really well-paying job in the tech industry.
I'd love to get some links to these high-paying jobs in Dublin? Last I checked, IBM were offering sub 30k for graduates, and Microsoft weren't far off the same amount. In US terms, that's 34k USD, for a city where you'll spend 800 dollars a month of your salary on renting a room, and another 170 dollars on communting by bus.
Re: I quit the tech industry
#143I 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…
This may sound harsh and insensitive, but it's not meant that way.
"No one pushes barriers anymore". No one that you may have seen. Look around, folks do it all the time. Examples abound.
"Rarely anyone makes anyones life better...". Become a teacher, a nurse, a social worker, a friend, a good neighbor, volunteer to work with the poor, etc. etc.
"...by doing things radically different". This is one of my biggest beefs with our tech culture. We're arrogant. We need to step back and realize that a great deal was invented and accomplished before we were born. Many billions of people have passed through life on Earth before us. Some did "radically different" things, but more likely, most did not. What makes you or I so special to think that it's something we're entitled to. Of course we should strive to do our very best and have high goals, but our expectations really should be tempered by reality (not our ego).
"I've been paid handsomely in the last 5 years by doing pretty much the exact same things...". How do you think these roles think about doing the exact same things? Painters, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, bus driver, accountant, sales executive, restaurant owner, sales clerk, etc.
2 parting thoughts: (1) count your blessings, not your problems, and (2) if you're as smart and talented as you think you are, you should be able to improve the situation for yourself and others.
Re: I quit the tech industry
#144"I had stock options, and I cashed them all in last week. I net enough to pay off the mortgage, so I’m doing that, which will leave the entire household debt-free and cut our expenses drastically." I'm happy for you. Even a tiny bit jealous. But it does in the end make the whole post sound like a humblebrag to me.
Well, if it makes you feel better, he probably made a bad decision paying off the mortgage right away considering that he has no idea what he's going to do to earn money going forward. It would have been better to continue paying the mortgage for the time being (interest rates are absurdly low) and have a big cushion to fall back on if the whole "I don't wanna be part of the rat race, maaaan" thing doesn't work out.
I think you can probably do better investing than in paying off a mortgage, depending on when you got in on the mortgage rate. Plus, yes, you have that money more liquidated when you need it. (Plus mortgage interest is tax deductible).
Re: I quit the tech industry
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, you've just convinced me never to return to Ireland until I retire, thanks!
Yeh me and my kids will be paying for a long time for the worlds biggest banking (per capita) debacle and the destruction of the economy in the 00s by various governments. With kids its sort of hard to leave :( Tho' it is a nice place to live despite all the carry on. But hey look over there at the news yet another multinational setting up to launder/funnel money onto somewhere warmer and seems like a housing bubble…
Can you not pay yourself in dividends?
Re: I quit the tech industry
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
Go to Poland - 19% flat income tax rate for companies - you can get flat by 400 euro / month in biggest cities and work remotely for foreign clients. To expand on this: one can operate as a sole trader company, and enjoy the 19% flat income tax rate. You can also register your company for VAT, and then claim back the VAT on company purchases. The only other cost is ~$270 / ~240 EUR / ~180 GBP per month in social insu…
how come it's so cheap to live in poland?
It's cheap if you're coming from a developed nation and are comparing local costs with what you earn there.
Remember, the average wage in Poland (according to GUS) is around $12750 yearly, so a $550/mo apartment (the average, from what I know amongst friends) in Warsaw is quite expensive for the average Pole.
So, why are wages so low? Well, we'd like to know as well :).
Re: I quit the tech industry
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm surprised. Where do they live?
Czech republic
Social insurance, health insurance and income tax will be around 25% on €15k annual salary in Czech republic. And that's assuming they have no children. With children it's even less.
Re: I quit the tech industry
#148There are quite a few different topics in this post. I just take one: the fact that people keep reinventing the wheel (libraries/systems/platforms) and the frustration that triggers.
Humans aren't really "built" to cooperate, right? I think almost all could accomplish far more if it would be easier/more obvious to work together. We call competition healthy, and it might be, but it also takes the focus away from cooperation.
It takes a lot of effort to make others (peers, customers, managers,...) work together. And if some don't (which is often the case), the amount of effort required grows exponentially. Although the satisfaction is huge, it's easy to think the cost is greater than the benefit.
Just a guess of course, but maybe this is what the author lacks in his/her career? Too little cooperative efforts on the tasks he/she performed?
Re: I quit the tech industry
#149We're not meant to do jobs, this is just some modern made up concept to keep people busy so they don't see they are actually analogous to cattle. So that you don't care about the virtual problems you solve for virtual company X, is perfectly normal and healthy. They are not your problems, they are not even remotely life-threatening, and so they are not relevant for survival. Jobs are just created to keep us busy, as…
> We're not meant to do jobs, this is just some modern made up concept to keep people busy
And
> We would be in a world where only work is done that is needed
Contradict each other. Of course no one WANTS to work but there are things that HAVE to be done. Like farming, hunting, building shelter. Chopping firewood to keep warm in the winter. You know, modern, made up problems like that.
> We would live in a world where everybody has the time and freedom to pursue their own dreams, without having to be afraid they will get in trouble later (because no pension built up etc).
There is very little time to pursue anything other than survival in a subsistence existence. And you better hope you have children to take care of you when you're physically unable to complete the work.
The fact that people have any time at all to dedicate to non-survival-related pursuits should tell you how important all that work that we're not "meant" to do is in the broader scheme of things.
Re: I quit the tech industry
#150This 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…
While not burnout related, I found out a while back, and this is somewhat paradoxical, that if I care TOO much, I'm less happy. What happens is I notice all the stuff I can't fix, or need to fix, and other people get stressed out making them fix it. The end result is that I stop caring quite as much (I still care), get happy, and then start caring too much again. It's especially hard at times when you have a lot of e…
ditto.