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Startup employees don't earn more

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Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#151

Post by AstralStorm »

aab0 wrote: post #76
hackaflocka wrote: post #44

On average? Of course not. It's a power-law! Averages mean nothing in power-law situations.

It's not a true power-law (assuming it's not a lognormal). It's truncated by the fact that anyone considering a startup would never have earned more than the world GDP, or more specifically, the peak tech market cap to date (Apple's $775b). Once it's truncated at a finite value, the moments become meaningful.

It is probably something similar to a negative binomial distribution. (Polya distribution)

You play until your VC decides not to fund you or you actually win. This can be done over either money or time.

This only works on startups as a group, for any specific one you would use a more complex method as trials are not independent. Discrete please - type distribution, derived by a Markov chain.

Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#152

Post by mywittyname »

Chronic9q wrote: post #104
nommm-nommm wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because some people enjoy being postal carriers?

Ask any postal carrier if they would take a job that paid $20K more. I guarantee they will say yes. Stop thinking everyone is happy with their job because they have "a good life." Money still rules this world. Why else do people spend 8-10 hours a day trying to make money?

Don't discount the value of a pension. If they make $50k/yr + 2% inflation adjustments for 20 years, they would retire making $75k/yr. Their pension would pay them roughly half that, plus the value of their TSP (401k).

If you're a 45 year old programmer and feel like you're nearing the end of your valuable career, it might make sense to take the pay cut and make the transition. The pension alone is the equivalent of adding another $1MM to your retirement portfolio (assuming 4% safe withdraw rate).

As a person who is scared by the prospect of programming into my 50s, I could see making this move. A 50% reduction in pay until retirement sounds more appealing to me than a sudden 100% reduction in pay at some indeterminate point in the future.

Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#153

Post by brianwawok »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #94
brianwawok wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hah but what is the flip side? You can give no hours to work and be stuck in a park bench. You get more prime hours, but is your quality of life better?

A good used sail boat is about $60k. You can live very well on it for about $15k/year. That's not a park bench; that's freedom, which is priceless.

Not sure my dogs would like that.

Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#154

Post by stevenwiles »

rawTruthHurts wrote: post #130
segmondy wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, someone gives a company $1million and you claim that the person is playing with dreams, time and skills? Give us a break. No startup has to accept investor money. If you don't want their million, don't take it. Bootstrap with your own cash. The reality is that going into startup for money is a big risk, it's a big gamble. Go in for the fun, go in to learn new things, play with new tech, go in to avoid ( big comp…

Fun doesn't pay bills.

This is the kind of high-quality, insightful comment I subscribe to HN for.

Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#155

Post by tedmiston »

ptero wrote: post #143
bunkydoo wrote: post #24

I'm gonna be straight with y'all, I earn more as a post office mail carrier than I ever did as a programmer for a silicon valley startup with $1 million dollars seed funding. I also surprisingly have more freedom even though I work basically like a slave. Nobody wants to admit it but we are in a tech bubble. Sure, if you are in the right startup things might be different. I had a great valley experience - but it was…

There are bubbles, for sure; tech is probably bubbly more frequently than other areas. But IMO the salaries and benefits of government and many other non-industry workers form one of the biggest bubbles right now (an average public school teacher with seniority paid 120-200k if our local paper is to be believed and that is not in the most expensive area on the East Coast). This bubble may overstretch public finances…

> an average public school teacher with seniority paid 120-200k

While teacher pay definitely varies by district in public schools, that range seems absurdly high. I'm unclear precisely what you mean by "with seniority" but often the max comp for teachers is defined as being at the highest salary level with "Master's Plus 30".

The NEA lists average teacher starting pay at $35k, and it doesn't exactly rise dramatically after that. A teacher making six figures in the midwest is almost unheard of. A common max in Ohio is $65–75k.

http://www.nea.org/home/20620.htm

Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#156

Post by tomcam »

bunkydoo wrote: post #24

I'm gonna be straight with y'all, I earn more as a post office mail carrier than I ever did as a programmer for a silicon valley startup with $1 million dollars seed funding. I also surprisingly have more freedom even though I work basically like a slave. Nobody wants to admit it but we are in a tech bubble. Sure, if you are in the right startup things might be different. I had a great valley experience - but it was…

How is it beneficial tax-wise to lose $1 million?

Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#157

Post by tomcam »

bunkydoo wrote: post #24

I'm gonna be straight with y'all, I earn more as a post office mail carrier than I ever did as a programmer for a silicon valley startup with $1 million dollars seed funding. I also surprisingly have more freedom even though I work basically like a slave. Nobody wants to admit it but we are in a tech bubble. Sure, if you are in the right startup things might be different. I had a great valley experience - but it was…

How is it beneficial tax-wise to lose $1 million?

Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#158

Post by tomcam »

bunkydoo wrote: post #24

I'm gonna be straight with y'all, I earn more as a post office mail carrier than I ever did as a programmer for a silicon valley startup with $1 million dollars seed funding. I also surprisingly have more freedom even though I work basically like a slave. Nobody wants to admit it but we are in a tech bubble. Sure, if you are in the right startup things might be different. I had a great valley experience - but it was…

How is it beneficial tax-wise to lose $1 million?

Re: Startup employees don't earn more

#159

Post by toomuchtodo »

brianwawok wrote: post #153
toomuchtodo wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good used sail boat is about $60k. You can live very well on it for about $15k/year. That's not a park bench; that's freedom, which is priceless.

Not sure my dogs would like that.

Liveaboards have dogs onboard without much issue, unless they're frequently transiting other countries and having to clear customs (ie your pet needs to be quarantined for 30 days).
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