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Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#151

Post by JBlue42 »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #54

If your job is making you miserable, how are you even worried about some hypothetical future job? You have a 1.1 million dollar safety net and you're worried about having to take a random job. I think this is a classic case of having too much money for to long. You need to make a change but you need to be 100% that change is likely to increase the happiness of the people in your family. You have the finances to live…

The other advice is rather sensible but I'll go ahead and support this point.

I'm at a $22/hr help desk job on the phone for 90% of the day and every morning pray that I don't end up getting killed by a moron on the freeway going to a job I vehemently dislike. I'm only there to buffer my savings while studying and working towards something else but even if it goes to shit I know I have other options (this being in my early 30s and having been unemployed prior).

Having money in the bank and real estate gives you MANY MORE options in terms of a worse case scenario. OP honestly might just need a break (I like the sabbatical idea) and/or long periods of time to think about themselves and what they want vs reacting. Don't let anxiety get the best of you, especially in terms of making drastic moves. Off the cuff, it might even be a good idea to check in with a therapist. Even being relatively cash-conscious, I found seeing a therapist on a sliding scale for a couple months while unemployed to be extremely helpful.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#152

Post by arenaninja »

That's a lot of cheddar OP. As many people have already said, many of us think you're in an enviable position. I'm curious what makes this highly stressful for you though. I think "low happiness" is pretty common overall, as in I make a fraction of what you make, and it's a job pays the bills and it's all OK so I've come to terms with the job and doesn't really provide happiness, but one year into it it's not stressful to me in any way

Any reason why you can't start on your side gig during off hours, like many others do?

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#154

Post by ApolloRising »

Are you an engineer and coding on a daily basis? If so then taking some time off and doing your startup should not hurt you too badly. Why would you move at all instead of just keep renting and working on your project and cut your expenses other than rent a bit to keep in your networks.

Maybe negotiate to change your role to something you would be happier doing?

500k/yr is a crap ton of money to let go. It depends on how miserable you are but I would have to be seriously seriously miserable to drop that gig.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#155

Post by ApolloRising »

j32fun wrote: post #50

I left a high paying job as well (400k+/year) and have a similar financial profile as you about 2 years ago. I pursue my own projects, at my own pace. No regrets. In terms of finances, let's just say the year leading up to executing my plan, my family (wife and kids) trimmed down a lot on expenses. No more crazy vacations. We ate in a lot more. Psychologically, every one needs to be on the same page. It goes without…

a rare spouse that would do that

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#156

Post by mykull »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #128
mykull wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand the idea that living off investments is "independence". It's just a different kind of dependence. You're depending on other people to do work while reaping the benefits. Sounds great, except when too many people do it.

> Sounds great, except when too many people do it. It's a self regulating system. The more money that flows into investments, the lower returns will be pushed, causing more money to be required to support yourself off of investments alone.

It isn't that simple at all. When the returns are pushed lower, the means of extracting wealth from low class workers get more brutal. Suffering builds up at the bottom because of decisions at the top, and decision makers don't care because their experiences are entirely disconnected.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#157

Post by mykull »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #81
AstralStorm wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is also morally suspect. You're putting extra load (taxes if anything) on people while you're not working. If you think you can repay this cost to society with volunteer work or otherwise, this might work.

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" I thought we had got past the idea of collectivism, it just doesn't work.

Little is more naive than the broad claim "collectivism doesn't work" because the USSR and other states tried some form of it and failed.

Even if you are willing to massively oversimplify things and look at the cold war and all the real-politik business of the last century as a fair contest between the ideas of collectivism and capitalism, "which system wins in a war" is not exactly the same thing as "which system maximizes prosperity." Nor are we actually limited to picking between the two.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#158

Post by [deleted] »

Trundle wrote: post #76
AstralStorm wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is also morally suspect. You're putting extra load (taxes if anything) on people while you're not working. If you think you can repay this cost to society with volunteer work or otherwise, this might work.

Huh? You contribute with your assets. People get to use your stuff in exchange for giving you stuff.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#159

Post by mykull »

Trundle wrote: post #76
AstralStorm wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is also morally suspect. You're putting extra load (taxes if anything) on people while you're not working. If you think you can repay this cost to society with volunteer work or otherwise, this might work.

Huh? You contribute with your assets. People get to use your stuff in exchange for giving you stuff.

Lending isn't productive in and of itself. There is a nice gradient stretching from freeloading rent-seeker to visionary/socially responsible investor. Not seeing the difference and condemning the former is a problem.

The difference is in how many other people get fucked along the way as the investor gets their return.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

#160

Post by Ritjert »

poof131 wrote: post #10

Avoid drastic moves. The older I get the more I realize most “drastic move” stories are bs PR pieces. Think how you can move in the direction you want to go in steps. Move to a cheaper location: see if you can move to a satellite office or work remote. No, then look at other jobs you could interview at in the area you want to move to. Translate your FANG experience into a career jump. Then you will have experience an…

Excellent advice. Esp thinking ab how u can minimize risk as much as possible!
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