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Why Silicon Valley Works

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#191

Post by ig1 »

cellis wrote: post #163
ig1 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's vastly easier to become a millionaire in finance than in tech.

I wouldn't say "vastly", at least not now. It is probably easier if you come from a "target" background ( went to a prestigious school, graduated MBA, worked 100-120 hr weeks as an analyst... ). But for the average joe off the street? Tech is "vastly" easier to become a millionaire. That is to say, you have zero chance of becoming a millionaire in finance without the required background, but as someone with, say, an…

You're vastly overestimating how easy it is to raise a series A - the majority of YC companies don't make it to series A. The chances of an inexperienced non-tech founder raising a series A are small; there are hundreds if not thousands of such founders who try and fail for everyone who succeeds.

Investment banking is also far from homogenous, the requirements for being in sales at a mid-tier commodity fund in Chicago are vastly different from being in M&A at Goldman in New York. You can be pretty far down the pecking ladder in banking and still easily bank $1m+.

Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#192

Post by ig1 »

sosuke wrote: post #101
kiyoto wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I am an ex-trader in his late 20s, and most of my peers who stayed in finance have at least a million dollars in savings+assets.

Is there a 'too late' to get into finance? I might have to change my focus. All this JavaScript and Objective-C can stay a hobby.

You could always become a developer in the finance sector, there are plenty of finance devs in the $200k-$300k range. If you're a top-tier dev working in front-office/hedge-fund you can make $600k-$700k/year.

Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#193

Post by byEngineer »

Balgair wrote: post #65
steven2012 wrote: post #17

No. The reason why Silicon Valley works is because of the intense greed that it provokes amongst everyone that comes here. Maybe "greed" is too strong of a word, because people aren't necessarily selfish, maybe "money-focused" is probably more accurate. And because anyone can come here and become a millionaire/billionaire, it draws in an immense number of hard-working people which just generally increase the level of…

On the living part: My folks live in Concord and their next door neighbor just moved into assisted living at 95. Her house sold within a week for 700k to a young couple. It's a 3 bed 1 bath single story in Concord with drainage problems, mind you. Lets do the math here shall we: What is the mortgage and taxes(thanks prop13) on a place like? Well, at 4.05%, good credit, and 15% down, it's 2857.80/month just on the loa…

And they say there is no inflation

Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#195

Post by ig1 »

driznar wrote: post #79
ig1 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's vastly easier to become a millionaire in finance than in tech.

Can you elaborate? I'm genuinely interested in hearing from someone with experience in both industries to weigh in on this. Especially once the risks on both sides have been calculated in, since otherwise the comparison is largely meaningless.

I've worked in banking (algo pricing for an eFX trading desk), built a startup and worked for a VC.

From the financial perspective of a developer if you want to bank a couple of million dollars over 10-15 years then you should go work for a bank. If you want to bank ten million dollars you should start a startup, but it comes with a higher risk.

If you're a good developer, with reasonable people skills and a willingness to learn the business side, then becoming a millionaire in banking is pretty straightforward with a decent saving strategy. It's just a matter of time.

The risk level is pretty low, if you work for a hedge fund the risk is higher but you can earn more money faster and if the fund fails you can get a job at a bank pretty easily. The banking industry has a problem with hiring good devs just like everyone else does.

The financial reason for starting a startup is that you have the potential to make lots more money more quickly. But that also comes at a higher risk.

Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#196

Post by lmm »

quanticle wrote: post #184
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh - remote? I've spent most of my professional life working from home. With some extra effort, you can earn an SV salary but live in an area that has a very un-SV cost of living. Traffic isn't an issue either. You can network remotely. You can build companies remotely. You can even find investors remotely. A few people are doing this already. More and more will in future. (Are we really supposed to believe it's alwa…

Honest question: how does one get started working remotely? I understand that it's easy to keep finding remote work once you've already done a few remote gigs. But how do you break in?

Either you apply to a remote job - there are plenty here on the monthly "who's hiring" threads. Or you get your current company to allow it as part of negotiations. An annual review makes a good setting - ask for a big raise, then offer working from home as an alternative (it'll save me money on my commute, so I won't need the increase).

Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#197

Post by lmm »

nilkn wrote: post #91
steven2012 wrote: post #17

No. The reason why Silicon Valley works is because of the intense greed that it provokes amongst everyone that comes here. Maybe "greed" is too strong of a word, because people aren't necessarily selfish, maybe "money-focused" is probably more accurate. And because anyone can come here and become a millionaire/billionaire, it draws in an immense number of hard-working people which just generally increase the level of…

All this is part of the reason why I've strongly been thinking of going back to school to become a doctor. What follows is mostly a rant, just to be upfront about it. It's a really radical transition, but I really, really dislike the city-centric focus of software engineering. I hate the idea of being a contractor (I just want stable, life-long work), and I can't tell you how tired I am of crippling traffic causing m…

Cities are a great place to live if you find one with decent public transport. If you're already talking about a major life upheaval, have you considered coming to Europe? There are pretty cool software industries in London and Berlin at least.

YMMV, but I found living in the country pretty unpleasant, particularly as a relatively shy single person with less-mainstream hobbies; you have to drive everywhere, you have to plan a lot more in advance (just trivial things like doing your grocery shopping ahead of time), and there aren't the kind of entertainment options you get in a city.

Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#198

Post by plinkplonk »

nilkn wrote: post #91
steven2012 wrote: post #17

No. The reason why Silicon Valley works is because of the intense greed that it provokes amongst everyone that comes here. Maybe "greed" is too strong of a word, because people aren't necessarily selfish, maybe "money-focused" is probably more accurate. And because anyone can come here and become a millionaire/billionaire, it draws in an immense number of hard-working people which just generally increase the level of…

All this is part of the reason why I've strongly been thinking of going back to school to become a doctor. What follows is mostly a rant, just to be upfront about it. It's a really radical transition, but I really, really dislike the city-centric focus of software engineering. I hate the idea of being a contractor (I just want stable, life-long work), and I can't tell you how tired I am of crippling traffic causing m…

If you can get in medical school and can take the income hit during your coursework and residency, go for it. Programming is best kept as a hobby (imho) unless you are building your own company. Get into a non ageist profession. Have fun. Good luck.

Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#199

Post by mercer »

lolwutf wrote: post #5

'I wrote this for the FT, but it's behind a paywall. Since I wrote it, I feel like it 's probably ok for me to post it here. ' If the FT paid you to write it, I feel like it's probably not ok to post it where you'd like.

Either way, considering the 'value' of sama to them, the FT will probably not make an issue out of this.

Re: Why Silicon Valley Works

#200

Post by pmoriarty »

alva wrote: post #185
rgbrgb wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To reinforce this point, here's a 2BD in the up-and-coming (e.g. highest crime-rate) Mission neighborhood priced at $1030/sf: https://www.openlistings.co/p/2558MISSIONST94110-2 Anecdotally, I know a gainfully employed senior engineer who was literally couch surfing with his wife and daughter for a month after losing their house. The excessive price of living caused by the housing shortage in the bay cannot be underst…

ridiculously cheap compared to London!

Compared to the worst neighborhoods in London? Because the Mission is one of the worst neighborhoods in SF.

Also, please note the /sf (per square foot) of his price quote. I also thought it was way too cheap even for the Mission in SF, until I noticed the /sf.

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