If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week? • Hacker News Board

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#241

Post by sokoloff » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 12:49 AM UTC

bserge wrote: post #74

dvt wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Putting in long hours in your 20s and 30s to have a massive nest egg that will last you the rest of your life by your 40s seems like a good trade-off. Even amassing 7 figures by your late 20s/30s (very difficult to do reliably, also implies no debt, no adverse life events, etc.), is not remotely enough to make a "comfortable" living for the next ~5 decades of your life.

Define comfortable

For me, that’s targeting the same spendable money as the 95th percentile household who is earning a wage (paying high taxes on that), paying for a house, feeding two late model mid-luxury cars, and saving aggressively for retirement and college.

So, significantly less than what would be needed to hit $250K of pre-tax money ($6M or so), but rather a paid-off house (taxes and insurance only), no further college or retirement savings, tax-optimized withdrawals, and buying health insurance as the major effects. I’m guessing that it’s less than half of $6M (in today’s money) and probably under $2M to hit a 90th percentile spendable money figure.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#242

Post by kongin » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 1:03 AM UTC

X6S1x6Okd1st wrote: post #210

xyzzy21 wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly true with modern family courts in divorce... that's why MGTOW exists and is radically growing.

Divorces per 1000 is at 2.7 in 2019, down from 4.0 in 2000. Pretty sure that divorce rate isn't the reason why the misogynist community MGTOW exists. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage-divorce.htm

That is a wildly misleading statistic.

The divorce rate isn't 2.7 per 1000 marriages, which is what I assumed before clicking on the source, it's 2.7 per 1000 people in the population.

The marriage rate is 6.1 per 1,000 total population, divide one by the other and you find the proportion of marriages that end in divorce: 44%.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#243

Post by Nursie » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 2:04 AM UTC

RIMR wrote: post #30

Nursie wrote: post #8

I don’t, I work about 35, and right now I’m taking a three month hiatus. Always take time to see the bigger picture.

This is certainly good for you, but take a moment and reflect on how difficult this would be for 99% of working people in this world. Our need for labor should not be allowing us to harm the wellbeing of their laborers. You are clearly in a very privileged position, but it's not a position I can disagree with, only one that needs to be universal.

I am highly privileged, I do realise, my answer was given in the context of “If you’re so successful”.

I imagine for HN as a demographic I’m only averagely successful, but it’s quite a skewed demographic.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#244

Post by phendrenad2 » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 2:14 AM UTC

I enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from making beautiful things (mostly code) more than I enjoy things like vacations, social situations, etc. That's just me, but I think I'm not necessarily in the minority on "Hacker" News.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#245

Post by phendrenad2 » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 2:17 AM UTC

hayd wrote: post #233

thisismeme wrote: post #222

In Germany, the state will punish you if you work more than 32 hours per week by very high taxes. Germany has the highest average tax level for single persons (don't confuse with highest possible tax): https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TABLE_I6

Is this to say, you're taxed a higher rate if you work 36 hours compared to someone who is earning more than you but only for 32 hours? That... seems unfair.

That's why the "Silicaon Valley of Germany" is full of American multinationals and companies that went out of business.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#246

Post by phendrenad2 » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 2:18 AM UTC

philosopher1234 wrote: post #189

Florin_Andrei wrote: post #164

Because nothing else fulfills you.

Thats sad. Americans need meaning beyond career.

How do you know they're an American?

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#247

Post by fuzzfactor » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 2:19 AM UTC

at_compile_time wrote: post #224

cblconfederate wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

america seems to be very ahead economically -- many americans could retire in other parts of the world

Many Americans do.

For one thing more Americans every year can no longer afford to retire in their home country.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#248

Post by shukantpal » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 3:02 AM UTC

meiraleal wrote: post #94

shukantpal wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it’s not debatable. They’re living a satisfying life.

Unsuccessful people can live a satisfying life because that's what they can get. It doesnt mean they are living the way they want but the way the think they can

Well clearly in this case the person is not living their life because "that's all they can get”. Working 70 hours is a very voluntary choice in this case.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#249

Post by hungryforcodes » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 3:07 AM UTC

xkqd wrote: post #54

hungryforcodes wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not most people. I'll work 40 or 50 hours a week then spend another 30 on side projects happily! That's 80 hours just working on "stuff". No TikTok. So it really depends. Elon Musk famously claimed he worked 100 hours a week.

I’m waiting for confirmation but I don’t think the comment thread is suggesting that all “work” is suspended after 40 hours. I think they’re saying that your obligation to your employer should float close to 40. I’m a big proponent of not regularly giving employers extra time, but I urge everyone to make the most of the remaining 168-40 hours a week - that means minimizing idle leisure too.

Totally agree with this.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#250

Post by effingwewt » Thu, Sep 09, 2021, 3:42 AM UTC

effingwewt wrote: post #229

jw433 wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Skills. What % of software engineers could competently perform a janitorial job, preferences aside? What % of janitors could competently perform a software engineering job?

6 week coding bootcamps would beg to differ with 'skills'.

just to reiterate here- I'd bet you most janitors could code if given the same classes. Or maybe they can't code maybe they'd be better as a manager or HR or PM, or fuck even CEO.

I'm tired of this bullshit rhetoric that SEs are somehow smarter than everyone else. I know some absolutely fucktarded people working for some pretty big companies in some pretty big roles. One is a doctor I wouldn't trust with my cat.

Your job does not speak to your intelligence.

Janitors can be smart too. Maybe this is all because movies like Good Will Hunting aren't made anymore.