Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

thecodist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

311–320 of 634 posts

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#311

Post by kdamken »

ryandrake wrote: post #273
kdamken wrote: post #174

I think this guy may actually just be dumb. Yes, C-Suite positions make more money, and get to make more decisions. If he wanted to do that, it sounds like he could have at any time. Of course just being a programmer would earn you less. > Being a programmer for nearly 35 years... > I doubt I will ever be able to really retire. How do you have a good paying job like being a programmer/the other high level gigs he men…

Not sure it's fair to judge without knowing the whole story. Maybe he has other costly obligations that you don't know about. Maybe an expensive health condition. Stock market went down. Debts, whatever. Or, he just encountered a string of bad luck (left Apple in the late 90's--oops!). Without those facts, blanket statements like "how do you manage your money that poorly" are unfair.

True - it's impossible to know every detail of his situation. That's why I put the disclaimer about his health. Regardless of those things though, for most people making a decent salary, they can put themselves in a good position for most scenarios by:

- Saving as much as they can of what they're earning. Ideally at least 50%

- Avoiding debt

- Investing their money in low cost index funds

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#312

Post by akkartik »

exelius wrote: post #212
Zelmor wrote: post #24

He would have been unhappy with the other choice as well, because then it is the programming side he would be missing out on. I would advise everyone to read The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173536 You chose one option out of many, and the others may no longer be a possibility. However, the writer's unhappiness does not spawn from his inability to be successful at what he does,…

> I just have to say this: So typically american. The attitude presented in the article is indeed typically American -- but not for the reason I think you intended. The quintessential American quality is the belief that every person has the right to control their own destiny. Fuck, it's right there in the first sentence of the first document declaring this country's independence. Americans are often seen as greedy re…

I'd like to see a concrete defense of the position that going into management gives you greater influence on the outcome of situations. I'm inclined to believe in this quote from "Days of Thunder" (1990):

Control is an illusion, you infantile egomaniac. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099371/quotes)

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#314

Post by devonkim »

quaunaut wrote: post #232
ulkesh wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that materialistic thinking and living certainly contributes to lack of savings/retirement assets. But so does simply having a family, especially as a single parent or when the spouse doesn't work. You might say "well, the spouse can go work," but it's rarely that simple considering the costs of child care and how it may weigh on the spouse's potential salary. Then factor in if the spouse can even get a highe…

In America at least, the median salary for a Programmer is more than enough that with properly managed funds, you can have a spouse who doesn't work and still live quite well. Remember- the median income here is $52k. I'm in Boise, ID, one of the cheapest cost of living areas in America, and our junior developers start above that.

I make nearly 3x the median income of my area but my expenses are far from being in a state of luxury living. Housing is one of the highest in the state here due to price inflation by retirees (cash buyers drive prices up which is counterintuitive to me) as well as the sheer lack of housing inventory let alone ones affordable to the service worker caste. Then comes my spouse not working in a lucrative field while medical expenses keep accruing for various maladies that years ago would have been as alley percentage of income. Furthermore, my parents are aging and will likely need support in time or capital as well as my spouse's which can preclude me from taking opportunities that require a lot of continuous time dedication or are intolerant of random, non-negotiable interruptions. Constantly moving for my household to try to find living situations that can balance both our careers is extremely difficult (not so difficult if both are fine wine metro areas but then living costs go up once again quickly).

But beyond that, if you can't practice appropriate fiscal frugality to meet your long term goals (really common I've found) you're looking at increased expenses on luxuries like island vacations, eating out frequently, discretionary travel in general, and so forth.

It's really hard to explain to those that are typical American consumers how you could earn $180k+ / year but are trying to live like you earn $60k.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#315

Post by bawana »

He wrote the same stuff two yrs ago (look at his blog entries). That he now gets to the first page of HN shows how many more people resonate with his feelings. More evidence that capitalism neglects humanity. Though it is so far the best model for quantifying human interaction, the code of capitalism needs to be revised to adjust the quantities transacted. Long term value needs to be added into the calculation of price. Perhaps deep learning and big data (big learning?) can provide these adjustments.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#316

Post by valine »

ska wrote: post #230
valine wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stated coding when I was 11. I turned 19 a couple months ago. I guess that makes me one of those junior developers everyone talks about.

Coding as a child often makes you a better junior developer. It very rarely makes you anything but a junior developer, your first few years full time at it.

This is very true. I had my first full time internship last summer and although I wouldn't say I was unprepared, it opened my eyes to all the things I don't know. Code reviews take some getting used to when you're coming from a purely academic world. From reading hacker news I knew there would be blindspots in my education. It felt good filling in some of the blanks.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#317

Post by bawana »

He wrote the same stuff two yrs ago (look at his blog entries). That he now gets to the first page of HN shows how many more people resonate with his feelings. More evidence that capitalism neglects humanity. Though it is so far the best model for quantifying human interaction, the code of capitalism needs to be revised to adjust the quantities transacted. Long term value needs to be added into the calculation of price. Perhaps deep learning and big data (big learning?) can provide these adjustments.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#318

Post by mikx007 »

The grass is always greener on the other side. I have another story... I started off as Unix admin, a programmer, about 15 years ago became a technical manager, director, vp and so on.

Frankly, looking back at it, I wish I never made that choice and stayed software developer or admin. Trust me, its much more fun.Unfortunately it is a one way street. Paperwork, schmoozing to get funding for your team and sitting in various meetings all day, not so much...

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#319

Post by s_ngularity »

baldfat wrote: post #293
Zelmor wrote: post #24

He would have been unhappy with the other choice as well, because then it is the programming side he would be missing out on. I would advise everyone to read The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173536 You chose one option out of many, and the others may no longer be a possibility. However, the writer's unhappiness does not spawn from his inability to be successful at what he does,…

> The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost TL:DR: There was no road less traveled by they were equally the same, but he fooled himself into think he made a special choice. Just some poetry discussion. "The Road Not Taken" is considered the most misunderstood and misinterpreted poem. (It was great to make freshmen tackle this poem in freshmen Theology Class. Then we went on to most misinterpreted scripture verse :) So, in t…

Out of curiosity, what did your instructor consider the most misinterpreted scripture verse?

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#320

Post by jt2190 »

thegayngler wrote: post #308
jt2190 wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, the only way to fix this is for conscientious programmers to go into management, where they will have the power to actually change things.

You can't be all things to all people. I realize businesses want the perceived efficiency but it's a trade-off not a productivity gain. You it's hard to be great a two jobs at the same time. Programming and Management require work "at work" and outside of work.

My apologies if I wasn't clear. By "go into management", I meant that the programmer reduces their programming activity from "active participant" to "observer". They use their intimate knowledge of programming to make well-informed decisions for those that they manage. I did not mean to imply that the programmer does two full-time jobs.
Post reply on HN