341–350 of 583 posts
> Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I’ve been very privileged, especially in the educational opportunities I’ve had. This might sound reasonable from a US-centric perspective, but to me it reads like utter nonsense. The main privilege here is access to the US labor market and tax policy. There are no stories like this one where I live (in Sweden). Absolutely none.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"I do not understand why articles like these consistently score poorly on HN?" Because the article pisses me off. This is not something helpful to us average peasants. No shit you can become a multimillionaire if you're pulling in over half a million per year. Maybe some of the advice I'd good, but it would be worth more coming from someone who actually is average so we can see it as evidence. Otherwise it's some ric…
The average joe who'd write this blogpost wouldn't be an average joe anymore. The reality is that most of us in tech can aspire to the author's outcome, with high probability of success. The odds are stacked in our favor. If we're willing to do the moves and do the "sacrifices", most of us can pull it off. But in the end you need the right attitude, and some advice about good strategies, like the author is giving out…
This simply isn't true. Most people cannot retire after 12 years of working, even in tech. The median software dev salary in the US is about $105k. You cannot reasonably earn $2.4M when you make about half of that during those 12 years.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I am Swedish and have made significantly more in tech than the author. So has many of my friends. If you're comfortable with sharing, was it through a company exit or IPO?
Absolute majority through RSUs, which is why I’m objecting the GP’s claims. The vested stock I’ve reinvested through an ISK in a somewhat broader portfolio over time.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The average joe who'd write this blogpost wouldn't be an average joe anymore. The reality is that most of us in tech can aspire to the author's outcome, with high probability of success. The odds are stacked in our favor. If we're willing to do the moves and do the "sacrifices", most of us can pull it off. But in the end you need the right attitude, and some advice about good strategies, like the author is giving out…
"The reality is that most of us in tech can aspire to the author's outcome, with high probability of success." This simply isn't true. Most people cannot retire after 12 years of working, even in tech. The median software dev salary in the US is about $105k. You cannot reasonably earn $2.4M when you make about half of that during those 12 years.
In any case, 105k median income just goes to tell how big the opportunity is.
I do not understand why articles like these consistently score poorly on HN? Of course it’s all based on luck, but that doesn’t make it an uninteresting read. I admire the diligence of the author, and how well they played the lucky cards they were given. I am frequently in awe when reading technical articles on HN, with people advancing the state of the art in some technology. Those people also are incredibly lucky,…
+1 I'm a typical average joe, but I love reading these because I'm learning from them what to do when I have such resource. Yeah, there're people luckier than me, but I'm increasing my odds in a variety of endeavors and improving my skills. I'm far from my goal yet, but results are very encouraging so far.
I do not understand why articles like these consistently score poorly on HN? Of course it’s all based on luck, but that doesn’t make it an uninteresting read. I admire the diligence of the author, and how well they played the lucky cards they were given. I am frequently in awe when reading technical articles on HN, with people advancing the state of the art in some technology. Those people also are incredibly lucky,…
"I do not understand why articles like these consistently score poorly on HN?" Because the article pisses me off. This is not something helpful to us average peasants. No shit you can become a multimillionaire if you're pulling in over half a million per year. Maybe some of the advice I'd good, but it would be worth more coming from someone who actually is average so we can see it as evidence. Otherwise it's some ric…
None of the numbers strike me as particularly unusual for the author’s circumstances, so if they strike you as unusual (and you are able to work in the US), then it might be worth considering trying to get yourself into similar employment, if that’s what you’d want. If you can’t work in the US, things are different and potentially a lot worse, but the other thing the OP states is that a professional on a more modest income ought to be able to do well making sensible investments[1] and cutting costs. I think that’s true in basically any developed country.
You claim that the author’s route was not average, but I think it probably was reasonably average for a software engineer working at large US tech companies in NYC/SF/Silicon Valley. The less average thing is perhaps saving lots of money, making reasonable investments, and not having a load of expensive kids.
[1] e.g. 60% of the increase in net worth between 2020 and 2021 comes from investments rather than the ‘earning half a million dollars a year’ and those investments came from earning less than that (obviously such incomes still generally aren’t available to people who aren’t software engineers at big US tech companies, and it may be reasonable to complain that a path that >100k people follow is unreasonable but within this path I think it’s pretty reasonable).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The reality is that most of us in tech can aspire to the author's outcome, with high probability of success." This simply isn't true. Most people cannot retire after 12 years of working, even in tech. The median software dev salary in the US is about $105k. You cannot reasonably earn $2.4M when you make about half of that during those 12 years.
It's not hard to move up the quantiles if you put the effort. It doesn't require ivy league education, a rich family, or a particularly genius mind. The mean salary is useless in quantifying wether you, as an individual, have any agency in influencing your outcome. Your attitude toward it, however, has a lot to do with it. And surely starting with the assumption that it's impossible doesn't put the odds in your favor…
The statistics paint a different picture - there are only so many jobs above the median.
"In any case, 105k median income just goes to tell how big the opportunity is."
You mean limited? Clearly this is multiples lower than the author.
"The mean salary is useless in quantifying wether you, as an individual, have any agency in influencing your outcome."
No, not really. It allows you to set realistic expectations and understand the job market.
> Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I’ve been very privileged, especially in the educational opportunities I’ve had. This might sound reasonable from a US-centric perspective, but to me it reads like utter nonsense. The main privilege here is access to the US labor market and tax policy. There are no stories like this one where I live (in Sweden). Absolutely none.
The modern "progressive" thought-process is to feel guilty about having a good education. I went to private school in the UK and the only thing I feel is infinite gratitude to my parents for forking-out the money to send me there (they were not rich, they were both teachers).
The only difference between myself and my other friends (who also have advanced degrees from top universities in the bay area) is that I abandoned my field of study and jumped into tech.
After 10 years, we have vastly different financial outcomes now.
A lot of hard working, well educated, dedicated people struggle financially around here, because they happened to not choose tech.
Add in the teachers and other under-appreciated careers, I do feel guilty that I should have so much, and they so little.
> Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I’ve been very privileged, especially in the educational opportunities I’ve had. This might sound reasonable from a US-centric perspective, but to me it reads like utter nonsense. The main privilege here is access to the US labor market and tax policy. There are no stories like this one where I live (in Sweden). Absolutely none.
The modern "progressive" thought-process is to feel guilty about having a good education. I went to private school in the UK and the only thing I feel is infinite gratitude to my parents for forking-out the money to send me there (they were not rich, they were both teachers).
I got a fantastic education at two of the best public universities in the US, mostly funded by public money. Do I feel guilty about it? No. But I acknowledge that it was only possible because of policy choices made by Americans who came before me.