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“Great resignation” wave coming for companies

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Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#551

Post by pc86 »

Mauricebranagh wrote: post #498
pc86 wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most HN readers would be more than a little flummoxed at what "middle class" actually is in the US. The median household income is somewhere between $50-60k depending on where you look. The median individual income is a solid $15-20k less than that. And yet people will still nearly break their own spine trying to convolute a $200k cash comp tech worker as "middle class" because they happen to pay $4k/mo for a shared…

Its "class" we are talking about here and it does exist in the US compare Bill Gates vs Steve Jobs and Woz.

Are those three not in the same "class"?

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#552

Post by xyzzyz »

dcolkitt wrote: post #325
screye wrote: post #263

> Surveys show anywhere from 25% to upwards of 40% of workers are thinking about quitting their jobs. This number is meaningless without previous year trends. In my circles, everyone from 25-35 is simultaneously preparing to FIRE and no-one that's 35+ has actually changed jobs despite being 'financially independent'. Expressing intent to resign, and actually resigning are completely different things. (edit: to clarif…

> Expressing intent to resign, and actually resigning are completely different things. You have to ask yourself, why this is the case. And the simple answer is status quo bias. Many dream of a different life, but few will actually pull the trigger on a major change. However if a company suddenly changes an established working relationship, then all bets are off the table. If people have gotten used to WFH, and now yo…

> It’s the same reason that it’s virtually unheard of to cut salary, even when revenue is collapsing in a deflationary recession

Yes, that’s why companies prefer lay offs rather than broad base salary cuts. Lay offs are a temporary hit to morale, while pay cuts are more permanent. Moreover, in lay offs, you can fire least productive workers, while after pay cut, it’s the most productive that will leave first.

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#553

Post by ghaff »

jlokier wrote: post #420
ghaff wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone who has been doing "independent consulting" for six months or a year is pretty transparently obfuscating that they were unemployed. I'd probably view it in a better light--not that there's anything wrong with doing or trying to do some consulting on the side--if they were just open about taking some time off.

Heh, I did "independent consulting" for over a decade. It's also the most densely packed section of my resume because it was by far the most interesting and diverse range of work in that time.

I didn't express things very well, Sure, I know lots of independent consultants who are legitimately work full-time or at least on a regular basis. I was more referring to someone who just sticks "consulting" on their resume so they don't have a gap but didn't actually do anything.

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#554

Post by mateo411 »

ryandrake wrote: post #403
rchaud wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you're working in tech and you can't bank enough to take 6m-1yr off, you're doing your finances wrong. Why would you assume to know what other people's financial situations are, let alone their wage scale in an industry where not everyone is a US-based SWE?

Not to mention, even if you can save this much, put it in your 401(k), not a vacation savings account. The financial impact of taking a whole year without pay in your 20s probably adds 5 years to your retirement date, due to compounding interest and investment growth. Is it really worth it, just so you can fill your Insta with pictures of you windsurfing in Ibiza?

It depends on the person. I think I'd rather go windsurfing in my 20s then try to do it in my 60s when my health is not as good. I probably won't remember posting it on Instagram, but I will remember going wind surfing.

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#555

Post by geekster777 »

sokoloff wrote: post #473
the_gastropod wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In my circles, everyone from 25-35 is simultaneously preparing to FIRE and no-one that's 35+ has actually changed jobs despite being 'financially independent'. I think your circles are rather unusual, if this is true. A $900k net worth is in the 99th percentile for 30-34 year olds and 95th percentile for 35-40 year olds in the US ( https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator-united-states/ ) Even among my anecdot…

A $900K net worth is not enough to FIRE in my estimation. $36K/yr with the need to still buy housing is spartan and/or risky with a 60-year outlook.

May not be enough to pull the trigger, but definitely enough to transition down to a part time or remote web dev gig in a low cost of living area. Once you have such a net worth secured, you just have to keep from pulling from it for a few years while it compounds.

The big thing is that around 900k is when you get diminishing returns on savings vs market fluctuations. Bumping that amount by 10% would require saving $90k, which is a tall order. Or you could wait for a 10% market increase (it's up 14% this year). Not that the market is guaranteed to go up, or even by that much (we're in an unusually good market at the moment with inflated optimism). But at a certain point you hit a tradeoff where the market on average increases your wealth faster than savings off your salary will. At that point it makes sense to transition to a job that just covers your cost of living - one that you like more and offers more freedom.

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#556

Post by sbarre »

ryandrake wrote: post #403
rchaud wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you're working in tech and you can't bank enough to take 6m-1yr off, you're doing your finances wrong. Why would you assume to know what other people's financial situations are, let alone their wage scale in an industry where not everyone is a US-based SWE?

Not to mention, even if you can save this much, put it in your 401(k), not a vacation savings account. The financial impact of taking a whole year without pay in your 20s probably adds 5 years to your retirement date, due to compounding interest and investment growth. Is it really worth it, just so you can fill your Insta with pictures of you windsurfing in Ibiza?

Counter-point: Enjoy your youth while you're young.

There's a balance to find between saving for retirement and not spending your entire adulthood just working towards it.

You may not be able to windsurf anywhere in your 50s...

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#557

Post by jghn »

ghaff wrote: post #406
the_gastropod wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In my circles, everyone from 25-35 is simultaneously preparing to FIRE and no-one that's 35+ has actually changed jobs despite being 'financially independent'. I think your circles are rather unusual, if this is true. A $900k net worth is in the 99th percentile for 30-34 year olds and 95th percentile for 35-40 year olds in the US ( https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator-united-states/ ) Even among my anecdot…

I didn't have any substantial savings until I was well into my 30s. I didn't graduate from grad school until I was 28. (Worked for a few years prior in engineering but nothing like the salary levels in SWE today.)

Despite being in software I had no savings until my late 30s. I am forever grateful that our field is one that allows for huge earnings, as it has enabled me to flip that all the way around.

I'm now in my mid/late-40s and show up as low/mid 80s on that calculator depending on if I include my home equity. When I punch in my net worth at 40 I was around 20%. If my current glide path holds I'd be low-90s when I turn 50. While unlikely to be feasible, it's in the realm of possibility that I could retire by mid-50s.

That's a privileged position simply not available to most human beings. Really remarkable when one thinks about it.

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#558

Post by yaitsyaboi »

Volrath89 wrote: post #512
rubicon33 wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is worth noting that software salaries are artificially inflated HEAVILY due to a general unwillingness or lack of interest in hiring overseas developers. The second this changes, the bottom drops out of software. I don't know if it will ever happen that big companies begin openly accepting overseas applicants but if/when it does, you can expect that it wont be for 100k. Suddenly when you consider the entire plane…

I'm located in Colombia, and all my developers friends/acquaintances that speak English are already working for US companies. Some of them earning 100k+, but most of them earning about 50-70k. I'd say there is not a general unwillingness to hire overseas developers, on the contrary, if more people could speak english in south america US companies would be more than happy to hire even more here. There is a shortage in…

Just curious: what kind of lifestyle does 100k USD get you in Colombia?

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#559

Post by swyx »

screye wrote: post #263

> Surveys show anywhere from 25% to upwards of 40% of workers are thinking about quitting their jobs. This number is meaningless without previous year trends. In my circles, everyone from 25-35 is simultaneously preparing to FIRE and no-one that's 35+ has actually changed jobs despite being 'financially independent'. Expressing intent to resign, and actually resigning are completely different things. (edit: to clarif…

ah, base rate neglect, the stock in trade of a newspaper. thanks for the reminder!

Re: “Great resignation” wave coming for companies

#560

Post by mateo411 »

toto444 wrote: post #408
obstacle1 wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see this as much different from "sure, if you don't have a million dollar mortgage and 2 car payments to cover!" Having a family is partially a financial decision. People should make the decision with eyes wide open, having planned for it. Achieving a financial position above sustenance before having the expensive family is generally a good idea. Same as buying the house and cars.

You are thinking from the point of view of someone with no mortgage, no family and you can choose what to do with your spare income. Some of us have a family or a house and that means they have renounced traveling. You can have a family, a house be sustainable but not earning enough to be able to pay for a year off of work. Which is the lot of 99.99% of people on this planet.

You can travel with your family too. You won't be able to quit your job, go backpacking, and stay in youth hostels.

But, you can go on road trips, go camping, you can take a cruise, or find an all inclusive resorts. You won't have as much time for yourself like you did in your youth, but you can still travel and you'll make memories with your family, and show them new things about the world.

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