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Yes. There are many rich people in SV. That is why the costs are obscene. Even if a house costs $2M in SF, you can earn that in a few years on an engineer's
by mcpherrinm 9y ago
Yes. There are many rich people in SV. That is why the costs are obscene.
Even if a house costs $2M in SF, you can earn that in a few years on an engineer's salary.
If you pick the right companies, and are relatively successful, it should be possible to accrue millions of dollars in SV, even with the costs of living. That's rich in my books.
But really rich? There are of founders of tech companies who earn $100M or more from a successful startup. SF is probably one of the most likely place to make that happen.
- sudeepj 9y agoThis is somewhat analogous to film industry, isn't it? It attracts lot of potential actors. Lot of stories about their struggles and how unforgiving the industry can be. All they see are super-famous and super-rich actors and they all want to like that.
- nikanj 9y agoEntry-level programmers are paid $100k per year, entry-level actors are paid exposure.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- romanovcode 9y ago> Even if a house costs $2M in SF, you can earn that in a few years on an engineer's salary. Yes, because everyone knows that average engineer in SF earns ~400k per year.
- patio11 9y agoI have to bang a drum here, because it's a really important drum for HNers to hear and internalize: It is factually the case that AppAmaGooBookSoft pay mid-career professionals in the engineering track approximately that at whatever the local equivalent of Senior Engineer is, and Senior Engineer is a level that everyone in the engineering track who is not fired is expected to get to.
- mseebach 9y agoThere's a bit of wiggle-room between "is it even possible to get rich" and "average salary".
- underwater 9y agoDon't forget tax and living expenses (rent isn't cheap). Saving two million on a single engineering salary is going to take closer to a decade than a few years.
- davidivadavid 9y agoWhoa, so it's going to take ten whole years to own a house? ...and that's considered bad?
- underwater 9y agoI was addressing the original assertion that an engineer could save enough for a house in a few years. My approach was to save and then fun as far from the Bay Area as I could. Much quicker.
- grkvlt 9y agoIf you can save USD 2M in ten years, and buy a house outright then you are in a position to get a mortgage on said house in a much shorter timeframe.