5 ms·

Are you a consultant then? What type of projects do you do and how do you find clients? This is something I'd love to do once my current gig is done.

sriram_malhar 7y ago
I consult, I teach (distributed systems) at a university, I sit on a few technical advisory boards for a few companies. I don't really go out of my way to find clients; word gets around and I get referrals. If the problem interests me, I'm happy to sit with the potential client and give pointers and advice (for no charge) even if I don't want to take that project (cf. rule 1 -- never pack my calendar). It is a win-win. I've also gone and worked for a postdoc salary (at Berkeley, on the Bloom language) because the project was so interesting. Once you own a home outright, and health insurance is taken care of, the other expenses are completely manageable. I don't need to earn a lot to lead a rich life.
- realitychecker9 7y ago
  "Once you own a home outright, and health insurance is taken care of, the other expenses are completely manageable. I don't need to earn a lot to lead a rich life." That is the checklist of a rich person, own home outright, health insurance taken care of, and manageable other expenses. If you were the same age, but had no home ownership, no health insurance, and dependants how would that change your perspective?
  - o-__-o 7y ago
    You can buy a home for $50k in Pittsburgh, I would argue that doesn’t make you rich. You can keep a very easy job (think Starbucks) and your health insurance is taken care of. If you live a modest life your expenses are manageable. Maybe your definition of rich is incorrect?
    - rbavocadotree 7y ago
      Maybe you forget how many hours are in a day? After 40h a week at starbucks you can't consult, teach, sit on multiple boards, and program everyday. Also, I've worked as a barista. My high paying tech job is waaaay easier.
      - dfalfndfk 7y ago
        Tech jobs are the easiest job bar being rich and watching investments make money for you. Crazy that people think being a barista is easier.
        jlawson 7y ago
        It's easier in the sense that more people are able to do it. Not in the sense that doing it incurs less suffering, or in the sense that making yourself do it requires less willpower. The spectrum between easy and difficult is multidimensional.
    - bonniemuffin 7y ago
      I've worked both in a coffee shop and in a FANGish tech role. The coffee shop was much more brutal and physically demanding with long shifts on my feet and unpredictable scheduling -- I don't think I could keep that up as I age. I'd much rather stay in a tech job if my goal is just to keep health insurance.
  - sriram_malhar 7y ago
    I aim to earn about 50K a year. That's my treading-water level. Does that sound doable? My wife and I have discovered that it is possible to lead a rich life within that income in the Bay Area -- international travel, more books than we have time for, eating well with friends and so on. Insurance comes out of this amount as well. A young person with desired skills could easily be making more than twice this amount in the Bay Area. Owning a house is strictly optional (and a bit mad, to own a house in earthquake country, esp at those prices!) Point is, many people vastly overestimate how much they need to enjoy a rich life. There's plenty of room at the bottom :) Now, 50K is huge for the vast majority of the population, so this is all still rich talk. But the HN community is probably in the top 2 percentile of the world's population, so I feel little freer in saying so.
- TurkishPoptart 7y ago
  Sorry, can you clarify how you got your health insurance taken care of? I know a number of people that would retire if they could, but need the health insurance for themselves/family/kids.
  - war1025 7y ago
    Health insurance is the single thing that would sink my finances if I wasn't working. Everything else you can minimize costs on pretty significantly. Health insurance is on the order of $1-2k / month even for the worst plan (family of 5). I lean right on political issues, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if a Democrat won in 2020 and actually pushed through significant healthcare reform.
  - sriram_malhar 7y ago
    By taken care of, I meant earn enough to take care of insurance and housing. But there's a lot of wiggle room there. People spend much too much on having a larger space than they can afford, and then it becomes a millstone. For health insurance, I go for high deductibles and copay and take the risk. For vision and dental, I go for health-tourism ... hang out by a beach and get your checkups done as well.

sriram_malhar 7y ago

I consult, I teach (distributed systems) at a university, I sit on a few technical advisory boards for a few companies. I don't really go out of my way to find clients; word gets around and I get referrals. If the problem interests me, I'm happy to sit with the potential client and give pointers and advice (for no charge) even if I don't want to take that project (cf. rule 1 -- never pack my calendar). It is a win-win. I've also gone and worked for a postdoc salary (at Berkeley, on the Bloom language) because the project was so interesting. Once you own a home outright, and health insurance is taken care of, the other expenses are completely manageable. I don't need to earn a lot to lead a rich life.

realitychecker9 7y ago
"Once you own a home outright, and health insurance is taken care of, the other expenses are completely manageable. I don't need to earn a lot to lead a rich life." That is the checklist of a rich person, own home outright, health insurance taken care of, and manageable other expenses. If you were the same age, but had no home ownership, no health insurance, and dependants how would that change your perspective?
- o-__-o 7y ago
  You can buy a home for $50k in Pittsburgh, I would argue that doesn’t make you rich. You can keep a very easy job (think Starbucks) and your health insurance is taken care of. If you live a modest life your expenses are manageable. Maybe your definition of rich is incorrect?
  - rbavocadotree 7y ago
    Maybe you forget how many hours are in a day? After 40h a week at starbucks you can't consult, teach, sit on multiple boards, and program everyday. Also, I've worked as a barista. My high paying tech job is waaaay easier.
    - dfalfndfk 7y ago
      Tech jobs are the easiest job bar being rich and watching investments make money for you. Crazy that people think being a barista is easier.
      - jlawson 7y ago
        It's easier in the sense that more people are able to do it. Not in the sense that doing it incurs less suffering, or in the sense that making yourself do it requires less willpower. The spectrum between easy and difficult is multidimensional.
  - bonniemuffin 7y ago
    I've worked both in a coffee shop and in a FANGish tech role. The coffee shop was much more brutal and physically demanding with long shifts on my feet and unpredictable scheduling -- I don't think I could keep that up as I age. I'd much rather stay in a tech job if my goal is just to keep health insurance.
- sriram_malhar 7y ago
  I aim to earn about 50K a year. That's my treading-water level. Does that sound doable? My wife and I have discovered that it is possible to lead a rich life within that income in the Bay Area -- international travel, more books than we have time for, eating well with friends and so on. Insurance comes out of this amount as well. A young person with desired skills could easily be making more than twice this amount in the Bay Area. Owning a house is strictly optional (and a bit mad, to own a house in earthquake country, esp at those prices!) Point is, many people vastly overestimate how much they need to enjoy a rich life. There's plenty of room at the bottom :) Now, 50K is huge for the vast majority of the population, so this is all still rich talk. But the HN community is probably in the top 2 percentile of the world's population, so I feel little freer in saying so.
TurkishPoptart 7y ago
Sorry, can you clarify how you got your health insurance taken care of? I know a number of people that would retire if they could, but need the health insurance for themselves/family/kids.
- war1025 7y ago
  Health insurance is the single thing that would sink my finances if I wasn't working. Everything else you can minimize costs on pretty significantly. Health insurance is on the order of $1-2k / month even for the worst plan (family of 5). I lean right on political issues, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if a Democrat won in 2020 and actually pushed through significant healthcare reform.
- sriram_malhar 7y ago
  By taken care of, I meant earn enough to take care of insurance and housing. But there's a lot of wiggle room there. People spend much too much on having a larger space than they can afford, and then it becomes a millstone. For health insurance, I go for high deductibles and copay and take the risk. For vision and dental, I go for health-tourism ... hang out by a beach and get your checkups done as well.