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Not sure what the proper way to respond to a deeply nested comment around here is, but @scarface74: Company A will pay me $400k/yr, but only if I make work my

Not sure what the proper way to respond to a deeply nested comment around here is, but @scarface74: Company A will pay me $400k/yr, but only if I make work my top priority Company B will pay me $150k/yr, no matter what Please explain why it's "naive" to choose Company A. I don't need "ownership" in the company to profit from this. I don't see how the company's reaction to my death factors into the decision at all.

playing_colours 7y ago
First, your A-B situation is not a reality for most of engineers. Second, if you want to dedicate 10 years of your life to work, make money and retire early - it's a reasonable choice for many. But if it goes into 40s - why do you need money, if you would not be able to enjoy it constantly working? Your money may go straight to doctors and psychotherapists eventually.
LargeWu 7y ago
That's a legitimate tradeoff, which may or may not be worth it to everyone. But that's not even close to the situation most developers are in. Most are getting paid somewhere around an average salary, maybe with a few probably-worthless stock options, and they're getting asked to sacrifice their personal time working for free to make founders rich. Working extra hard isn't likely to advance their career at all; it just gives them a reputation as somebody who is willing to take abuse. If you're in a situation to make a crazy good salary by working hard, by all means, do that if you want. But understand that situation is very rare. And even if you're getting that deal, the person sitting next to you might not be in the same boat. Working hard to make other people rich is a sucker's bet, akin to playing a slot machine. For a rare few, it pays off big. For a somewhat larger cohort, there's a modest payoff. For the large majority, it's just wasting their career and their time.

playing_colours 7y ago

First, your A-B situation is not a reality for most of engineers. Second, if you want to dedicate 10 years of your life to work, make money and retire early - it's a reasonable choice for many. But if it goes into 40s - why do you need money, if you would not be able to enjoy it constantly working? Your money may go straight to doctors and psychotherapists eventually.

LargeWu 7y ago

That's a legitimate tradeoff, which may or may not be worth it to everyone. But that's not even close to the situation most developers are in. Most are getting paid somewhere around an average salary, maybe with a few probably-worthless stock options, and they're getting asked to sacrifice their personal time working for free to make founders rich. Working extra hard isn't likely to advance their career at all; it just gives them a reputation as somebody who is willing to take abuse. If you're in a situation to make a crazy good salary by working hard, by all means, do that if you want. But understand that situation is very rare. And even if you're getting that deal, the person sitting next to you might not be in the same boat. Working hard to make other people rich is a sucker's bet, akin to playing a slot machine. For a rare few, it pays off big. For a somewhat larger cohort, there's a modest payoff. For the large majority, it's just wasting their career and their time.