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$420k. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Here in Italy, to get that money, you need to be the CEO of a huge company.

senordevnyc 7y ago
I know, it's insane. It seems like the only other clearly defined paths to that kind of money in your 30s are medicine, law, consulting, finance, etc., and all of them come with pretty significant downsides in terms of required education and/or work-life balance. The idea that I could never go to college (I did, but not for software) and somehow wind up getting paid a half million dollars a year working 40 hours a week in jeans and a t-shirt writing code? I feel so fucking lucky.
- melbournegrad 7y ago
  What was ypour path to get to that? I knew software paid well, but not that well
  - senordevnyc 7y ago
    Got my undergrad at a no-name state school in international business and worked for about a year as a jr product mgr at a tech company in SF, but I've been programming since I was 12 or so, and I left that job to freelance. Did that for over a decade, mostly focused on iOS dev. I've done a few apps for larger companies that you'd recognize, but most of my work is for early stage startups that no longer exist. Still, I guess iOS is in enough demand that it was enough to open doors at these companies, and from there it's a matter of passing the interviews. I've been really successful as a freelancer, so the non-technical parts of the interview process were really easy, just like selling yourself to potential clients, basically.
    - johnjungles 7y ago
      Your story is certainly inspiring. Few follow up questions: How did you do on the technical interviews? Can you give us examples of “sell yourself” as a potential client? Any interesting interview tips? I’ve been freelancing/self-employed/raised money etc... about 8+ years and I’m debating if it’s worth it to apply to larger tech companies. They tend to have a higher barrier to entry with the tech interviews so I probably need to brush up, any tips there? I’ve been managing a small team and looking to do the same so not sure how much to study for the tech interviews. Appreciate your responses so far! It’s been very insightful

I know, it's insane. It seems like the only other clearly defined paths to that kind of money in your 30s are medicine, law, consulting, finance, etc., and all of them come with pretty significant downsides in terms of required education and/or work-life balance. The idea that I could never go to college (I did, but not for software) and somehow wind up getting paid a half million dollars a year working 40 hours a week in jeans and a t-shirt writing code? I feel so fucking lucky.

melbournegrad 7y ago
What was ypour path to get to that? I knew software paid well, but not that well
- senordevnyc 7y ago
  Got my undergrad at a no-name state school in international business and worked for about a year as a jr product mgr at a tech company in SF, but I've been programming since I was 12 or so, and I left that job to freelance. Did that for over a decade, mostly focused on iOS dev. I've done a few apps for larger companies that you'd recognize, but most of my work is for early stage startups that no longer exist. Still, I guess iOS is in enough demand that it was enough to open doors at these companies, and from there it's a matter of passing the interviews. I've been really successful as a freelancer, so the non-technical parts of the interview process were really easy, just like selling yourself to potential clients, basically.
  - johnjungles 7y ago
    Your story is certainly inspiring. Few follow up questions: How did you do on the technical interviews? Can you give us examples of “sell yourself” as a potential client? Any interesting interview tips? I’ve been freelancing/self-employed/raised money etc... about 8+ years and I’m debating if it’s worth it to apply to larger tech companies. They tend to have a higher barrier to entry with the tech interviews so I probably need to brush up, any tips there? I’ve been managing a small team and looking to do the same so not sure how much to study for the tech interviews. Appreciate your responses so far! It’s been very insightful