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Definitely agree with the latter part here about execs, but I feel like anxiety around compensation doesn't tie back to material needs as much as to the extent

Definitely agree with the latter part here about execs, but I feel like anxiety around compensation doesn't tie back to material needs as much as to the extent to which people measure their self-worth by compensation. Years ago, these studies were going around saying that people are happier when they make more money up to about $70k, at which point more money doesn't make you happier anymore. I'm sure that has to be adjusted for inflation etc by now, but very few devs make less money than they need to live comfortably by most people's standards.

mrnook 6y ago
Found the study: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489 https://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489 It was conducted in 2010, so I wonder if anything would change if it was conducted again today. The current tech industry was in its infancy 10 years ago, and a lot of high paying jobs have been created since.
- prepperpotts 6y ago
  True. Cost of living has spiked a lot in tech hubs, too, but devs are usually on the upper tier of the income curve.
  - paulcole 6y ago
    It’s not like NYC wasn’t expensive compared to Kansas 10 years ago.
    - mrnook 6y ago
      Of course, but what about Austin or Denver? The tech industry has brought high paying jobs to a lot of smaller cities that weren't accustomed to such high salaries.
- TomVDB 6y ago
  I wish I could find back the article that I read, years ago, that demolished the $75k claim of that paper, simply by having a different look at the same numbers.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
z3rgl1ng 6y ago
This is untrue: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2015/6/20/8815813/orange-is-the-new-black-piper-chapman-happiness-study https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2015/6...
jandrewrogers 6y ago
It is worth noting that "happiness" is distinct from "life satisfaction" in these studies. The latter does scale with income up to very high levels. Just being happy on a day to day basis is a low standard, many people aspire to more in life somewhat independent of happiness.
SubuSS 6y ago
It definitely starts there, it misses on a key aspect: 70k for how long and how assuredly? Usually once you start making that, your next goal would be - To ensure that is true for your life time. (at 4% reasonable return, that would mean $1.75MM in savings) assuming you don't want to bite into the principal. - Then you want to account for inflation. (Add a buffer to the above) - Then you want to ensure this is on top of your car, house, child costs. (Depending on where you like to live and your car choice, add anywhere between 200k -> 2MM) - Then you realize this car/ house kinda bumps into the 70k limit - especially if you went for a giant house because reasons. And so on. So yes, folks can definitely start to feel 'safe' at 70k, but that's nowhere close to the checkout point. Once you figure out a target number based on above, you will realize you need to make so much more than 70k to get to that comfort state.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  > To ensure that is true for your life time. (at 4% reasonable return, that would mean $1.75MM in savings) assuming you don't want to bite into the principal. > Then you want to account for inflation. (Add a buffer to the above) A buffer?? Assuming 2% inflation, the "buffer" you're adding is just over 100% of the original amount.

mrnook 6y ago

Found the study: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489 https://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489 It was conducted in 2010, so I wonder if anything would change if it was conducted again today. The current tech industry was in its infancy 10 years ago, and a lot of high paying jobs have been created since.

prepperpotts 6y ago
True. Cost of living has spiked a lot in tech hubs, too, but devs are usually on the upper tier of the income curve.
- paulcole 6y ago
  It’s not like NYC wasn’t expensive compared to Kansas 10 years ago.
  - mrnook 6y ago
    Of course, but what about Austin or Denver? The tech industry has brought high paying jobs to a lot of smaller cities that weren't accustomed to such high salaries.
TomVDB 6y ago
I wish I could find back the article that I read, years ago, that demolished the $75k claim of that paper, simply by having a different look at the same numbers.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

z3rgl1ng 6y ago

This is untrue: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2015/6/20/8815813/orange-is-the-new-black-piper-chapman-happiness-study https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2015/6...

jandrewrogers 6y ago

It is worth noting that "happiness" is distinct from "life satisfaction" in these studies. The latter does scale with income up to very high levels. Just being happy on a day to day basis is a low standard, many people aspire to more in life somewhat independent of happiness.

SubuSS 6y ago

It definitely starts there, it misses on a key aspect: 70k for how long and how assuredly? Usually once you start making that, your next goal would be - To ensure that is true for your life time. (at 4% reasonable return, that would mean $1.75MM in savings) assuming you don't want to bite into the principal. - Then you want to account for inflation. (Add a buffer to the above) - Then you want to ensure this is on top of your car, house, child costs. (Depending on where you like to live and your car choice, add anywhere between 200k -> 2MM) - Then you realize this car/ house kinda bumps into the 70k limit - especially if you went for a giant house because reasons. And so on. So yes, folks can definitely start to feel 'safe' at 70k, but that's nowhere close to the checkout point. Once you figure out a target number based on above, you will realize you need to make so much more than 70k to get to that comfort state.

thaumasiotes 6y ago
> To ensure that is true for your life time. (at 4% reasonable return, that would mean $1.75MM in savings) assuming you don't want to bite into the principal. > Then you want to account for inflation. (Add a buffer to the above) A buffer?? Assuming 2% inflation, the "buffer" you're adding is just over 100% of the original amount.