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> We're not a majority, but it's hard to compete with us, it's not helpful to compare yourself to us, but it's hard because that's what interviewers compare you

> We're not a majority, but it's hard to compete with us, it's not helpful to compare yourself to us, but it's hard because that's what interviewers compare you against. This makes me so sad. I've prepped hard on leetcode for 6 years (since freshman year of college) and I haven't had much to show for it but a total compensation less than Stanford new grads despite two years of tenure. I wonder if there's any point of even living most days.

aarongraham 6y ago
Don’t be so hard on yourself mate, you aren’t defined by your job or salary. We should try not to constantly compare ourselves to other people like this, there is always somebody better off or more successful. Based on nothing but these two comments I’d much rather hang out with you than I would the commenter above you. So there’s one thing you win at.
angrais 6y ago
Yo buddy, no need to compare yourself with others. You should compare yourself now with your past self six years ago: are you a better person now? If you've spent 6 years doing leetcode and you're still bad at it, then perhaps realise that such problem solving games are not for everyone. Like sudoku. I prefer the word game where you find the word in a grid and I hate crosswords. We're all different and that's what makes us unique and interesting.
- lowiqengineer 6y ago
  > You should compare yourself now with your past self six years ago: are you a better person now? Kinda? I had more potential then, I could have done Facebook after sophomore year and had my career set for life. Instead I failed that interview and my career has been treading water because I had to join Amazon out of undergrad. Its apparent that I"m not good at these things...the problem is my happiness and financial security are related to them and I'm not doing well!
  - maerF0x0 6y ago
    > I had to join Amazon out of undergrad. You're suffering for a lack of perspective or gratitude. If you're a millennial, realize that you were probably told that you could do anything (and thusly everything), and the effort it would take was trivialized... Both are incorrect. You most likely can do 1 thing super well and it's going to be a shit ton of work if you want to compete against those equally competent.
    - lowiqengineer 6y ago
      In what way? I grew up Asian and went to a state school, I got the message that I was incapable of accomplishing anything from an early age!
      - worker767424 6y ago
        > state school 5 of the top 10 CS programs are at state schools. > I got the message that I was incapable of accomplishing anything from an early age Apparently you took it to heart and can't recognize what you accomplished.
  - worker767424 6y ago
    > a total compensation less than Stanford new grads despite two years of tenure. > I failed that interview and my career has been treading water because I had to join Amazon out of undergrad. WTF? You have an engineering(?) job at Amazon and are complaining you might have done better if you got the internship(?) at Facebook? And that with two years of experience, you make about as much as a new grad? Is this a humble brag? You're probably in the upper 25% of tech for your experience and the upper 1% in the developed world for your age group. Is the meat of your complaint that you'd be making more money if you did a stint at Facebook? Don't think it "sets your career for life." Big companies can even hurt carers long-term because you're not exposed to as much. Facebook on your resume will get you calls from Google recruiters and calls back from wherever you apply, but it won't inherently help you pass future interviews.
maerF0x0 6y ago
> I wonder if there's any point of even living most days. This means you're valuing the wrongs things w/ the wrong weights. Compensation is to help you live more comfortably. If your pursuit of it is making you less comfortable (than the compensation received) you're doing it wrong.

aarongraham 6y ago

Don’t be so hard on yourself mate, you aren’t defined by your job or salary. We should try not to constantly compare ourselves to other people like this, there is always somebody better off or more successful. Based on nothing but these two comments I’d much rather hang out with you than I would the commenter above you. So there’s one thing you win at.

angrais 6y ago

Yo buddy, no need to compare yourself with others. You should compare yourself now with your past self six years ago: are you a better person now? If you've spent 6 years doing leetcode and you're still bad at it, then perhaps realise that such problem solving games are not for everyone. Like sudoku. I prefer the word game where you find the word in a grid and I hate crosswords. We're all different and that's what makes us unique and interesting.

lowiqengineer 6y ago
> You should compare yourself now with your past self six years ago: are you a better person now? Kinda? I had more potential then, I could have done Facebook after sophomore year and had my career set for life. Instead I failed that interview and my career has been treading water because I had to join Amazon out of undergrad. Its apparent that I"m not good at these things...the problem is my happiness and financial security are related to them and I'm not doing well!
- maerF0x0 6y ago
  > I had to join Amazon out of undergrad. You're suffering for a lack of perspective or gratitude. If you're a millennial, realize that you were probably told that you could do anything (and thusly everything), and the effort it would take was trivialized... Both are incorrect. You most likely can do 1 thing super well and it's going to be a shit ton of work if you want to compete against those equally competent.
  - lowiqengineer 6y ago
    In what way? I grew up Asian and went to a state school, I got the message that I was incapable of accomplishing anything from an early age!
    - worker767424 6y ago
      > state school 5 of the top 10 CS programs are at state schools. > I got the message that I was incapable of accomplishing anything from an early age Apparently you took it to heart and can't recognize what you accomplished.
- worker767424 6y ago
  > a total compensation less than Stanford new grads despite two years of tenure. > I failed that interview and my career has been treading water because I had to join Amazon out of undergrad. WTF? You have an engineering(?) job at Amazon and are complaining you might have done better if you got the internship(?) at Facebook? And that with two years of experience, you make about as much as a new grad? Is this a humble brag? You're probably in the upper 25% of tech for your experience and the upper 1% in the developed world for your age group. Is the meat of your complaint that you'd be making more money if you did a stint at Facebook? Don't think it "sets your career for life." Big companies can even hurt carers long-term because you're not exposed to as much. Facebook on your resume will get you calls from Google recruiters and calls back from wherever you apply, but it won't inherently help you pass future interviews.

maerF0x0 6y ago

> I wonder if there's any point of even living most days. This means you're valuing the wrongs things w/ the wrong weights. Compensation is to help you live more comfortably. If your pursuit of it is making you less comfortable (than the compensation received) you're doing it wrong.