> Also intellectual debate, I get more information, I feel smart as benefits etc. don't count in this context. They may not count for you, but it has allowed t

> Also intellectual debate, I get more information, I feel smart as benefits etc. don't count in this context. They may not count for you, but it has allowed to see me how easy most things are and that very few things are actually hard. I used to be a lot more intimidated by many things, but HN always gives a cursory glance into a topic with the right approach to explaining it, which leads me to adapt the mindset that's needed much faster than I'd be able to do when self-learning it. This even goes so far that whenever I need an opinion or need to learn something, I skip Google search and go straight to HN to see what their opinions are on the matter. Reddit doesn't come close to HN in this regard either. In the traditional sense of your question: I got no job out of it or anything. I did get contacted a few times for various reasons, and meeting up with other people is always fun :)