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Yes, if you're starting your own business then it could help you to work as much as you can. However, most people do not run their own business. Most people ar

Yes, if you're starting your own business then it could help you to work as much as you can. However, most people do not run their own business. Most people are low-level code monkeys in large firms where individual efforts aren't business critical. When your project gets cancelled for the 3rd time and you still get a raise, it finally clicks that your work doesn't really matter. This takes a psychological toll. As a result, most people I know in FAANG who are 28+ years old will sheepishly admit that they do very little actual work (30 hours max per week). That's the whole point of hiring people straight out of college: you get ~5 years out of them before they realize what the game is. The ones who are happy with the "truth" become managers, and the ones who aren't opt to keep their head down and coast, or just quit from "burnout".

DSingularity 5y ago
Yeah, or you can avoid all that by going to startups.
- goldenchrome 5y ago
  And do a lot more work for way less money? Your work will have more impact, that's for sure. But at some point you'll have a higher-level realization that you're still working in a capitalist hellhole and you're not being fairly compensated for the risk compared to the VCs or the founders. If I was going to work in a startup or FAANG from 22-30, I'd pick FAANG for the guaranteed million dollars in the bank. The only exception I'd personally make is to found a startup with people I enjoy on a problem that I'm personally motivated by. This is basically a band for capitalistic nerds. Even then, you still have to allow VCs to suck out your soul.
  - y2bd 5y ago
    And given what kinds of products and services the vast majority of startups out there provide, even "impact" is questionable.
- whateveracct 5y ago
  Working 60hr/week for a startup is completely illogical. It's the sort of thing you only do drunk on kool-aid.
  - JumpCrisscross 5y ago
    > It's the sort of thing you only do drunk on kool-aid Did not realise believing in a mission is akin to joining a suicide cult. Work doesn’t have to suck. It doesn’t have to be everyone’s calling. But it is for some of us, and sixty+ hours a week can be time well spent. My time at start-ups has been time around colleagues I love, work I enjoy and a mission I believe in. (I was also decently compensated while there and exorbitantly so on the upside.) There are countless public servants, non-profit employees, artists and public-company workers putting in those hours and more finding reward in their work. No need to deem everyone who doesn’t fit your lifestyle an idiot.
    - whateveracct 5y ago
      I mean - feel free if you actually think your job is aligned with your life's goal. Me? I'd rather do what I can to make Art. So it's nice that I can get a software company to subsidize it thoroughly. I'm just glad I can get paid effectively for being Skilled instead of laboring with my Skill. Availability is the best ability after all.
    - failwhaleshark 5y ago
      There's a balance between passionate hustle and diving into burnout. Some people can do more than others. etc etc. It's more sustainable for mental health to not make every waking minute about work, and take breaks and vacations. If you don't have a life, there's no point to working.
    - XorNot 5y ago
      It doesn't have to, but the most likely outcome in a startup is it goes bankrupt, what you did disappears into the dark hole of failed ideas, and no one sees it. It's a suckers game: the default behavior needs to be "when the founders get greedy and kick me out...what will I do then? How will I feel about that time?"
roguas 5y ago
very little work - 30 hours a week? I think "older" people at FAANGlikes put max 15 hours a week.

DSingularity 5y ago

Yeah, or you can avoid all that by going to startups.

goldenchrome 5y ago
And do a lot more work for way less money? Your work will have more impact, that's for sure. But at some point you'll have a higher-level realization that you're still working in a capitalist hellhole and you're not being fairly compensated for the risk compared to the VCs or the founders. If I was going to work in a startup or FAANG from 22-30, I'd pick FAANG for the guaranteed million dollars in the bank. The only exception I'd personally make is to found a startup with people I enjoy on a problem that I'm personally motivated by. This is basically a band for capitalistic nerds. Even then, you still have to allow VCs to suck out your soul.
- y2bd 5y ago
  And given what kinds of products and services the vast majority of startups out there provide, even "impact" is questionable.
whateveracct 5y ago
Working 60hr/week for a startup is completely illogical. It's the sort of thing you only do drunk on kool-aid.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago
  > It's the sort of thing you only do drunk on kool-aid Did not realise believing in a mission is akin to joining a suicide cult. Work doesn’t have to suck. It doesn’t have to be everyone’s calling. But it is for some of us, and sixty+ hours a week can be time well spent. My time at start-ups has been time around colleagues I love, work I enjoy and a mission I believe in. (I was also decently compensated while there and exorbitantly so on the upside.) There are countless public servants, non-profit employees, artists and public-company workers putting in those hours and more finding reward in their work. No need to deem everyone who doesn’t fit your lifestyle an idiot.
  - whateveracct 5y ago
    I mean - feel free if you actually think your job is aligned with your life's goal. Me? I'd rather do what I can to make Art. So it's nice that I can get a software company to subsidize it thoroughly. I'm just glad I can get paid effectively for being Skilled instead of laboring with my Skill. Availability is the best ability after all.
  - failwhaleshark 5y ago
    There's a balance between passionate hustle and diving into burnout. Some people can do more than others. etc etc. It's more sustainable for mental health to not make every waking minute about work, and take breaks and vacations. If you don't have a life, there's no point to working.
  - XorNot 5y ago
    It doesn't have to, but the most likely outcome in a startup is it goes bankrupt, what you did disappears into the dark hole of failed ideas, and no one sees it. It's a suckers game: the default behavior needs to be "when the founders get greedy and kick me out...what will I do then? How will I feel about that time?"

roguas 5y ago

very little work - 30 hours a week? I think "older" people at FAANGlikes put max 15 hours a week.