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It depends entirely on your perspective of the world. Your perspectives seem incredibly negative and you seem to be super pessimistic about your future & the w

It depends entirely on your perspective of the world. Your perspectives seem incredibly negative and you seem to be super pessimistic about your future & the world's future, so it makes sense for you. Other people have optimistic perspectives about their own future (making more than enough money in the future, building a social circle and "competing with their peers" ~ not sure what this means & how you're competing with your peers) so it makes sense for them to have children.

sforza 4y ago
I mean, if you want the kind of job that can afford the house with the white picket fence and 2.5 children (and not putting yourself into dangerous levels of debt), the level of competition for such a job is fierce.
- LewisVerstappen 4y ago
  That's not true in the slightest. In fact, it's far, far easier to make money now with the internet. You can build a tool and have millions of people use it instantly and there are far more ways to make $ than ever (creator economy). Just look on twitter and you'll find loads of 20 year olds making 6 figures out of their college dorms with different kinds of internet products. I saw a thread yesterday from some 19 year old kid who makes $30k a month selling notion templates. This all is totally possible to do if you're willing to spend 1-2 years learning how to do it. It's even easier to do if you're an engineer (you can rapidly iterate & develop new products) You have an abundance of FAANG jobs that pay 6 figures and now many of these positions are being offered remotely. You just have to spend 3-4 months learning LeetCode stuff (yes, it's definitely a pain but it 100% beats wasting 2 years on an MBA or something). Edit: I'm not talking about everyone in the world. There are definitely billions of people in low-income countries in Africa/Asia who don't have these opportunities unfortunately. This comment was meant more towards your average HN reader (technical background, living in a rich western nation, etc.) I thought that's who the OP was asking.
  - david422 4y ago
    Is it? I expect those are only the top x%.
    - sforza 4y ago
      Exactly the point I was trying to make in the OP.
    - LewisVerstappen 4y ago
      100%. It's totally deterministic. You just have to put in the time (1-2 years) to learn how the algorithms work, monetization, etc. I'm not really interested in getting into an argument about whether or not it's possible, since I don't think I'll change your mind and I don't think you'll change mind.
      - falcolas 4y ago
        It's worth remembering that only about 5% of the population† can even complete a task - like looking for a job - wholly online. It's not a skillset the general population has. And you need that skillset before you can even think about programming languages, mathematics, algorithms, etc. †https://goingdigital.oecd.org/indicator/24 https://goingdigital.oecd.org/indicator/24
  - silicon2401 4y ago
    This comment is incredibly utopian lol. I wonder where you're coming from to think these claims are reasonable. The kids who make it big with startups or some really smart people who can get a job at faang in less than half a year are a tiny fraction of the population
    - LewisVerstappen 4y ago
      I run an email newsletter with 30k+ readers and currently do 6 figures annually in revenue with a very predictable path to 7 figures in revenue (just reinvest all the revenue into ads lol). I've seen firsthand what it takes to grow an audience having done so myself (first 25k subs were all organic). I'm also really really dumb. It's honestly just write a lot of content, make each post 1% better than the last one, and figure out a solid distribution channel. I've also watched a lot of content on how to grow on other social platforms. Colin and Samir's podcast is amazing for YouTube. Everyone says the same thing lol. Building an audience online is far more deterministic than people think. > really smart people who can get a job at faang in less than half a year Yeah, I didn't mean go from 0 coding knowledge -> Facebook. I meant you're working as a software engineer at a smaller company and want to get a job at FB.

sforza 4y ago

I mean, if you want the kind of job that can afford the house with the white picket fence and 2.5 children (and not putting yourself into dangerous levels of debt), the level of competition for such a job is fierce.

LewisVerstappen 4y ago
That's not true in the slightest. In fact, it's far, far easier to make money now with the internet. You can build a tool and have millions of people use it instantly and there are far more ways to make $ than ever (creator economy). Just look on twitter and you'll find loads of 20 year olds making 6 figures out of their college dorms with different kinds of internet products. I saw a thread yesterday from some 19 year old kid who makes $30k a month selling notion templates. This all is totally possible to do if you're willing to spend 1-2 years learning how to do it. It's even easier to do if you're an engineer (you can rapidly iterate & develop new products) You have an abundance of FAANG jobs that pay 6 figures and now many of these positions are being offered remotely. You just have to spend 3-4 months learning LeetCode stuff (yes, it's definitely a pain but it 100% beats wasting 2 years on an MBA or something). Edit: I'm not talking about everyone in the world. There are definitely billions of people in low-income countries in Africa/Asia who don't have these opportunities unfortunately. This comment was meant more towards your average HN reader (technical background, living in a rich western nation, etc.) I thought that's who the OP was asking.
- david422 4y ago
  Is it? I expect those are only the top x%.
  - sforza 4y ago
    Exactly the point I was trying to make in the OP.
  - LewisVerstappen 4y ago
    100%. It's totally deterministic. You just have to put in the time (1-2 years) to learn how the algorithms work, monetization, etc. I'm not really interested in getting into an argument about whether or not it's possible, since I don't think I'll change your mind and I don't think you'll change mind.
    - falcolas 4y ago
      It's worth remembering that only about 5% of the population† can even complete a task - like looking for a job - wholly online. It's not a skillset the general population has. And you need that skillset before you can even think about programming languages, mathematics, algorithms, etc. †https://goingdigital.oecd.org/indicator/24 https://goingdigital.oecd.org/indicator/24
- silicon2401 4y ago
  This comment is incredibly utopian lol. I wonder where you're coming from to think these claims are reasonable. The kids who make it big with startups or some really smart people who can get a job at faang in less than half a year are a tiny fraction of the population
  - LewisVerstappen 4y ago
    I run an email newsletter with 30k+ readers and currently do 6 figures annually in revenue with a very predictable path to 7 figures in revenue (just reinvest all the revenue into ads lol). I've seen firsthand what it takes to grow an audience having done so myself (first 25k subs were all organic). I'm also really really dumb. It's honestly just write a lot of content, make each post 1% better than the last one, and figure out a solid distribution channel. I've also watched a lot of content on how to grow on other social platforms. Colin and Samir's podcast is amazing for YouTube. Everyone says the same thing lol. Building an audience online is far more deterministic than people think. > really smart people who can get a job at faang in less than half a year Yeah, I didn't mean go from 0 coding knowledge -> Facebook. I meant you're working as a software engineer at a smaller company and want to get a job at FB.