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Having worked at a couple big tech companies I’ll say money isn’t everything in life. I’ve been much happier working at well paying startups with a great group

Having worked at a couple big tech companies I’ll say money isn’t everything in life. I’ve been much happier working at well paying startups with a great group of people making half the money.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
scarface74 4y ago
Would you say the same thing coming straight out of college with $0 in your bank account, student loan debt and no experience? As I said in another reply, I could afford to ignore BigTech recruiters at 45 making about as much as a returning intern makes where I work now. I already had the big house in the burbs, retirement savings, a family and a son graduating from high school. I would never tell a new college grad to ignore the same recruiters I did. I could and can take jobs I enjoy, actively run away from promotions, etc.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  At least in a big part of the world, student loan isn't part of the problem when looking for a job straight out of university.
- mountainriver 4y ago
  100% if you are in a hole, get out of the hole first
- YZF 4y ago
  It's cultural and personal. I started my career getting paid less but doing fun stuff. I paid my way through university with no debt. I only started to think about money after having kids. i.e. I couldn't care less about myself, and I didn't need a lot of money either, but I did care about my family. I had a great time, and learnt the most, at smaller places and lower paying jobs. Then I also had a great time at some better paying startups. I probably enjoyed my "big tech" better paying jobs the least. All that said, you're generally so much above the average as a software developer that you can't even imagine what most people are struggling with. YMMV
  - krageon 4y ago
    If you paid your way through uni with no debt you most likely didn't graduate recently, which makes your advice to current students (or ones that have recently graduated) not very well aligned with reality.
  - PuppyTailWags 4y ago
    If you're a parent, you probably are long enough out of college that you don't know what most new juniors are getting out of fresh from college. There's very few to no ways to pay your way through university with no debt, these days. Cheap in-state tuition & fees is over 5,000 per semester, not including books, equipment, travel, housing, food, healthcare... When I was still in college, most kids were graduating with debt. Tuition and fees have only gone up since I left. Lots of people I knew who dropped out to try and save for college ended up in dead-end despair jobs.
    - YZF 4y ago
      Well, for one thing not everyone is in the USA. I was not. My older daughter graduated from university. So I do know. But also not in the USA. Does nobody in the US live with their parents while going to university? It's not uncommon where I live for parents to save to pay for their children's education. Believe it or not, the government even gives you money if you do that. EDIT: That said, the US has plenty of good paying software jobs. You can pay back your loans even if you don't work for Google. I'm sure this isn't easy for everyone (especially these days).
      - Jensson 4y ago
        > Does nobody in the US live with their parents while going to university? The tuition fees are probably a bigger expense than your living expenses if you go to college in USA.
        sgerenser 4y ago
        Here in North Carolina, the flagship state universities are still only about $10k/year or less for tuition. If the student lives at home with their parents, it really wouldn’t be difficult to pay most of their way through school. College is expensive in general but it doesn’t have to be as bad as a lot of people make it out to be.
wiseowise 4y ago
> Having worked at a couple big tech companies I’ll say money isn’t everything in life. That’s because you have enough of it now.
- mountainriver 4y ago
  I think the point is I would have enough either way
- kilgnad 4y ago
  Do you have anything constructive to say? I worked at faang for 3 years, donated 90% of what I made to charity before changing my life to work at a place with half the salary. Don't assume things and don't comment here with bland reddit one liners. Only say something if it's constructive.
- roncesvalles 4y ago
  Hah exactly. I've noticed that people who say "money doesn't matter" either come from a childhood of privilege and have no real concept of value, have earned and spent enough of it to lose sense of its value, or have subconsciously de-valued money as a defense mechanism to cope with the anxiety of not having it. That's not to say that one should work in oppressive conditions or make other people suffer for a little more money; there is nuance. But, seriously. You can't pretend that money doesn't matter.
  - mountainriver 4y ago
    Of course it matters but to a point, I would rather feel happy with the short life I live than miserable so I can buy a fancy car
    - roncesvalles 4y ago
      >so I can buy a fancy car You're assuming that everyone's goal in life is to be happy as defined by material comfort or hedonism but that's just not the case. There are many non-hedonistic things that are enabled by having money (philanthropy and venture capitalism of various forms, freedom of various forms, sense of security, etc.) For such people, because hedonistic happiness is a worthless commodity, trading it for money, and by extension all the non-hedonistic things that money can buy, is a very favorable transaction. It's easy to see why earning more money by sacrificing comfort doesn't make sense to someone who considers happiness as their goal in life -- it's a longer route to reach the same point.

Having worked at a couple big tech companies I’ll say money isn’t everything in life. I’ve been much happier working at well paying startups with a great group of people making half the money.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

scarface74 4y ago

Would you say the same thing coming straight out of college with $0 in your bank account, student loan debt and no experience? As I said in another reply, I could afford to ignore BigTech recruiters at 45 making about as much as a returning intern makes where I work now. I already had the big house in the burbs, retirement savings, a family and a son graduating from high school. I would never tell a new college grad to ignore the same recruiters I did. I could and can take jobs I enjoy, actively run away from promotions, etc.

pjmlp 4y ago
At least in a big part of the world, student loan isn't part of the problem when looking for a job straight out of university.
mountainriver 4y ago
100% if you are in a hole, get out of the hole first
YZF 4y ago
It's cultural and personal. I started my career getting paid less but doing fun stuff. I paid my way through university with no debt. I only started to think about money after having kids. i.e. I couldn't care less about myself, and I didn't need a lot of money either, but I did care about my family. I had a great time, and learnt the most, at smaller places and lower paying jobs. Then I also had a great time at some better paying startups. I probably enjoyed my "big tech" better paying jobs the least. All that said, you're generally so much above the average as a software developer that you can't even imagine what most people are struggling with. YMMV
- krageon 4y ago
  If you paid your way through uni with no debt you most likely didn't graduate recently, which makes your advice to current students (or ones that have recently graduated) not very well aligned with reality.
- PuppyTailWags 4y ago
  If you're a parent, you probably are long enough out of college that you don't know what most new juniors are getting out of fresh from college. There's very few to no ways to pay your way through university with no debt, these days. Cheap in-state tuition & fees is over 5,000 per semester, not including books, equipment, travel, housing, food, healthcare... When I was still in college, most kids were graduating with debt. Tuition and fees have only gone up since I left. Lots of people I knew who dropped out to try and save for college ended up in dead-end despair jobs.
  - YZF 4y ago
    Well, for one thing not everyone is in the USA. I was not. My older daughter graduated from university. So I do know. But also not in the USA. Does nobody in the US live with their parents while going to university? It's not uncommon where I live for parents to save to pay for their children's education. Believe it or not, the government even gives you money if you do that. EDIT: That said, the US has plenty of good paying software jobs. You can pay back your loans even if you don't work for Google. I'm sure this isn't easy for everyone (especially these days).
    - Jensson 4y ago
      > Does nobody in the US live with their parents while going to university? The tuition fees are probably a bigger expense than your living expenses if you go to college in USA.
      - sgerenser 4y ago
        Here in North Carolina, the flagship state universities are still only about $10k/year or less for tuition. If the student lives at home with their parents, it really wouldn’t be difficult to pay most of their way through school. College is expensive in general but it doesn’t have to be as bad as a lot of people make it out to be.

wiseowise 4y ago

> Having worked at a couple big tech companies I’ll say money isn’t everything in life. That’s because you have enough of it now.

mountainriver 4y ago
I think the point is I would have enough either way
kilgnad 4y ago
Do you have anything constructive to say? I worked at faang for 3 years, donated 90% of what I made to charity before changing my life to work at a place with half the salary. Don't assume things and don't comment here with bland reddit one liners. Only say something if it's constructive.
roncesvalles 4y ago
Hah exactly. I've noticed that people who say "money doesn't matter" either come from a childhood of privilege and have no real concept of value, have earned and spent enough of it to lose sense of its value, or have subconsciously de-valued money as a defense mechanism to cope with the anxiety of not having it. That's not to say that one should work in oppressive conditions or make other people suffer for a little more money; there is nuance. But, seriously. You can't pretend that money doesn't matter.
- mountainriver 4y ago
  Of course it matters but to a point, I would rather feel happy with the short life I live than miserable so I can buy a fancy car
  - roncesvalles 4y ago
    >so I can buy a fancy car You're assuming that everyone's goal in life is to be happy as defined by material comfort or hedonism but that's just not the case. There are many non-hedonistic things that are enabled by having money (philanthropy and venture capitalism of various forms, freedom of various forms, sense of security, etc.) For such people, because hedonistic happiness is a worthless commodity, trading it for money, and by extension all the non-hedonistic things that money can buy, is a very favorable transaction. It's easy to see why earning more money by sacrificing comfort doesn't make sense to someone who considers happiness as their goal in life -- it's a longer route to reach the same point.