7 ms·

> It's not "that" expensive to donate to USC to get the donor boost assuming your kid isn't an idiot - it's just a couple million total over a consistent period

by beart 2y ago

> It's not "that" expensive to donate to USC to get the donor boost assuming your kid isn't an idiot - it's just a couple million total over a consistent period (5-15 years depending on when your kid is starting). That is a staggering amount of money! > According to research published by the National Library of Medicine and the Social Security Administration, the lifetime earnings of the average U.S. citizen (over 50 years from age 20 to 69) vary substantially, depending on the various factors we will cover in this article, with an overall average median lifetime earnings of $1,850,000 for men and $1,100,200 for women. https://www.theknowlesgroup.org/blog/average-american-lifetime-earnings/ https://www.theknowlesgroup.org/blog/average-american-lifeti...

OkayPhysicist 2y ago
Are you lost? This is a forum basically exclusively for people working in tech, a disproportionate fraction of whom are tech founders. If you're in this line of work and making anything vaguely resembling median income, you've fucked up terribly.
- beart 2y ago
  It seems like you are trying to insult me and I'm not sure why. However, I will address the issue you raised regardless. The typical tech worker makes far less than you seem to believe. For example, The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates median pay for tech workers in 2023 was $104K - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology
  - alephnerd 2y ago
    His tone isn't great, but he isn't wrong. HN skews Bay Area. BLS didn't normalize the above data to show the Bay Area where it's fairly common to break $400-500k TC by your late 20s/early 30s. Furthermore, at least in the Bay Area Asian American community, both spouses are working these roles (or adjacent high paying roles like Medicine, Dentistry, High Finance, etc).
- selimthegrim 2y ago
  You must be fun at parties.
- screye 2y ago
  Is USC that hard to get into ? My understanding is that Stanford, Berkeley, Caltech and UCLA are more selective and UCSD has better academics. If you're a selfmade tech founder millionaire......maybe have some faith in the caliber of your own child ?
  - kenjackson 2y ago
    Nowadays, all of those schools are hard to get into.
    - screye 2y ago
      What changed ? US population is stable, enrollment has increased, and all of these universities have been prestigious for a while. I understand that UCs have pivoted to pseudo-private school status by increasing tuition and international student admissions have gotten more competitive. CS has gotten harder to get in as a major, but has the university as a whole gotten more selective ? I can't see why things would suddenly get a lot harder for undeclared domestic students. Has the domestic rat-race intensified to such a degree ?
      - kenjackson 2y ago
        Several things have changed: 1. The Common Application pervasiveness. When I applied to college (many moons ago), I applied to five schools. Now it's not unheard of for kids to apply to 15-25 schools. 2. While the US population is stable there are more kids going to college than 30 years ago. 3. The "resume" of students is much stronger. As a kid I knew someone who got into MIT whose highest math course was HS Calculus, AB equivalent, but not an AP course -- people weren't surprised at the time. I think you'd be hardpressed to find kids who get in with that now. I know kids who have completed Calc BC as HS freshman. Now that's not common, but it's not super rare either. And what HS kid hasn't created their own non-profit? Or published a paper(s)? The bar just keeps rising. Honestly I don't think its sustainable. HS kids applying to Ivies have better credentials than pretty much all of our country's leaders!
- adastra22 2y ago
  I doubt you have ever worked in an early stage tech startup.
screye 2y ago
To be fair, good private schools ($60k/yr ) and their associated activities easily add up to a million over 12 years. It's a lot of money, but not unheard of, even among upper middle class families. At the same time. If you invest 2 million in an index fund when they're 10, then it'll be ~$40 million by the time the kid is 40 yr old. So, donating it to USC might be a pretty bad investment unless 2 million is a genuinely small amount for OP.
- adastra22 2y ago
  …you live in a different world than most of us. I don’t know if a single k-12 private school that has tuition anywhere near that in the South Bay Area, except Harker for the upper grades only. Presentation, Bellermine, etc. are all half that.
  - alephnerd 2y ago
    The truly elite private schools in the Bay (Castilleja, Harker, Athenian, Stuart/Convent Hall, Town, Hamlin, Menlo, College Prep, Head-Royce) cost around $60k-90k/yr per student. > you live in a different world than most of us Probably. Benefits of a dual income household with both earners making mid-6 figs base and fairly hefty bonuses (and equity), and both of us reached this point by our mid-20s. This is a very common household structure in the Bay Area. Your neighbor might be HNW or UHNW and you wouldn't even know it.
    - kenjackson 2y ago
      What is HNW?
      - teitoklien 2y ago
        HNW is High Net Worth Individual And UHNW is Ultra High Net Worth Individual
      - Fezzik 2y ago
        High Net Worth. Ultra High Net Worth.

by beart 2y ago

OkayPhysicist 2y ago

Are you lost? This is a forum basically exclusively for people working in tech, a disproportionate fraction of whom are tech founders. If you're in this line of work and making anything vaguely resembling median income, you've fucked up terribly.

beart 2y ago
It seems like you are trying to insult me and I'm not sure why. However, I will address the issue you raised regardless. The typical tech worker makes far less than you seem to believe. For example, The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates median pay for tech workers in 2023 was $104K - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology
- alephnerd 2y ago
  His tone isn't great, but he isn't wrong. HN skews Bay Area. BLS didn't normalize the above data to show the Bay Area where it's fairly common to break $400-500k TC by your late 20s/early 30s. Furthermore, at least in the Bay Area Asian American community, both spouses are working these roles (or adjacent high paying roles like Medicine, Dentistry, High Finance, etc).
selimthegrim 2y ago
You must be fun at parties.
screye 2y ago
Is USC that hard to get into ? My understanding is that Stanford, Berkeley, Caltech and UCLA are more selective and UCSD has better academics. If you're a selfmade tech founder millionaire......maybe have some faith in the caliber of your own child ?
- kenjackson 2y ago
  Nowadays, all of those schools are hard to get into.
  - screye 2y ago
    What changed ? US population is stable, enrollment has increased, and all of these universities have been prestigious for a while. I understand that UCs have pivoted to pseudo-private school status by increasing tuition and international student admissions have gotten more competitive. CS has gotten harder to get in as a major, but has the university as a whole gotten more selective ? I can't see why things would suddenly get a lot harder for undeclared domestic students. Has the domestic rat-race intensified to such a degree ?
    - kenjackson 2y ago
      Several things have changed: 1. The Common Application pervasiveness. When I applied to college (many moons ago), I applied to five schools. Now it's not unheard of for kids to apply to 15-25 schools. 2. While the US population is stable there are more kids going to college than 30 years ago. 3. The "resume" of students is much stronger. As a kid I knew someone who got into MIT whose highest math course was HS Calculus, AB equivalent, but not an AP course -- people weren't surprised at the time. I think you'd be hardpressed to find kids who get in with that now. I know kids who have completed Calc BC as HS freshman. Now that's not common, but it's not super rare either. And what HS kid hasn't created their own non-profit? Or published a paper(s)? The bar just keeps rising. Honestly I don't think its sustainable. HS kids applying to Ivies have better credentials than pretty much all of our country's leaders!
adastra22 2y ago
I doubt you have ever worked in an early stage tech startup.

screye 2y ago

To be fair, good private schools ($60k/yr ) and their associated activities easily add up to a million over 12 years. It's a lot of money, but not unheard of, even among upper middle class families. At the same time. If you invest 2 million in an index fund when they're 10, then it'll be ~$40 million by the time the kid is 40 yr old. So, donating it to USC might be a pretty bad investment unless 2 million is a genuinely small amount for OP.

adastra22 2y ago
…you live in a different world than most of us. I don’t know if a single k-12 private school that has tuition anywhere near that in the South Bay Area, except Harker for the upper grades only. Presentation, Bellermine, etc. are all half that.
- alephnerd 2y ago
  The truly elite private schools in the Bay (Castilleja, Harker, Athenian, Stuart/Convent Hall, Town, Hamlin, Menlo, College Prep, Head-Royce) cost around $60k-90k/yr per student. > you live in a different world than most of us Probably. Benefits of a dual income household with both earners making mid-6 figs base and fairly hefty bonuses (and equity), and both of us reached this point by our mid-20s. This is a very common household structure in the Bay Area. Your neighbor might be HNW or UHNW and you wouldn't even know it.
  - kenjackson 2y ago
    What is HNW?
    - teitoklien 2y ago
      HNW is High Net Worth Individual And UHNW is Ultra High Net Worth Individual
    - Fezzik 2y ago
      High Net Worth. Ultra High Net Worth.