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> I feel like a freaking loser given my age and my relative career stagnation / my inability to actually turn my mildly above average skills into any real money

> I feel like a freaking loser given my age and my relative career stagnation / my inability to actually turn my mildly above average skills into any real money. There's a lot of noise out there that tells us we're supposed to get rich off of entrepreneurship or VC money, and not enough telling of the truth that those success stories are pretty rare. No one who is doing something they at least minimally enjoy and not breaking their body doing it, and getting paid in the top 20% of income earners, is a loser.

necovek 2y ago
I've read that bit differently: they are unable to get that "regular" job that would put them into the "top 20% of income earners", and that's why they feel like a loser. They don't feel like a loser for their entrepreneurship career even if it never netted the retirement money before the age of 30.
- scarface_74 2y ago
  For reference $120K a year puts you in the top 20% of income earners. https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-calculator/ https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-calculator/ I’m sure they could find any Enterprise developer job in any major city in the US to do that.
  - mertleee 2y ago
    I agree, but I don't see it as a bad thing to be alarmed or concerned that the rates I'm going for at 30 have collapsed to what new college grads (not even good ones) are seeking right out of school. It's always easy to say "I'm doing well compared to a guy sweeping streets for a living" - nothing against sweeping streets for a living.
    - scarface_74 2y ago
      There is an old saying “comparison is the enemy of joy”. I go to work to exchange labor for money and then exchange that money for goods and services. I don’t earn money to appease my ego.
      - mertleee 2y ago
        It's not for my ego - it's being honest about what I've been able to yield from my skillset and just being able to live a modest below average life. My point of comparison is about average or below average. I barely go out, I don't spend any money on fun things and I do personal upkeep on my nearly 14 year old car. This advice seems to come significantly from boomers.
        scarface_74 2y ago
        > This advice seems to come significantly from boomers. I’m not the one struggling trying to find a job… I’ve done my stint at BigTech. To be blunt. If you can’t make more than $140K, the market is telling you something. You only “deserve” what the market is willing to pay you. Because it is your ego. A “modest” life is living at the income level of the 50th percentile - not the 80th percentile. The minute I brought up $140K you said you felt bad because you wanted to do better than someone else.
TylerE 2y ago
Can’t help hit feel a certain parallel to all the steamship operators and pickaxe sellers promoting all the gold to be found in California. I’m not saying be so cynical as to never listen to advice, but carefully consider how the goals of the one giving it align with your own.

necovek 2y ago

I've read that bit differently: they are unable to get that "regular" job that would put them into the "top 20% of income earners", and that's why they feel like a loser. They don't feel like a loser for their entrepreneurship career even if it never netted the retirement money before the age of 30.

scarface_74 2y ago
For reference $120K a year puts you in the top 20% of income earners. https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-calculator/ https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-calculator/ I’m sure they could find any Enterprise developer job in any major city in the US to do that.
- mertleee 2y ago
  I agree, but I don't see it as a bad thing to be alarmed or concerned that the rates I'm going for at 30 have collapsed to what new college grads (not even good ones) are seeking right out of school. It's always easy to say "I'm doing well compared to a guy sweeping streets for a living" - nothing against sweeping streets for a living.
  - scarface_74 2y ago
    There is an old saying “comparison is the enemy of joy”. I go to work to exchange labor for money and then exchange that money for goods and services. I don’t earn money to appease my ego.
    - mertleee 2y ago
      It's not for my ego - it's being honest about what I've been able to yield from my skillset and just being able to live a modest below average life. My point of comparison is about average or below average. I barely go out, I don't spend any money on fun things and I do personal upkeep on my nearly 14 year old car. This advice seems to come significantly from boomers.
      - scarface_74 2y ago
        > This advice seems to come significantly from boomers. I’m not the one struggling trying to find a job… I’ve done my stint at BigTech. To be blunt. If you can’t make more than $140K, the market is telling you something. You only “deserve” what the market is willing to pay you. Because it is your ego. A “modest” life is living at the income level of the 50th percentile - not the 80th percentile. The minute I brought up $140K you said you felt bad because you wanted to do better than someone else.

TylerE 2y ago

Can’t help hit feel a certain parallel to all the steamship operators and pickaxe sellers promoting all the gold to be found in California. I’m not saying be so cynical as to never listen to advice, but carefully consider how the goals of the one giving it align with your own.