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> Realizing that I am owed nothing, and focusing on ways to get what I want. I don't think the system _ever_ fails people with "merit" like MIT grads. It fails

> Realizing that I am owed nothing, and focusing on ways to get what I want. I don't think the system _ever_ fails people with "merit" like MIT grads. It fails people like me that can't get into top schools that went to 50% accept rate public schools. I graduated in 2018 too - I guarantee people like you consider me and my career accomplishments in the intervening years to be failure worthy. I genuinely think a typical MIT Course 6 grad from 2018 would be clinically depressed if they were in my shoes.

peterldowns 2y ago
How dare you guarantee that I'd consider you a failure? You don't know me, don't put that on me. In fact I am pretty sure I wouldn't consider you a failure. You're saying a lot of negative things about yourself and I don't know you or your situation but I hope you don't give up.
- laidoffamazon 2y ago
  I recognize your username and I've followed your career since ~2017 or something. I never got an interview at Stripe, not that I would have ever passed it. I'm not a L6/L7/L8. I worked at Amazon, and people think my class of people are subhuman.
  - fragmede 2y ago
    Levels.fyi has L5 at Amazon making $150k base, $220k TC. You might not be Jeff Dean or Andrej Karpathy but there's only two of them. None of us are. That's not remotely subhuman failure. https://www.levels.fyi/companies/amazon/salaries/systems-development-engineer/levels/l5 https://www.levels.fyi/companies/amazon/salaries/systems-dev...
    - laidoffamazon 2y ago
      I make more than $220k now but OP 100% makes closer to $800K+ He definitely doesn't think people like me are human.
      - peterldowns 2y ago
        I sincerely hope that you seek and receive help.
        laidoffamazon 2y ago
        What help? There is no help that will stop me from being an untermensch and failure? It's not going to get me a 1600 or get me into a top school or make me earn $800k a year.
        findingMeaning 2y ago
        Don't worry. There are people with privilege who would never understand the mean. They fly high due to their circumstances and are just lucky. Us, we have go strive for living. That's the unfairness in life. It would have been so much easier if lucky ones would acknowledge their luck than attribute for hard work and what not. Everyone discounts luck while it is the biggest factor. Only action you can do is increase the surface area of your luck. Try to find meaning beyond career. There are multiple ways to get lucky. Find your own luck. After all we are in an era where people get wealth screaming on top of their lungs to the internet.
        bruce511 2y ago
        Like Peter, I do recommend talking to someone about this. You don't sound content, and life is too short to miss out on the journey. I say this as someone who earns much less than you (never mind 800k), and who didn't go to a top school. I'm no psychiatrist but your posts suggests that you see yourself as a failure, or possibly you've gotten that feedback from others directly. Perhaps at Amazon or elsewhere. Projecting that feeling onto others suggests you would really benefit from talking to a professional about this. I don't think you're a failure, I don't know you. But from what little you've revealed I'd say you're not a failure. But perhaps you had your own goals you failed to achieve?
        laidoffamazon 2y ago
        I’ve had therapy, it doesn’t help. It doesn’t change the material facts that everyone thinks I’m a failure because that’s the objective truth.
  - trogdor 2y ago
    I see that your username is “laidoffamazon.” It seems that you are allowing the low points in your life to define who you are and what you think you can accomplish. Have you considered therapy?
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      Therapy, in this economy? I'm trying to cut pretty much all subsciptions just to pay rent.
- zerr 2y ago
  To be fair, you asked someone with a zero experience to contact you solely due to MIT pedigree. You also didn't ask `parent` to contact you.
erikerikson 2y ago
Even your gilded claim is breaking down these days it seems. I started in state schools and leveraged that into one of the world's best (half the MIT professors had graduated from my alma mater when I was deciding where to go) for my MSc. As [likely] one of the people you reference, I am a counter example to your guarantee. No one should fail who contributes in good faith. Live life well, be responsible, have fun, spread joy, and no matter what happens in your career you'll have succeeded.
notalegend 2y ago
[flagged]

peterldowns 2y ago

How dare you guarantee that I'd consider you a failure? You don't know me, don't put that on me. In fact I am pretty sure I wouldn't consider you a failure. You're saying a lot of negative things about yourself and I don't know you or your situation but I hope you don't give up.

laidoffamazon 2y ago
I recognize your username and I've followed your career since ~2017 or something. I never got an interview at Stripe, not that I would have ever passed it. I'm not a L6/L7/L8. I worked at Amazon, and people think my class of people are subhuman.
- fragmede 2y ago
  Levels.fyi has L5 at Amazon making $150k base, $220k TC. You might not be Jeff Dean or Andrej Karpathy but there's only two of them. None of us are. That's not remotely subhuman failure. https://www.levels.fyi/companies/amazon/salaries/systems-development-engineer/levels/l5 https://www.levels.fyi/companies/amazon/salaries/systems-dev...
  - laidoffamazon 2y ago
    I make more than $220k now but OP 100% makes closer to $800K+ He definitely doesn't think people like me are human.
    - peterldowns 2y ago
      I sincerely hope that you seek and receive help.
      - laidoffamazon 2y ago
        What help? There is no help that will stop me from being an untermensch and failure? It's not going to get me a 1600 or get me into a top school or make me earn $800k a year.
        findingMeaning 2y ago
        Don't worry. There are people with privilege who would never understand the mean. They fly high due to their circumstances and are just lucky. Us, we have go strive for living. That's the unfairness in life. It would have been so much easier if lucky ones would acknowledge their luck than attribute for hard work and what not. Everyone discounts luck while it is the biggest factor. Only action you can do is increase the surface area of your luck. Try to find meaning beyond career. There are multiple ways to get lucky. Find your own luck. After all we are in an era where people get wealth screaming on top of their lungs to the internet.
        bruce511 2y ago
        Like Peter, I do recommend talking to someone about this. You don't sound content, and life is too short to miss out on the journey. I say this as someone who earns much less than you (never mind 800k), and who didn't go to a top school. I'm no psychiatrist but your posts suggests that you see yourself as a failure, or possibly you've gotten that feedback from others directly. Perhaps at Amazon or elsewhere. Projecting that feeling onto others suggests you would really benefit from talking to a professional about this. I don't think you're a failure, I don't know you. But from what little you've revealed I'd say you're not a failure. But perhaps you had your own goals you failed to achieve?
        laidoffamazon 2y ago
        I’ve had therapy, it doesn’t help. It doesn’t change the material facts that everyone thinks I’m a failure because that’s the objective truth.
- trogdor 2y ago
  I see that your username is “laidoffamazon.” It seems that you are allowing the low points in your life to define who you are and what you think you can accomplish. Have you considered therapy?
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    Therapy, in this economy? I'm trying to cut pretty much all subsciptions just to pay rent.
zerr 2y ago
To be fair, you asked someone with a zero experience to contact you solely due to MIT pedigree. You also didn't ask `parent` to contact you.

erikerikson 2y ago

Even your gilded claim is breaking down these days it seems. I started in state schools and leveraged that into one of the world's best (half the MIT professors had graduated from my alma mater when I was deciding where to go) for my MSc. As [likely] one of the people you reference, I am a counter example to your guarantee. No one should fail who contributes in good faith. Live life well, be responsible, have fun, spread joy, and no matter what happens in your career you'll have succeeded.

notalegend 2y ago

[flagged]