3 ms·

Slows careers, but I guess "what's the point" of rushing through your career? You'll likely earn more money, at increased levels of stress, and while giving up

Slows careers, but I guess "what's the point" of rushing through your career? You'll likely earn more money, at increased levels of stress, and while giving up on other things life has to offer. I kind of resonated with the author when I was in my twenties, when I was really focused on work and gave up a lot of 'leasure' time to do so. Nowadays, I think a healthy balance is actually needed to live a full life. Today I'm a Staff-level IC in my early thirties, and to be honest I sometimes think it would have been nice to linger a bit longer in the other IC levels, to get some more actual programming done versus time spent in meetings & playing a certain amount of politics :) And as the years go on, I feel that I'm shifting my WLB more and more to the "life" side of the equation.

tayo42 1y ago
Your making like a half million a year then? You'll have financial freedom in a couple years...
- yladiz 1y ago
  Let’s assume you can save half of that. In two years, you’ll have 500,000. Is that enough to never work again?
  - lotsofpulp 1y ago
    What is the significance of 2 years? Surely, people capable of earning $500k per year are capable of working more than 2 years, at high salaries less than $500k, still allowing them to sock away more than $500k. $5M to $10M should provide sufficient passive income, even in coastal California.
  - tayo42 1y ago
    No but maybe 4 years? Plus growth in savings and investments from the rest of a software engineers highly paid career? 10 years without staff level income has me at around a million already. Pay off a house and do what ever you want with another million.Plus you can use that money to pay down high interest loans like mortgages and save more Edit: never work again doesn't have to be the goal, 2-3mil in the bank, everything paid off. I can get a job writing low stress Haskell and rust or something pointless and still make Sr eng money, like a measly 200k lol
  - nehal3m 1y ago
    That depends on your expenses, obviously, but if you're serious you should check out the FIRE movement. There's viable strategies even for lower incomes.
    - fragmede 1y ago
      FIRE only works if the economy doesn't collapse.
      - nehal3m 1y ago
        That's fair enough, but then again, we're all boned if that happens so you might as well enjoy the fruits of FIRE until the bang. I wouldn't build up to it starting today though.
  - Loughla 1y ago
    Where I live, 500k would be enough to live my life until I die using basic safe investments and planning. I might not be able to take lavish trips, but I could live comfortably off of that for decades. Do you live in an urban USA area?
    - munificent 1y ago
      I don't think that's true anywhere in the USA. You need healthcare, it isn't cheap, and Medicare doesn't kick in for quite a while (possibly never the way politics is going).
  - cm2012 1y ago
    At $500k per year salary, in NYC and SF, your overall tax burden is about 50% (including federal, state, city, sales and property tax). So really if you save half your money, you are only saving $125k per year.
    - dmoy 1y ago
      35% effective, 50% marginal. You take home more like $325k+. Assuming we're talking MFJ with a family
      - cm2012 1y ago
        Once you add in payroll tax, sales tax (10% of most purchases) and property tax (you pay indirectly even if you rent) and you get right around 50% in NYC. I have lived this and calced this many times lol.
        bgnn 1y ago
        Interesting to include the sales tax. Makes sense I guess. Where I live in Europe it's like 45% income tax + 21% sales tax (more like 75% on fuel) + 5% wealth tax.
        lotsofpulp 1y ago
        It is not 10% on most purchases. All the largest purchases one makes are almost always not subject to sales tax. Land, money (debt), equities, healthcare, education, insurance, medicine, and groceries (unprepared foods) in almost all states. And 10% is a high sales tax rate, most jurisdictions are ~7%.
        dmoy 1y ago
        Also, even if you did hypothetically spend 100% of your money, and all of it was taxed at 10%, with a 50% effective income tax rate you'd be having a 55% overall effective tax rate - the money taxed for income isn't also taxed for sales. So you can't add tax rates like that.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - VirusNewbie 1y ago
    No, but it might be enough to COASTFire, or get a dream house and not stress about the payments, or set up a nest egg, or just lower stress about quitting any future jobs. It's not black and white, front loading some stress in early career can really change life trajectories, even if it's not a long term lifestyle thing. I am working a high stress job (that I quite enjoy) at a FAANG company, and i've made enough money here that I could take a much lower paying job at any point and not need to worry about saving for retirement or paying for kids colleges. It's not retire now rich by any means, but it's definitely alleviating some financial worries I used to have.
fragmede 1y ago
The rush is to be able to have enough money to retire on, which brings up that parable about the Mexican fisherman and the American entrepreneur. You're a Staff-level IC, but is it at a company doing something you're in love with, in a manner of how you want to change the world and leave the tiniest legacy? or are you just collecting a paycheck?

tayo42 1y ago

Your making like a half million a year then? You'll have financial freedom in a couple years...

yladiz 1y ago
Let’s assume you can save half of that. In two years, you’ll have 500,000. Is that enough to never work again?
- lotsofpulp 1y ago
  What is the significance of 2 years? Surely, people capable of earning $500k per year are capable of working more than 2 years, at high salaries less than $500k, still allowing them to sock away more than $500k. $5M to $10M should provide sufficient passive income, even in coastal California.
- tayo42 1y ago
  No but maybe 4 years? Plus growth in savings and investments from the rest of a software engineers highly paid career? 10 years without staff level income has me at around a million already. Pay off a house and do what ever you want with another million.Plus you can use that money to pay down high interest loans like mortgages and save more Edit: never work again doesn't have to be the goal, 2-3mil in the bank, everything paid off. I can get a job writing low stress Haskell and rust or something pointless and still make Sr eng money, like a measly 200k lol
- nehal3m 1y ago
  That depends on your expenses, obviously, but if you're serious you should check out the FIRE movement. There's viable strategies even for lower incomes.
  - fragmede 1y ago
    FIRE only works if the economy doesn't collapse.
    - nehal3m 1y ago
      That's fair enough, but then again, we're all boned if that happens so you might as well enjoy the fruits of FIRE until the bang. I wouldn't build up to it starting today though.
- Loughla 1y ago
  Where I live, 500k would be enough to live my life until I die using basic safe investments and planning. I might not be able to take lavish trips, but I could live comfortably off of that for decades. Do you live in an urban USA area?
  - munificent 1y ago
    I don't think that's true anywhere in the USA. You need healthcare, it isn't cheap, and Medicare doesn't kick in for quite a while (possibly never the way politics is going).
- cm2012 1y ago
  At $500k per year salary, in NYC and SF, your overall tax burden is about 50% (including federal, state, city, sales and property tax). So really if you save half your money, you are only saving $125k per year.
  - dmoy 1y ago
    35% effective, 50% marginal. You take home more like $325k+. Assuming we're talking MFJ with a family
    - cm2012 1y ago
      Once you add in payroll tax, sales tax (10% of most purchases) and property tax (you pay indirectly even if you rent) and you get right around 50% in NYC. I have lived this and calced this many times lol.
      - bgnn 1y ago
        Interesting to include the sales tax. Makes sense I guess. Where I live in Europe it's like 45% income tax + 21% sales tax (more like 75% on fuel) + 5% wealth tax.
        lotsofpulp 1y ago
        It is not 10% on most purchases. All the largest purchases one makes are almost always not subject to sales tax. Land, money (debt), equities, healthcare, education, insurance, medicine, and groceries (unprepared foods) in almost all states. And 10% is a high sales tax rate, most jurisdictions are ~7%.
        dmoy 1y ago
        Also, even if you did hypothetically spend 100% of your money, and all of it was taxed at 10%, with a 50% effective income tax rate you'd be having a 55% overall effective tax rate - the money taxed for income isn't also taxed for sales. So you can't add tax rates like that.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- VirusNewbie 1y ago
  No, but it might be enough to COASTFire, or get a dream house and not stress about the payments, or set up a nest egg, or just lower stress about quitting any future jobs. It's not black and white, front loading some stress in early career can really change life trajectories, even if it's not a long term lifestyle thing. I am working a high stress job (that I quite enjoy) at a FAANG company, and i've made enough money here that I could take a much lower paying job at any point and not need to worry about saving for retirement or paying for kids colleges. It's not retire now rich by any means, but it's definitely alleviating some financial worries I used to have.

fragmede 1y ago

The rush is to be able to have enough money to retire on, which brings up that parable about the Mexican fisherman and the American entrepreneur. You're a Staff-level IC, but is it at a company doing something you're in love with, in a manner of how you want to change the world and leave the tiniest legacy? or are you just collecting a paycheck?