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The core idea in this article is that it is possible to convince Cole, a 24 year old making mid 6 figures in finance, that he should have instead taken a job ma
by Qworg 13y ago
The core idea in this article is that it is possible to convince Cole, a 24 year old making mid 6 figures in finance, that he should have instead taken a job making mid 5 figures (maybe) at an energy startup.
I don't see how you can make that happen. His entire trajectory was "making the correct choice" - in which that correct choice was future potential maximizing. Why would he suddenly abandon that track?
In many ways, people in high finance have already "won" in real terms. If he really wants to try his hand at startups, why can't he just jump in as a VC?
- a3voices 13y agoI don't think people in high finance have "won". I view winning on a logarithmic scale, and they're somewhere in the middle. At the top would be someone like Augustus Caesar. Below that is Bill Gates, Elon Musk, etc. At the third rung maybe you have multi-millionaires, and below that maybe typical high finance types. So they are at least 4 rungs down.
- Qworg 13y agoExcept by dint of cash, they can participate in the potential of startups without the risks of actually participating in the startup. Also, consumption as a portion of income decreases as income increases. Their choice is not $150k/year or "never work again". Their choice is close to $Xmil/year or "never work again". $Xmil is far closer to never work again than $150k.
- michaelochurch 13y agoAt some point you stop caring about whether people on the Internet care whether you've "won" and just want a high probability of a good life. Finance will get you there, the engineer position at the typical VC-funded startup won't. Most of these startups won't even introduce you to investors these days! So what is the point if you're not being set up to found later on?