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Comment by aianus | Hacker News Reader

No, that's if you take home $100k and 'only' spend half of it (which already represents the median household income in the US)

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OK, but how many developers in the US get $100k? Throughout the first 10 years of their career?

And I'm sorry, I should explain - I live and work in the EU, in Germany right now. So I can't compare. In any case, one can certainly save, and I'm not gonna lie, I could certainly spend less without losing too much :) But a claim like "10 years is enough to retire" seems a bit extreme.

$100k after tax (including stock) is basically starting salary in the valley for 22-year-old college graduates at big companies.

well, a full answer to the question would also need the percentage of college graduates that land jobs in big companies in the valley...

P.S. I don't think we'll get far with this... i just noticed, e.g., "median household income in the US" - that seems a tricky thing to compare with, given that many ppl in the US don't have health insurance, or live in trailer parks eating off food stamps...

I think almost all my (upper-year) classmates got offers to at least one of Amazon/Microsoft/Google/Facebook/Twitter/Palantir/Uber. And I went to a school in Canada that nobody's ever heard of (University of Waterloo).

> And I went to a school in Canada that nobody's ever heard of (University of Waterloo).

Erm, that's well-known as an excellent school. Top-tier, really. My only qualms about inviting in a Waterloo man for an interview would be that our work might not be interesting enough.

What with one of Tommy Flowers colleagues moving there post ww2 :-)

Read Cryptonmicon and you can work out who Randy's' family is based on

From across the pond, I can tell you we do have heard of you.

I don't follow the Shangai listings (because to me they are kinda pointless) but if pressed to list canadian universities, University of Waterloo would definitely be there....

You do realize that Waterloo has a CS program that's highly regarded (internationally), yes?

Outside tech circles most people give me a blank stare or ask me if it's in England or in Belgium. It's certainly not an Ivy League school where my rich parents dropped $200k to ensure my spot in the upper class, like some of these commenters claim.

For sure. Why you're getting my response, and others like it, is because well, this is a tech circle and we're talking about tech jobs, so in this context, it's certainly nowhere close to being a school no one has heard of.

edit: Your original comment (paraphrased) was, 'I go to this school no one's heard of, but my classmate get offers to <top-tier tech companies>', but the reality of this is that all of these top-tier tech companies are without a doubt quite aware of Waterloo and it's quality. The same can't be said for, what, I don't know, Cleveland State University.

Humblebrag by association.

SV salary levels are not the norm across the industry. Furthermore, these high salaries in places like SV are often displaced by the extreme cost of living.

Which brings us full circle back to the topic of the article such that its only children of rich parents who graduated from ivies, white "1% rock star programmer" males only, then you don't need the easy cash anyway.

Children of rich parents come in all shapes, sizes, and colours, friend.

You can consistently get $100k in Silicon Valley, New York City, and Washington DC Metro, although you will need Top Secret security clearance for the latter.

It should come as no surprise that the expenses in those areas are much higher. If you settle for a lower salary in an area with lower living expenses, your effective savings rate could be higher.

Also, you don't want those DC jobs. Just say no. The military industrial complex is a soul-eating machine, and it does not respect software professionals.

The problem is that other places have fewer available jobs in the field, and a greater proportion of them are extremely unglamorous. $90k maintaining a stupid, business-line CRUD app may be less attractive than $80k making custom software for medical researchers.

Good luck saving half your income, even at $100k, in any of those places. Median rent alone in SF is way over half of that in a year... BEFORE taxes.

I saved over 80% of my take-home pay when I lived in SF. The rent is expensive, yes, but everything else is cheap and at most jobs you get free food and entertainment.

Don't forget Seattle. Amazon/Microsoft/Expedia/etc.

As I mentioned in another unrelated thread, most people do not have the discipline to do this. It is simply unrealistic... but, yes, it can be done.

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