Comment by tree6014 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by tree6014 | Hacker News Reader

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I disagree. Once a certain skill level is achieved, money can be taken off the table. When you have a six figure salary, more money is not as significant as it once was. After this threshold is crossed, you gain the luxury of mostly choosing where to work.

I definitely notice a huge difference in desire to get up in the morning depending on the importance of what I'm working on. If it's menial or ultimately unimportant work, I can feel burned out working 30-40 hour weeks. If it's world changing stuff that's never been done before and will save thousands or millions of lives, I feel engaged working 60-80 hours a week.

When an employer is trying to recruit me, they don't need to offer more money than everyone else. They need to sell me on the importance of what I will be working on. For example, autonomous vehicles present continuous research and engineering challenges for which you often must provide the first solution anyone has ever devised. This addresses the problem of menial work. Accelerating the overall global development, production, and adoption of autonomous vehicles by a single day could save over a thousand lives. This addresses the problem of importance of work.

At the end of the day, money is secondary. I need enough that I don't need to worry about struggling financially; but, the primary reason I will accept an offer has nothing to do with money. We spend a large portion of our lives working. So, we better enjoy whatever it is that we do.

> I disagree. Once a certain skill level is achieved, money can be taken off the table. When you have a six figure salary, more money is not as significant as it once was.

More money is always better. More money means more savings, which means sooner retirement.

The Mexican Fisherman and the Investment Banker (Author Unknown)

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed. “I have an MBA from Harvard, and can help you,” he said. “You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middle-man, you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening up your own cannery. You could control the product, processing, and distribution,” he said. “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “Oh, 15 to 20 years or so.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time was right, you would announce an IPO, and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.”

More realistically, assuming you have some experience as a developer, you can retire in 10 years of work if you play it right and are not against a move to a low cost of living location (country). That's much better than a life of toil until you're 65.

While I agree with the OP's statement that most people work for the money because they have bills to pay, there comes a point where one can earn half as much as they currently do and stay afloat. Working for money less means/allows spending time, the only resource no one can get more of, doing things they love and enjoy. If someone does work they enjoy, or live a satisfying life (even when considered "toiling" by others) then money isn't that important or a driving force. Some people bust their butts now, while young and able bodied, for the possibility of retiring later on. Other people don't really think much about their life or have future goals or plans... those people's life's plans tend to be chosen and dictated by others. Whatever you (anyone) do it's just best to be intentional about it.

While this is funny it misses the point that life is a journey and not about the end result.

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