Hacker News Reader

Comment by S_A_P | Hacker News Reader

Take the safe job when you are old and have family/dependents. Take the long shot bets when you are young. You have the potential to learn way more way more quickly at a startup and if it folds you are still young and have experience. I wish I would have taken this advice when I was 25...

View on HN

I was young and poor, if you're young and poor don't take the long shot bets. You need to build stability. Long shot bets will burn you out if you don't have a safety net (and living with your parents is a completely reasonable safety net, just unfortunately one I didn't have!). I wasted my 20s thinking if I worked 60+ hours a week for a startup I would be one of the lucky ones, and it was foolish.

As usual, there's no one-size fits all advice.

But if you are working in a startup you will hardly be poor esp with a comp sci degree.

I'm not talking about SV startups really, more like every rich dipshit in a podunk town that wants to abuse someone for some "big" idea (or advertising companies). I guess times have changed a bit though, and just about any developer can more easily get big paychecks from reputable companies these days.

But don't spend all your money! You have very few obligations when you are young. Basically feed yourself and pay rent. Save the rest. You will thank yourself when you are 50, because you can't catch up if you wait until then.

I’m by definition “old” at 48. But my “safety” comes from always being employable. Since 2008 and I was already 34 (I stayed at my previous job before then for 9 years), I’ve had six that ranged from startups to big enterprises to my latest BigTech company that has a reputation for PIPs.

I never worried about whether I wouldn’t be able to find a job.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com