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Comment by willcipriano | Hacker News Reader

Most people desire not being poor over most other things.

There are a lot of ways to make money. Picking a job based on money is a good way to be absolutely miserable. My parents pushed me towards making money my entire life and there is nothing I regret more than following that advice. Every day I wake up dreading going to work and it seeps into every aspect of my life.

Presumably you have enough money now to switch to something that makes you happy?

Personally, if you’re going to be miserable anyway (as most Americans are these days), it’s probably better to be miserable with money than without money, lol

I'm 29 and have 500k saved up (live in Santa Monica which is quite expensive), but yes I think I will quit my next stock vest which is Friday.

And idk. My best friend from high school moved out here with me and he's a waiter making 40k a year and seems totally happy. Works like 30 hours a week, no mental stress, able to work out and work on himself. I think money is highly overrated.

Making 40K a year is only sustainable while you're in good health and don't have a family to support. I remember my carefree twenties as well, but things can change as you get older. There is no retirement plan on that kind of income other than waiting tables till you die. At least you should recognize that your relationship to money is very different than theirs. Having half a mil in savings is a completely different ballgame.

I think both situations are unsustainable. I'm not financially stable because I hate my job and might quit at any time and he doesn't make enough money.

But I think my main point is both of us have a way of becoming sustainable so you might as well do what makes you happy instead of working a job you hate for 8 years. Being a waiter making 40k isn't enough long term, but working your way into a higher end establishment or management is. A girl I dated started out as barista, became a store manager, and is now the regional manager and makes ~125k a year and more importantly she is a perfect fit for the job and enjoyed it the entire time.

All I'm trying to say is there are a lot of paths to a sustainable life even when following your natural inclinations.

But anyway OP responded his son's not super interested in college anyway so his plan sounds good to me anyway.

I was happy with a low income until I had a kid. Then the calculus shifts. Same with physical disability or taking on caregiving responsibilities.

how do you have that much saved up at 29 ? faang salary / vest schedules ?

Yes, but your top regret would have been different had you chosen a different path. And perhaps your top regret would be worse than your current.

> every day I wake up dreading going to work

This sounds terrible. But at least you have a job. Many people wake up with dread every day for whether they or their baby will starve to death.

Also, it’s never too late to change.

The world is cruel and wants to see us all ground to dust. The typical HN denizen might know this at an intellectual level, but few of us have the lived experience. I sincerely hope you never have to learn how much of a privileged perspective you have.

You may regret it even more if you hadn’t made money.

If you don't want to be poor, don't go to university.

Academia should be a place for people who run away from money, because it's the last thing upon the list of interests for them. Academia should be a place for joy in learning concepts, and in some circumstances, which strive to be useless. Mathematics is one of the most exemplary fields for this, which is summed up quite nicely with the following quote:

"The mathematician does not study pure mathematics because it is useful. He studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful."

Never go to a university expecting to improve your wealth status, because it very likely won't happen. Turn elsewhere to find wealth.

Meanwhile in the real world, large companies and public jobs all have practically mandatory education requirements. Your pay as a public employee in Germany is literally determined based on whether you have a BSC or MSC or none.

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