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Comment by ljm | Hacker News Reader

I had a bit of a mental shift after I turned 30, realising I'd spent the best part of a decade building up my career in various ways.

I'm still in the typical 9-5 job since I'm way too young to retire (and we don't get paid the crazy money in the UK that software engineers in parts of the US do), but I've been able to settle on what I want and what I don't want so I have the power to walk away.

In the simplest terms, I just need to be at a place working on something I give a fuck about, which pushes me to smaller upstarts. This sometimes incurs a bit of a paycut but I see that as a worthwhile hit to take if I don't feel like I'm selling my soul to people I realise I don't want to work for.

Just gotta avoid the lifestyle creep so a temporary downsize doesn't contribute to mental distress.

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Building up career is a trap.

The system is designed to capture everyone as a wage slave and every year there are more barriers put to keep the "pleb" in their lane.

The only way to build wealth (independence, freedom) for one's family is through starting a business that you can scale.

If you go to work at a company always think how you can use the knowledge gained there to start something of your own. Use salaried work as a paid for education, not a mean for living, otherwise you'll get trapped forever.

30 is a turning point, where most people realise about the situation they are in and look for escape.

> In the simplest terms, I just need to be at a place working on something I give a fuck about

That would always be one's own business.

If you are not in a position to run one, always ask for true equity in the business you want to work in.

> If you go to work at a company always think how you can use the knowledge gained there to start something of your own.

Pro tip: avoid highly specialised knowledge that can only be used in particular firms e.g. highly capitalised or regulated entities. Yes you will be paid well above market rates but it will be very difficult to convert those skills into a business because you won't have access to the market as a solo entrepreneur.

Time and again I'll see that the people who start successful lifestyle businesses started off in a lower paying, more general career e.g. web development. It works because you'll encounter problems that apply to a huge market, and you'll have past customers you can tap into to sell your product that addresses those problems e.g. WordPress plugins or invoicing software particular to your region of the world. Boring but high demand software.

Wouldn't having deep specialisation in a particular field help you to gain a competitive advantage when deciding to go it alone and starting a company in that area?

Absolutely, but the more specialised, the more likely your skill is one part of a much bigger structure and therefore you're less likely to be able to leverage it as a solo entrepreneur.

For example, you spend 15 years becoming a lead engineer for a vehicle manufacturer. But there's very few ways you can then that into a solo business, other than consulting (which is no longer the same work).

Many countries - like UK - have restricted consulting type of business, where it's not possible to make profit, as consulting engagement has to be taxed as deemed employment, even if it is a legitimate business, when service is provided by the owner of the company. Pulling the ladders etc.

Definitely not true. If you keep your expenses down and your compensation up (FAANG, etc.) you can easily make enough to retire early.

“Just be one of the vanishingly few to 1.work at FAANG + 2.as a L6-or-greater SWE + 3.in the Bay Area” is not a realistic strategy.

Yes, if all those miracles come true that lottery winner can retire early, but I don’t think that is a broadly applicable plan.

It's not even just FAANG anymore. Plenty of places pay over 350k for a senior.

And Seattle is probably a much better place with respect to taxes and cost of living. Most other cities where FAANG will employ are fine. Don't have to be #1 to win.

Still a lottery winner with respect to the global employment market. But if you graduated with a US software engineering degree, you can make this happen.

And for those who were born outside the US, none of this is applicable (unless you are young and can try emigration), and the advice to be an entrepreneur is correct.

EDIT: There are some people here who claim you can earn that kind of money outside the US, but they never give details when pressed, or describe some kind of very specific set of life circumstances you will never be able to replicate.

I will bite. L4 Google in Zürich, Switzerland. Base: 163k CHF (very low, just promoted), 15% bonus, 50k USD GOOG / year. Not counting stocks, I net 9k a month while maxing retirement account (aka Roth IRA but with less returns) at 2.7k CHF / month. Rent: 2.3k / month in city center, Health insurance: 350 CHF / month. No other significant expenses.

I invest 3.8k CHF / month from base only. All in all, I save ~100k CHF a year counting bonus and stocks.

You also need to be okay working at a FAANG.

After working in a 4k person org, I don’t think I could stomach working at another giant company.

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