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Comment by ryandrake | Hacker News Reader

> would you have been happier?

Yea, people reach for this one a lot when this discussion happens. Personally, I think "but at least you're happy" is a bunch of hollow "cope" that people in the middle tell each other in order to not be so envious of the people who made it big. It's not one or the other. There exist plenty of rich people who are also happy. Happy+rich always beats happy+poor.

I'm sure there are CEOs out there who are unhappy. No doubt. But they can wipe their tears with $100 bills, and they have the option to quit their job any time they want to take up painting or become a monk to "find themself". Optionality usually beats raw happiness.

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Exactly. Many staff/principal ICs I work with are genuinely happy and passionate about their work, they literally do it for fun having achieved financial independence.

But are they happier than they were when they were L5s? That’s my point, if my career had gone “better”, my life looks the same, my company is the same, my scope is almost the same but wider. Maybe my car is fancier and I take swankier trips? I dunno…

> is a bunch of hollow "cope" that people in the middle tell each other in order to not be so envious of the people who made it big

I’m not sure how it’s a cope. I like my job, I get to play with cool tech. I have an awesome 2m dollar house, decent car. My family is great, i’ve got a million bucks in the bank.

Would I be happier if I had a four million dollar house and a GT3?

Maybe marginally, and I can imagine a world in which I was an L7 at FAANG instead of a top of band L5.

But I wouldn’t trade more money for just any job for sure.

I have a close friend who was making 7 figures as an exec at a F500, and he hated it. He quit before 2 years. Now he already had a few mill in the bank from a startup exit, but more money and prestige wasn’t worth misery.

I'm honestly not so sure. I think I feel a lot better about myself knowing that I don't deliberately exaggerate and mislead people for personal gain. Maybe it depends on the person, and I'm just not destined to be able to be a happy conman.

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