Ask HN: What is the best way to generate a ton of money as a dev? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What is the best way to generate a ton of money as a dev?

10 pointsjerawaj74017 comments

For me: build a web framework on top of a popular programming language, build a platform to host it, profit

Find someone dumb enough to pay you 1 cent on the first day of a programming project, 2 cents on the second, day, 4 cents on the third, and so on, doubling the amount every day. Then drag the project out by blaming it on scope creep like we always do

One traditional method is to begin with several tons of money.

Its becoming more difficult to "to generate a ton of money" as a NEW dev. Job market isn't so hot right now and and the low hanging SaaS fruit mostly picked. However for the observant, new problems pop up all the time that need solving. The advice is to listen, observe and most importantly meet people from a lot of different industries to hear about their problems and existing solutions.

That's a great point. I'm curious, how do you personally go about meeting people from different industries? And on a related note, are there any books or podcasts you'd recommend for gaining similar insights?

Have a large network of (offline) friends. Weekend golf group, drinking buddies, diligently attend college/school reunions, attend a few industry specific events in the Bay Area every month. Try to strike up a conversation with random people at those events. And after pleasantries, ask about their work and drift the conversation in your desired direction. Sorry don't have any specific books or podcasts I can recall.

Thanks so much, this is more than enough. Super helpful!

1. Rich parents.

2. Marry wealth.

3. Good job.

The ordinary ways.

I think number 3 needs to say exceptional job. A good job will not result in tons of money. A good job will let you potentially retire some day, but not be rich. You need a top 10% job.

In $1 bills that would be approx. 900 grand...sit in that chair 8h a day for 10 years and u done

In pennies, we're only talking $3630 for a ton, so you could get a ton of money way faster that way.

Or get a ton of a home gym that includes weights; isn't an unrealistic price for a pretty nice one and is functional.

Cool cool... what would you do with a ton of money?

donate to other open source maintainers

Buy time! So:

- I would buy me a house (or two (for backup), depending on the amount of money). Rent is usually the highest spend in a month.

- I would set apart some money for food for the rest of my life. I know more or less how much I spend on quality food per month. Multiply by 12, and then multiply for the number of years that assume you're gonna live on earth. Food is usually the second highest spend in a month

- Do the same as above but for bills (e.g., electricity, water, gas, internet, transportation)

- Do the same as above but for everything else (e.g., health insurance, clothing, furniture, travelling, etc.)

- With the rest of the money: invest 80% of it, enjoy the 20% left

And then you have days that last 24h just for you! Sleep as much as 9h/day, do tons of exercise to stay fit, have fun with friends and family, finally dedicate countless hours to that topic of yours (e.g. operating systems? poetry? carpentry?) instead of just dedicating a couple of hours during the weekend.

That's what I would do with tons of money. It's all about time at the end.

Have you compared returns on property vs. stocks?

Get other people’s money to build something. Get more money from other people. Repeat

But how do you market what you build? Marketing is where 99% of projects die.

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