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Comment by sliverstorm | Hacker News Reader

Well, at least by the time you're burned out and start a new career, you could have a very large chunk of change saved away.

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I would agree, except having witnessed all of this firsthand, the burnout part tends to affect your outlook on life. The money becomes rather meaningless, if you can believe it.

>>The money becomes rather meaningless, if you can believe it.

Of course it does. The marginal utility of money specifically states that each additional dollar earned has less of an effect on the person's happiness and feeling of accomplishment. This is why "more money" stops being a motivator after a certain point.

Yep. But even though you say "of course it does," the majority of people don't realize that until its too late. There's nothing obvious about the situation from the outside looking in, unless you possess uncommon introspective abilities or have read up on what you're describing there.

Oh, sure, but IMO it's better to be disillusioned by money and have it, than dream of it an not have it. If only because, even if you're disillusioned, you are always fed etc.

This is not always true. If you're a quant or a trader, you can live in Jersey and send your kids to good public schools and no one gives a shit if you're good at what you do. If you're doing the soft-side bullshit, you have to live in Manhattan and send your kids to fancy prep schools and keep up with the Joneses (management) who have more money than you do, and you often get through the wringer with almost no savings.

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