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Comment by mathgladiator | Hacker News Reader

OR join meta, sell your soul, stay for 7 years, then retire and be done with work forever!!!

I 100% understand the appeal of freedom from external pressures that retirement offers. But at the same time all the (many) people I know that retired early mostly just goof off and struggle to complete any of their many projects. And don’t get me wrong, I love goofing off. Been doing plenty of it. But given my inevitable death I have to appreciate a little external pressure forcing me to do good work.

If I were fortunate enough to be in that position, I think I’d partner up with a buddy to build something cool (that is unlikely to be a big moneymaker) and rely on each other for that pressure.

> and struggle to complete any of their many projects

Hmm.. I don't struggle, I enjoy it. The goal isn't to start glossy product production. It's to learn how to do it. As soon as it's obvious project is usually shelved. Except for the 'main line' projects which together can result in something significant.

> But at the same time all the (many) people I know that retired early mostly just goof off and struggle to complete any of their many projects.

I retired early and ended up going back to work part time. I didn't complete many of my projects, but that's not why I went back. Most of my projects were things I wanted to play with, not things I expected to finish.

Working part time is nice because of external pressure, but really, the most of the pressure is cause I'll feel bad if I disappoint the people that are letting me work with them.

I don't feel bad if I don't get my personal projects done, because nobody is going to use them anyway.

I have picked up a project that helps out a nonprofit and it’s making a nice financial impact. And then there are artistic projects that I hope positively impact others.

Are you a dev? What does part time look like?

Yes, I write software. The company is 100% remote with an annual team meetup and an annual company meetup, but I only go to the team one.

4 days a week, online at 9-10 am, offline 2-3 pm most days. Sometimes I'm working a sticky problem and stay online later. Or if I start a deploy in late afternoon, I'll stick around to finish it, etc.

Still on group chats, may or may not mute them on my day off.

What corporations even offer “good” work any more? In the sense of not making the world a net shittier place.

I don’t know what your values are but I’m sure you can find some company that is at least morally neutral in its mission. However you might have to accept lower pay.

But to clarify I meant “work you can be proud of” when I said “good”.

Idk external pressure is mostly forcing me to participate in the corporate hellscape - would love to leave this and goof off as a goat farmer somewhere.

Let’s face it - most businesses don’t produce anything meaningful and just exist to realise the infinite growth fallacy of capitalism

What is the infinite growth fallacy? Are you familiar with the concept of dividends?

The infinite growth fallacy is the belief that industrial economies can expand exponentially forever (rising GDP, consumption, and population) on a planet with finite resources.

What do dividends have to do with it?

I'm going to raise cattle.

After early retirement, it took be a solid 3 years to undo the mentality of needing to work. Now, I ride my bike with my wife as we fight her MS. I show up for her and myself.

Will they still be offering enough compensation over the next 7 years for that to be true?

Not sure their stock price will continue to rise as it gas in the past.

7 years at a toxic workplace is tough

I’d rather be poor

Id rather not.

Ive never known poverty in my life and I will do _anything_ to avoid it.

Fortunately there are many other options than "work at Meta" or "be poor".

I'm sorry but if you can work at Meta you can work at any other company in the US. You're clearly making a choice. Lets not forget "I'm just following orders" wasn't a valid excuse.

there's a middle ground

i make good money but not FAANG. like quarter million a year + equity that is sometimes liquid for more.

i do it remote and for a company that isn't so brutally antagonistic as meta. remote also means i don't commute, don't get trapped in an office for 40+ hrs/week, and can spend more time during the workday on my personal life than work itself.

so i make less money in an absolute sense, but i am not in any pain or being surveilled or being bullied to work hard.

and honestly i make more money per hour worked than a meta employee. so lower salary, higher effective hourly wage.

Maybe if you joined 10 years ago lmao

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