People who earn those high salaries ($300-500k), are you overall happy? If yes, is it the money or the work ?

TrueCar JiXV05
Mar 6 39 Comments

I am a mid career professional 8yoe. People who have a lot of experience and advantage of hindsight, what’s your advice? What to look for in a career. Did you chase those high paying jobs or it just happened as a byproduct?

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 TOP 39 Comments
  • PayPal ex FANG
    Someone told me a long time ago “never take a job for the money. Do your job and the money will follow.” This person retired at 35. Best advice I ever received.
    Mar 6 7
    • This one guy told me this thing once and it worked out for him, that 1/7bil so it must be true.
      Mar 6
    • New / Design KLVx14
      Yep, I've done my job and the money hasn't followed.
      Mar 6
    • Google wtfbro
      "do your job and the money will follow" lol tell that to a McDonald's employee
      Mar 6
    • New / Ops
      tooQ10

      New Ops

      PRE
      Rakuten USA
       tooQ10more
      I've done my job and very little money has followed. (46 TC, 20 YoE)
      Mar 6
    • Veritas / Strategy xWfa06
      This!
      Mar 6
  • Splunk loveBacon
    Lol, wake up call, 300-500k is no longer considered as high salary in the bay area
    Mar 6 12
    • Google anons2
      Median goog comp is $200k... Facebook is $240k. If the median employees here make that.... Where are the people crushing you mention
      Mar 6
    • Splunk loveBacon
      It is a pyramid, you are polluting the dataset with low earners. Just focus on staff upwards dataset. That is where the real money lies.
      Mar 6
    • JOANY / Eng e^(iπ)+1=6
      How many people are on your team? How many managers are there? He makes $500k+, and that's likely less than 1:10. Everyone above him makes more. Just because there's a bunch of people working in support and data centers and hr doesn't mean 50% of engineers at Google make less than 200.

      Only boobs at El Goog make less than 200 in engineering...
      Mar 6
    • Broadcom Ltd. aeCy07
      @FQuQ40 how did you get that number. Half of your friends are single filers?
      Mar 7
    • Lyft wXfl07
      With a good salary you can own a house in 5-10 years on the take home pay.. I don't give a rats ass where you live. I earned 1 NEW house/yr in Phoenix (1800 sq ft) in the mid-1990s once. That means $400-$800k is a good salary in a Bay Area city where houses are $2m - $3m. Plenty (ie thousands) of people earn that amount!
      Mar 7
  • Google wtfbro
    I chased high-paying jobs and in hindsight it was worth it, even though i'm not any happier than before. Happiness is not achievable by sitting still, it is achieved by constantly challenging yourself and exploring your limits. At least that is how it is for me.
    Mar 6 1
  • TrueCar JiXV05
    OP
    I wonder if it is just human nature to be dissatisfied. I see all these TED talks of people finding meaning and satisfaction in life and work and I am in awe. None of these people ever talk about money. I wonder what am I missing. Am I just following the rat race? May be its time to take time off from everything and look at my own life from “outside”
    Mar 6 2
    • Google wtfbro
      Its a taboo to talk about money. I think it is human nature to be dissatisfied. We probably would've died as a species if we got content w/ the way of life. Grass is greener syndrome is baked into our DNA, for the right reasons. That's why we went to the moon, to America, to the red sea, etc
      Mar 6
    • TrueCar JiXV05
      OP
      Agree to a large extent. Although I wonder if primary motivation for all these great discoveries has been money! It definitely has been to escape persecution, understand our origin, and answer the mysteries of our lives....
      Mar 6
  • Google WurbleNarf
    Happened as a byproduct. I didn't even know that programming was a career when I chose a major.
    Mar 6 0
  • Microsoft KxOx70
    Half of that would go in taxes. Remaining in mortgage and childcare. You can't retire early nor is there anything additional you can afford.
    Mar 6 0
  • JOANY / Eng FQuQ40
    I somehow feel like the more money I make, it's almost like I'm less satisfied with my income.

    Back when my income was less than half what it is now, I HATED my job. Couldn't stand my manager. Yet, somehow I was pretty satisfied with work.

    Now I actually like my job, and I'm making good money by any measurement, but I am 100% completely dissatisfied.

    Maybe I'm just older. But I think it's that the more I make, the more I weigh my job as important to my well being.

    When I wasn't making that good of money, I didn't give a shit about my job or my career, and I think that's why I was happier.
    Mar 6 0
  • TrueCar JiXV05
    OP
    I actually did chase high paying jobs and it worked out for a little bit. Then I got disenchanted. Decided to join a smaller company, didn’t work out for some externalities. I have the option of chasing some FANG jobs or a very interesting opportunity with an early stage company. Wondering if I should follow my heart
    Mar 6 2
    • Google wtfbro
      Follow your heart brother
      Mar 6
    • JOANY / Eng FQuQ40
      Fuck your heart. Get paid at work. Make enough money to guarantee your dreams come true. Don't chase them and hope for the best.
      Mar 6
  • Dropbox OPpyshI
    Money is necessary but not sufficient. You need enough money to not have to worry about things like the future, and to enable vacations, socializing and hobbies. Once you have that you start to see it’s not enough on its own.
    Mar 7 0
  • Sprint / Product
    ifTW74

    Sprint Product

    BIO
    Tech project program manager
     ifTW74more
    If you are in your 20s or 30 get used to the fact that you are just a grunt, a slave..and I don't care how much u make. Sock a bunch of fuck you money away now and you can walk off into the sunset in your 40s or 50s.
    Mar 6 0
  • Microsoft HdnF84
    Yes but not because of comp. work is great, team is for the most part really good, personal life is in order. Happiness is different for everyone though.
    Mar 6 0
  • New / Eng |l|l||l|l|
    I got this job by accident, but accepted it for the money. I'm the happiest now than I've ever been since college, but it's because of my friends at work and not because of the money. I barely touched the money
    Mar 7 0
  • Compass / Eng
    FUPayMe

    Compass Eng

    PRE
    Google
     FUPayMemore
    Followed the money.
    Mar 6 0
  • eBay cobol
    I love my job so much that I do similar work in my spare time for fun.
    Mar 6 0
  • Sprint / Product
    ifTW74

    Sprint Product

    BIO
    Tech project program manager
     ifTW74more
    If you hate your job then no amount of $ will make you happy. What blows your skirt up? Recognition? Security? Romance? In America everyone's second motivation is # but it's a distant second to the other three I mentioned.
    Mar 6 0