I am entering industry this year and has a question for those who are conventionally successful(high TC) What did you have to give up in life to achieve that much? Were you able to spend time with partners/friends and enjoy life or did you have to spend a long period of time just grinding? In college, compared to other majors, all the engineers had to sacrifice social interaction/fun alot of the time to make the salaries they do out of college and I did the same. Not like I never had fun but I didn’t have as much as everyone else It sucked a lot then but I am happy with where I am now. I was wondering if pushing for a high tc after college is similar to that feeling of college. What did you have to give up achieve your high tc if anything? Were you able to live life to the fullest while still chasing the bag and was it worth it? I personally feel like I’ll work hard but never comprise living my life. Not sure if I can do that and reach 300-400k Tc 170
I gave up my twenties to be here if that helps. The only thing I miss about my 20s is roadtrips, which are times of a happy place for me. Rest is blurred anyway.
Life is all about sacrifices. I'm sure most can relate that they sacrificed a lot in college to be where they are today. The people that had a short term vision and partied hard in college make the same amount yearly as a Senior SWE's sign on bonus. Truly sad Most of life is about the same. Achieving anything requires sacrifice. If you're not willing to do it, someone else is there to get it. Think about the rockstar SWEs on your team or the execs in your company. Most aren't willing to sacrifice the same way they do So you simply accept reality, and live life on your terms.
Figuring out that line seems difficult. I feel like I prioritized a good job over everything in college but now I want to work hard but n out have it consume my life but im not sure how to do that
Most people underestimate what focus can do. Pick one thing OP and drop everything else. Focus on that and nothing else matters.
Discipline doesn't have to involve that much sacrifice. I drank less alcohol than others in university, but that doesn't mean I didn't socialize or not establish important life-long friendships. I think simply delaying when I started drinking made a huge difference in the outcome of my life. I'm also smarter than most folks, but most people aren't getting through an engineering program by being average. I prioritized sleep and exercise and health and learning and travel. I want to understand the world around me, and missing the opportunity to do so would also be a kind of sacrifice. I always enjoyed reading and studying. I didn't get great grades in uni, but that's not a prerequisite to high comp. The money meant I got to travel wildly and have a ton of fun in my 20s, and still make plenty of money in my 30s. It's a good life. And think of the sacrifices people make to be poor. Normal people work multiple jobs to survive and never see their kids. I can hire a house cleaner or baby sitter. I get more vacation time than poor people do. My parents were poor and my life is infinitely better than theirs was.
Do you see yourself putting in extra hours past the 40 to be able to get the high comp or did you always go through life with that mentality and the gains came?
I'm already past 40. I've got millions of dollars in the bank. I don't work *that* hard, but no job is easy, so I'm not really sure what "extra" would mean. I'm not a ceo. I'm not on-call. I avoid SRE work, which might otherwide put me in an on-call. I enjoy tech and what I learn about my role. My wife doesn't have to work, so can take care of some things with kids that might otherwise make my free time with them less pleasant.
The people I've met who are the best in this field work long hours because they enjoy it and study in their free time because they enjoy it
I don’t feel like I have up anything. I haven’t worked more than 40 hours in a week since the second year of grad school. Def didn’t skip on dating or spending time with partners. My child takes a lot of my time today but by choice. Aside from that, cs is the best thing that could have happened to me. Wildly high salaries, amazing benefits, relatively easy work. Who could ask for more
Maybe I’m just not built like that, but I feel like work isn’t easy. The only way to overachieve(which I believe is how I get more money) I needed to grind a lot. Maybe it gets easier with time