Tell me an inspiring nonlinear financial or career story

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HAOT05

New

HAOT05
Nov 8, 2021 22 Comments

Tell me a story of someone that was financially a loser and came out on top :).

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  • Morgan Stanley / IT
    DanceBlob

    Go to company page Morgan Stanley IT

    BIO
    Just your average salary man
     DanceBlob
    63k to 360k in 0.5 year
    Nov 8, 2021 6
  • NVIDIA / Eng
    600k+

    Go to company page NVIDIA Eng

    BIO
    Almost do not exist.
    600k+
    60k to 600k+ in under 10 years.
    Nov 8, 2021 1
  • Google
    SadCatMeme

    Go to company page Google

    SadCatMeme
    150K to 2.5M in 4 and a half years

    Edit: 4 years -> 4.5 years
    Nov 8, 2021 6
  • Just a warning: this is going to be a long read because it’s late and can’t be bothered to condense it rn

    I worked a min wage job from 17-19, the last month (early 2018) I was there my boss sent me some sus texts that qualified as sexual harassment. Got a new job as a waitress making 11/hr thinking I was the shit. Grinded there, got promoted which meant guaranteed $200 in tips every week and pay raise to 13/hr, thought I was making big bucks and didn’t need to continue school immediately after getting my associates degree.

    Took an unplanned gap year telling myself I was just saving up as I forced myself to work 70+ hrs but had no idea how to plan anything really. Weed and alc usage took me down a slippery slope for a bit. And I became a bit promiscuous with all my newfound time too. Outside the chaos of work my mind just felt fuzzy (even before I got into those substances). Went to a psych who told me I had ADHD, and did the medication trial and error. Somewhere along the way, someone from my CC asked if I wanted a 9-5 contract role as an “IT Business Analyst”. Pay was 16/hr and that sounded great! Interviewed and got the job even tho I embarrassed myself pretty badly (since it coincided with the med trials and the one I was on was not for me). Oh and I kinda had a thing for the guy that recommended me and was bold enough to sleep with him my first week. But he’s now my bf (who may or may not see this) so worked out well in the end 😅

    I liked the snakes at my old job enough to stay, so I worked both jobs for a few months… boy did that wear me down. Everyone kept bringing up the topic of me returning to school, including my manager who’d always mention that I’d get a FT offer after getting the bachelors degree. I didn’t want to leave the 9-5 so I found an accredited college that would let me finesse a degree online (2019 so pre-COVID). Quit the waitress job. Bf quit for a SWE internship >:(

    Had no idea what I wanted to do but I had fun trying to work on Python automation stuff instead of whatever I was assigned to do. Did hackathons with my bf, had a ephemeral interest in blockchain after one of them. Coincidentally that same week I saw a LinkedIn post by an InfoSec director from my company about blockchain. Reached out to ask questions, had a brief 30 min convo, got offered a job at the end as a surprise. Still a contractor but OMG 27/hr is so much money, and same promise of a FT role after I graduate.

    COVID hits. Online school is still difficult and lonely even tho I’ve been doing it for almost a yr at that point. But I still push through work and school. Graduated a year and two days after I went back to school. But along the way I had a random few months of feeling amazing (even enrolled in a self-paced grad degree program for the shits and gigz), then slipped into a deep depression. This was a common pattern, but isolation really made it obvious. Worked with my psych and tracked my mood daily, turns out I’m bipolar too. Now the drug medley I’m on is 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

    Got the FT role with a 70k salary. Slow company, but I was on a great team that I still miss. Two months after, a recruiter from a certain car company with a well-known meme CEO reaches out about an internship I apparently applied to. I go through the interviews not thinking much of it. But one week later I had an offer. It only paid a little more than my job, but that was an offer I had to take. Then, interviewed with Salesforce for an internship and before I even put in my 2 weeks I had the offer.

    Relatively uneventful but did 3 internships back to back (went back to the meme CEO after Salesforce internship ended). Wanted to work FT since I’ve been working for a few years at that point. And bf got a job at Workday with ~200k TC. Fortunately Salesforce was willing to take me back early so now I also make about the same! Ofc not the most impressive TC here but proud of me (and bf) for making it this far :’)
    Nov 9, 2021 3
  • That man’s name … was Steve Jobs. Even though he was fired, he never gave up his dream. Once there was a stoner.
    Nov 9, 2021 0