i have realized that TC (total comp) doesnt matter after a certain point. i am in early 30s, married, and i stopped asking and caring about what my peers are earning. When i look back at my life, i would have never imagined to earn as much as i am doing right now in this age. But i still see alot of greediness around me. I am really happy about my TC even though i know i can earn 1.5x more by switching jobs etc. I have barely seen a post on Blind where people say that i am happy with my TC and life. Once i stopped optimizing for TC, my perspective on life changed. I would suggest everyone, dont just try to earn money but also figure it out how to spend it - not on expensive cars and houses - but something more meaningful like donating 10% of your TC to the charity you believe in or travel across the world or may be just spend it on your new hobby. TC doesnt make any difference in your life unless you know how to use it. I would actually love to take a job that has lower TC but gives me more timeoff (~2-3 months in an year) and enables me to create a wider and direct impact in the community. I would love to hear more from both sides: 1. if you are earning over 200k+ - why do you need more TC? dont mention house, kids college tuition. 2. If you are really content with your life, what is it that makes you content and happy? I can be anything like good kids, happy relationship, loving spouse/partner, career opportunities. If it is higher TC, then answer #1. YoE: 9 TC: 274 SDE3 UPDATE: i shared my further thoughts as a comment answering some of FAQs people were asking me based on original post and DMs i received.
Fixed it. TC = total compensation
You didn't have to
All this philosophical things will.come when you have a better TC
Yes I agree. It took me time to realize the metric that makes me happy. And it’s not TC once I achieved the minimal.
I agree ... I never felt poor untill I decided to buy a house. It's us and our expectations that made things look good or bad. .. but always good to have a better TC as no one else will take care of your retirement ... If u think u have surplus always u can give back to society but everything based off of your TC
TC too low
Go back to a low TC and see how unhappy you become.
I think you didn’t read my complete post. I mentioned that I can get paid more and I have put minimum bar of 200k to be considered as a good TC to stay happy in life even with small family.
Tried buying a house at the "wrong" time? Note that what you consider "enough" for a house may not be same for everybody else. And it won't even be an image thing.
People are always greedy. But I agree with that you says. I’m 3 year SWE earn roughly 110k per year. I couldn’t believe I could earn that before going to college. Everything I’m trying to do is to learn more, not because I could earn more but those knowledge will be being with me with my whole life. And TC will grow accordingly.
This is what explains a person's developement ... If I don't have first block taken care of I can't not think bigger things ... First block is food, floating and housing for family https://images.app.goo.gl/1bitemzNoBHgYhiw9
Good floaties can be very expensive
Agree with OP. Once you hit some level of TC, you get diminishing returns on happiness. People are unhappy because they always want more. When they see their peers make more TC, there is a strong sense of FOMO that drives the unhappiness, despite how great they have it already.
I have been having a happy life but often feeling limited in terms of time and freedom due to TC. In business, time is money, so your single issue is that you don't know how to use your time. It's great that you have realized and acknowledged this, many folks, like my mom, don't even realize this and just pass on time. I personally got interested in Rudraksha beads a couple of years ago, and ever since they have been my highest expenditure and there's still a lot more to explore, attain and uncover. So, I definitely need higher TC but the sad part is that I have found myself an opportunity that may save me a bit more but in another country. So, I'm not sure if I would be able to make the best use of my time there. As a saying goes, you better have a lot of money before you say it doesn't matter. If I had enough, I'd hardly have to ever compromise on anything in life. In your 30s you might have seen enough of life already that you may not even be imagining a life beyond TC, so are unable to even think or consider the wonders money can do for you. Trust me, you don't know how much useful it can be.
I disagree with you here “you don’t know much useful it can be” - I think we all have to die one day and we are not going to take away all of our savings. How you defined it, is exactly the problem with our society - we don’t know how much we really need vs. how much we want just because my peer/friend is getting more. With over 200k+ you are already in top 10 percentile of the richest country in the world or top 0.1% of world’s population. Do you really think having more will make you any happier?
Dude, life isn't just about being happy or prosperous. It's also about power. And the money can get you only so much power. There's no limit to power in this world, but only limited capacities of human brains and achievements. If you could use your money right, you would be powerful, and the nation you are in woul also be much more powerful. Again, understanding, utilizing and harnessing power is what life is all about, in a sense. Just as a country struggles to become more and more powerful, to reach beyond the stars and the worldly limitations, one too can strive for the unfathomable, through the right means. Speaking of death, the rich can even afford to be frozen until a cure for them to be born again is found. Money can afford you life, and if you know how, can extend it too.
Total TC?