Albeit a general question and I would love to read the responses but I also want opinion on my situation. I have about 20 yoe in tech jobs (sw engg and test engg) with 150 TC. I never worked in FAANG or any other silicon valley companies. Always worked within retail and financial industry (in their IT i.e. Technology organizations). TC of 150 serves well in the low col area in AZ where I live. I see many of my friends / ex-colleges / TB peeps getting 2 or 3 times my TC with similar yoe and I am thinking if should I chase it? My heart is not in it, but am I making a bad financial decision here for me and my loved ones? I love my job, people around me, TC is more than enough for our family of 5 (wife has just 20k TC doing free lancing / hobby but still).
Why didn't I chase before or early on my career? A mix of fictional and non-fictional reasons - (a) imposter syndrome - never thought I was good enough for silicon valley companies (b) family situation - some bad luck with rare disease diagnosis and that messed up with my mind and couldn't think straight for years, (c) always thought that it's better to work in a non-tech company where I am most skilled/technical/intelligent (d) stability and super lazy attitude - I work maybe 4-5 hours a day and rest is just looking busy and I have been doing more or less for last 10-12 years and (e) never wanted move to CA - high col, traffic, smaller house, etc.
With better mental health, eruption of remote jobs and more confidence, I think I can effectively address some of the above items. What do you think?
yoe 20
TC 150k
#tech #techjobs #techcareer
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My first question is, are you willing to lose your work life balance? I work 9 to 8 most of the time and I am a single guy living on its own. My life happens on the weekends and I do not have dependents that need to see me or depend upon me for their growth.
Second question is: are you willing to put the work in? Many of the people on Blind are young people that want to thrive and make as much money as possible while sacrificing the little bit of happiness they have. You will be competing against those people. Leetcode will be your best ally in this cutthroat environment.
Third question: Do you have the skills to be successful: with 20 yoe I wouldn’t question much but what makes you better than a fresh grad or a tenured engineer applying for the same position. Imposter syndrome is a reality and I feel it on a daily basis, but being objective about your skills will save you time when answering this question. You can also question your friends working at FAANG about that
Fourth question: Are you doing it for your own sake, to impress your friends, or for your family? As you said, you are pretty fine with your situation and you enjoy where you live. I wouldn’t change that for anything.
Fifth Question : Does your family know about your desire of change? TC chasing is good and all, but mainly comes from vanity. I see people living happier lives with less than what I make. Just ask your loved ones and see if they would be happier with more money, and perhaps seeing you less. It is not an easy choice when there are more people in your life than your own self.
I am not expert but answering those questions would give you insight on your best option.
There is no barrier to TC chasing, but it gets harder with time. It is good, as money will always be good. Nonetheless, it is strenuous and can break families. I am still in my twenties and would love a comment from somebody a bit older and more experienced than me to come along in this discussion
People forget that money is a mean but not en end in itself. Only you can say what you want to earn it for. Is it for status? Trophy wife? Support extended family etc.
But we sometimes forget that there are things money can't buy. Go ask a rich person on deathbed if they would be willing to give up all their wealth for more time on this planet. Or a lonely person who would give up half their wealth to have a person who truly love them for them.
Not saying you shouldn't chase it but have a honest conversation with yourself about why. Because there are trade-off involved.
@Macy's These are really good pointers to having the right discussion. Thinking more about it, I guess this thought is coming from vanity more than anything. I am probably driven by impressing others than anything else. Involvement of family is critical in these decisions, I agree.
@Google you're right. Life like any system can be optimized for only one constraint at a time. I must do some whiteboarding to list down tradeoffs.
For me, the money has definitely changed things for me, but also there are times I question the amount of stress I’ve gone through to get it