darly
New Contributor
Hi all!
I studied Computer Science in college and have been doing software internships every summer since high school, so I have a feel for the different types of software companies out there.
Just out of college, I landed a job at a startup that I felt was really exciting and with it I would be given 0.2% of the company over the next 4 years - an amount the CEO assured me would be worth millions if things went according to plan.
I ended up hating almost everything about the company, and felt disgusted that everything I did to enrich the company basically went straight to the founder as my 0.2% of equity was a pittance. I thought to myself: if I'm going to work myself 70+hrs/week with no vacation in sight ever, I'd better be either extremely well paid or working for my own company.
I became somewhat obsessed with the prospect of early retirement during this time in my life, as I craved the freedom that I had while I was in college, and my job made me feel trapped.
I found a job offer that was lower risk, lower reward that doubled my pay. I signed and took a 4 month vacation, traveling the world using the signing bonus from the job, as I figured taking vacations while working would be impossible.
When I graduated and joined the startup, my girlfriend at the time also left me, as our paths led us to different locations. I thought I was going to marry her, so it was pretty hard on me. I need intimacy to be happy and being single for the last 8 months has been pretty painful. In my search for love, I came across Reddit's The Red Pill and while I don't agree with everything there, I started to focus on self improvement. I found the Millionaire Fastlane in TRP's recommended reading and promptly devoured the book. So many things in it resonated with me, coming out of this startup job that was awful and questioning what would really make me happy. I've always been very ambitious and focused towards getting the best job possible before reading the book, but I have to say it really opened my eyes that the entrepreneur's path is the most lucrative for me.
I've been working at the new company since then (has been a month), making $200k/yr in total compensation. So far, I believe that I'm learning a lot from my coworkers and have a unique opportunity to develop expertise in computer vision and machine learning while being paid handsomely (as opposed to doing a PhD in the field, which I was very seriously considering). I'm genuinely enjoying this job right now, but I realize that, just like the startup, I'm only hitchhiking. At any moment in time, the company can cease to be an amazing place to work by changing my responsibilities, putting me on a different project, etc. Looking forward to quitting and starting a business the moment that happens
Until then, I'll be saving up funds to bootstrap my startup, reading (currently have Zero to One and Solve for Happy checked out), and continuing the search for a girlfriend to accompany me on the difficult journey ahead.
If you're in Los Angeles, I'd love to meet up sometime and chat about your fastlane experiences.
tl;dr LA Software Engineer looking to start a company in next few years. Would love to grab coffee sometime.
I studied Computer Science in college and have been doing software internships every summer since high school, so I have a feel for the different types of software companies out there.
Just out of college, I landed a job at a startup that I felt was really exciting and with it I would be given 0.2% of the company over the next 4 years - an amount the CEO assured me would be worth millions if things went according to plan.
I ended up hating almost everything about the company, and felt disgusted that everything I did to enrich the company basically went straight to the founder as my 0.2% of equity was a pittance. I thought to myself: if I'm going to work myself 70+hrs/week with no vacation in sight ever, I'd better be either extremely well paid or working for my own company.
I became somewhat obsessed with the prospect of early retirement during this time in my life, as I craved the freedom that I had while I was in college, and my job made me feel trapped.
I found a job offer that was lower risk, lower reward that doubled my pay. I signed and took a 4 month vacation, traveling the world using the signing bonus from the job, as I figured taking vacations while working would be impossible.
When I graduated and joined the startup, my girlfriend at the time also left me, as our paths led us to different locations. I thought I was going to marry her, so it was pretty hard on me. I need intimacy to be happy and being single for the last 8 months has been pretty painful. In my search for love, I came across Reddit's The Red Pill and while I don't agree with everything there, I started to focus on self improvement. I found the Millionaire Fastlane in TRP's recommended reading and promptly devoured the book. So many things in it resonated with me, coming out of this startup job that was awful and questioning what would really make me happy. I've always been very ambitious and focused towards getting the best job possible before reading the book, but I have to say it really opened my eyes that the entrepreneur's path is the most lucrative for me.
I've been working at the new company since then (has been a month), making $200k/yr in total compensation. So far, I believe that I'm learning a lot from my coworkers and have a unique opportunity to develop expertise in computer vision and machine learning while being paid handsomely (as opposed to doing a PhD in the field, which I was very seriously considering). I'm genuinely enjoying this job right now, but I realize that, just like the startup, I'm only hitchhiking. At any moment in time, the company can cease to be an amazing place to work by changing my responsibilities, putting me on a different project, etc. Looking forward to quitting and starting a business the moment that happens
Until then, I'll be saving up funds to bootstrap my startup, reading (currently have Zero to One and Solve for Happy checked out), and continuing the search for a girlfriend to accompany me on the difficult journey ahead.
If you're in Los Angeles, I'd love to meet up sometime and chat about your fastlane experiences.
tl;dr LA Software Engineer looking to start a company in next few years. Would love to grab coffee sometime.
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