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Comment by throwawayAug16 | Hacker News Reader

Some notes because I ran out of room:

I am a full-stack engineer with deep knowledge of devops, architecture, cloud computing, middle-tier, back-end, and front-end development. I wouldn't call myself expert in any of them but I'm at least a level III in all of them and a level V in some. I also have a fair amount of engineering management experience.

I have a computer science degree from an accredited and regionally well ranked school but it doesn't rank high nationally.

I've also written several books and regularly speak at conferences.

I think it is fair to say that finding another job would be low risk if it weren't for my non-compete.

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I am a level V in all of the things you've listed. I also have a computer science degree from a school that actually IS well ranked. And, as you probably guessed, I have also written several books and people have paid to hear me speak numerous times over the course of my career.

The point I'm trying to get across is - you aren't as amazing as you think you are. You have a long way to go.

On the bright side, if they're a job shop and live on consulting work, they probably can't afford to go after you for a non-compete.

It sounds like you're not in a good situation. Good luck!

The CEO has a fair amount of money personally, I wouldn't put it past him to go after me with his personal funds. He's a generally nice guy but a ruthless business person, especially if someone torpedoes his company.

On that note, he has gone without pay much longer than me. It's not like he's been taking paychecks this whole time. But he's also a millionaire and I'm barely getting by after my entire savings went away from all the missing pay checks.

So, first, you aren't the one torpedoing the company. That was done by whoever failed to hire a CTO or people to maintain the business on the tech side.

Second, the CEO's situation is not your situation. They have money and legal responsibility for the business, you don't. They have a more favorable equity situation and voting power, you don't. You have to look out for yourself.

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