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Comment by ska | Hacker News Reader

This:

    ...funds are doing just okay...

Made me chuckle. Most finance people I know (like some areas of tech) have a funny idea of "just ok". Making at least couple hundred grand 5 or 10 years into your career in any context is not merely "ok". The idea that there is some entitlement for FU money is deeply unfortunate. It's understandable that there is a reality distortion field created when you are adjacent to wealth, but it's good to be aware that it is there.

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"Just ok" also means different things in NYC compared to San Francisco compared to Austin compared to Cleveland. Most of the finance guys I know in New York make what I would consider great money... but their lifestyle is such that they save almost none of it.

Even in NYC or SF, 300k is way more than "just okay". There are people living in the region making 1/10th that.

Tell that to the $300k earners in SV who feel that they are not doing okay because they cannot afford to buy a nice house in a nice area.

The different costs of housing and living in different areas is of course a valid factor when it comes to comparing incomes. I disagree with your second sentence though.

> Most of the finance guys I know in New York make what I would consider great money... but their lifestyle is such that they save almost none of it.

I don't know, is how well you're doing really based on how much money is left after you choose to spend a bunch of it? If I make $2m/year but have several expensive mortgages to pay and therefore I don't save very much, that means I'm doing "just OK"?

Depends on what you're getting for those mortgages, I guess.

If your job requires you to live in a specific place or have a hellish commute, then I think comparing (and griping about) like for like is fair.

E.g. a finance analyst whining about his tiny NYC apartment to his friend in Indianapolis with a tiny apartment, etc.

    "Just ok" also means different things in NYC compared to San Francisco compared to Austin compared to Cleveland.

While true, that's not relevant to the case at hand - we are talking about incomes that exceed that bar regardless of where you count them.

They're still doing objectively great, they just lack basic financial literacy. Plenty of people in NYC making a living on less than $50k.

I'm not sure many people in the industry feel 'entitled' to FU money. But you don't go the Olympics without intending to try for gold.

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