Hacker News Reader

Comment by timavr | Hacker News Reader

Somehow the jobs which you want to do the most in tech screw you the hardest.

Like if you do back-end database boring stuff of moving data around at random Enterprise X, then you can charge through the roof because they know that the only reason you are doing this job is for the paycheck.

But if you are working on video games/Tesla/Other cool stuff and obviously passionate about the mission, you get screwed on compensation and if things go wrong, treated inhumanely.

Also, why treat people like shit when they get laid off. Can't just manager meet with the person and say, hey our division got cut, I am sorry it turned out that way, happy to help out with the job search.

View on HN

This is not just tech, it's life. Ever wonder why your plumber takes 2 weeks and $150/hr to summon, but aspiring actors are on every corner parsing your 12-word coffee order for a thin fiver?

Macroeconomics is all around. :)

The key to understanding this is to understand, that aspiring to work in lottery'ish professions pays less than, predictable well established career paths.

There are only going be a dozen Tom Hanks and Chritian Bale in a country at any given time. If that is what you want to be you are going to have to settle for something way way lesser than even the normal after a few years, because you have no real skills, domain knowledge or experience compared to even the most ordinary of jobs out there.

I think you are likely to live a good life if you understand that normal is how most millionaires are made. Also don't run behind points. YouTube likes, Instagram likes etc etc. Don't use imaginary internet proxy points to measure your value, worth, or the value/worth of your work.

Wages are lower than the mainland in Hawaii because of the "sunshine tax".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_tax

At one place I worked we called it the "cool job tax" because it was mostly reflected in salary.

not sure though because the highest paying jobs (google, unicorns.. etc) are also considered the "coolest" by many.

I think Google used to be "cool", but it is more prestige now. There is definitely still cool areas which Google works on(AI, self-driving), but overall, if you are working on Gmail, there is nothing cool about it and the main motivation is not to make Gmail more awesome, but to get paid and beef your resume for future work opportunities.

Unicorns vary, but mostly they are B2B enterprise companies, which do very boring stuff day to day. But something like Discord will be exciting for many people to work at.

hm, i guess I wasn't differentiating between prestige and coolness as they both lead to high demand for the position. I wonder why coolness leads to worse conditions but prestige doesn't.

> Somehow

It's just supply&demand. Since lots (and lots) of programmers want to be video game designers, the supply is high, demand is low, => lower pay & fewer benefits.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com