You were making $50k - (in 2001?) - that's $65k in 2012 dollars.
This guy is making $16,800 ($1,400/mo). That's 4 times less than you were, and you think you're comparable?
I also started out working for a subcontractor, much like Manny in the article. Indeed, I do think it's comparable.
Manny also has lower expenses than I did, since he lives with his mom, and in a traditional way of looking at things, he has more "opportunities" open to him since he has a college degree and I was a dropout.
$15/hour * 40 hours a week * 52 weeks = $31k in 2001 dollars = $40,000 in 2012 dollars.
That's still more that double Manny's income.
> Manny also has lower expenses than I did, since he lives with his mom
A person living on the streets has lower expenses than you too, but that doesn't mean it's by choice or a good thing.
Edited my previous post to reflect correct timeline:
1999: Moved to Valley; got a job doing desktop support at a startup
2000: Startup gets bought by BigCo
2001: BigCo says they won't hire PT employees. I quit school to take $49,500/yr FT dev job at BigCo
2002: Quit dev job and started working on my own stuff (I had paying customers for my company in 2001, but 2002 was when I finally quit and went into consulting and web hosting full time.)
You have to realize we're lucky to be talented in a field that pays really well.
The world still needs people to do jobs like security, burger flipping, and stocking shelves until everything is automated.
It's not even necessarily the pay level that is exploitative. It's the lack of job security and benefits that was once commonplace when a large percentage of the workforce was union.
re: luck, and making it in the valley
Consider the fact that if there was someone quite like Bill Gates, same skillset, same personality, etc. starting out today, how far he'd be able to get. I would assert that it's unlikely that he'd be able to maneuver the SV world today and be able to get more than about 300k. But the real-life Bill Gates has some 60 billion dollar worth... so what's the issue? Clearly luck is a big factor.. you have to be at the right place at the right time, with the connections, with the money, etc. I have known way too many poor people who work unbelievably hard... so I just couldn't disagree more with what you have to say.
I would like to respectfully suggest to you that you take some time out and maybe volunteer at a soup kitchen so that you are made more familiar with the real battles a lot of people face today. People like you and I, but without the social support, without the coveted connections and networks, without the job security, without the time to be able to learn a programming language without external pressures (like the pressure to just make money for this month's rent, so your daughter still has a roof on her head). It's very tough for them out there, and getting up is not as easy as you think it is.
Two questions, same answer.
There is nothing comparable about a contractor who does desktop support versus a contractor who does security work in a parking lot. I don't think you really believe these are at all the same thing. They are a very different set of skills.
>"You feel like you're different," he says. "Even though you're working in the same place, you're still like an outsider. And it's weird because you're actually protecting these people."
Because you are different. You aren't an employee; you're a contractor. When I'm a contractor, I don't expect to be treated as an employee by the organization contracting me ... because I'm not.