https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

He chances on a Mastiff as powerful as handsome Fat, sleek, who had strayed by chance.

To attack him, quarter him Lord Wolf would gladly do;

But he would have to join battle,

And the Mastiff was of such stature As to defend himself with ease.

So the Wolf approaches him humbly, Enters into conversation, compliments him On his girth, which he admires.

"You fine sir could be as fat as me" Replied the Dog.

"Leave the woods, you would do well: Your like are miserable there,

Dunces, hairshirts and poor devils, Their estate is to die of hunger.

Every bite of food is hard won By dint of fang and claw. For what?

Follow me: you would have a fate much better." The Wolf replied, "What must I do?"

"Almost nothing," replied the Dog, "Chase beggars And people carrying sticks;

To flatter those at home, to please one's Master: In exchange your salary would be

A great many scraps of all kinds: Bones of chickens, bones of pigeons,

Without mentioning many caresses." The Wolf already imagines a happiness

Which makes him teary from fondness. Walking along, he saw the bald neck of the Dog.

"What is it there?" he said. - Nothing. - What? Nothing? - Nothing much.

But still? - The collar by which I am tethered Is perhaps the cause of what you see.

"Tethered?" said the Wolf: So you do not run Wherever you want? - Not always; but what matters it?

It matters so much that all your meals I would not want in any wise or manner,

And would not desire even a treasure at such price." This said, master Wolf runs off, and he runneth still.

— Jean de La Fontain, 1668 ( translated by Tad Boniecki)

I earn perhaps 20% what I used to. We just quit our lease and sold all our stuff so we can live in a cheap country for a while. I’ve never been poorer. I’m 48.

It’s the best decision I ever made. I pity you fools at your FAANG jobs. Because I know how unhappy you are.

I think you might be projecting to try not to feel bad for your life choices. A telltale sign is the way you try to claim every single engineer employed by half a dozen companies is unhappy. This is obviously unrealistic. I personally know quite a few of them and they are having the time of their life. Keep in mind that you hear far more reports from those who quit/were fired than from those who are happily chugging along in their role.

Internet psychoanalysis based on "telltale signs" is just seeing what you want to see especially if you're responding to a perceived personal slight. The people telling you they're having the time of their life also might be projecting to try not to feel bad for their life choices.

I didn't read OP's comment as "every FAANG employee is miserable". That's uncharitable but easier to fight than the more realistic one that those people might be in a "golden cage". The "wolf and the dog" fable above is impressively accurate.

Not really. I've worked at a FANG for quite a few years and I can tell you from my own personal experience that in many ways it was the best job I ever had. The misery imagined by OP has no bearing in reality, and screams projection. I see it a lot, sadly. People are desperate to get in and when they don't then they resort to shit-talking things to try to make themselves feel better.

Is it though?

The FANG engineers I know have been leveraging internal transfers to relocate abroad to places like Madrid, Milan, Amsterdam, etc. Not to mention business trips abroad for all kind of things like hiring events.

> Try asking the younger generation which is the better job.

This is not a generational thing. This is about objectively comparing jobs. Accusing each and every single FANG engineer of being miserable whereas a random low-paying role is the envy of the world screams the fox and the grapes.

In contrast I know plenty of people who quit jobs and are now working way harder to earn less at the expense of those around them, resulting in broken homes, divorces, and all around miserable lives, all pinned on the hope they will get their big break and it will all be worth it. They are very pathetic but can’t see it because they are so wrapped up in some foolish idea that isn’t going anywhere.

And traveling the world is a bit overrated. It’s cool to change scenery, but at the end of the day, you’re just doing the same work you always do, just in a different country. You’re just running away from the fact you have nothing worth settling down a bit for, no where to truly call home and invest in a local community, just a drifter chasing their next hit of stimulus. Eventually, you run out of truly novel places to go. You’re not giving back to a community and making your mark, you’re just leeching off the lifestyles built by people who chose to settle in one place. If everyone was a traveler, there wouldn’t be anything worth traveling to.

Do office workers do anything to help other countries develop? Or does all their effort go towards making their rich friends richer?

Or. If you like the idea of having no boss, no standup meetings, no Jira, no commutes, no open office plan, etc.

And $250k is the current point on the graph - it could be $1m this time next year.

> All of this — without investors, [without] a 20-person team, or [without] a “Series A” round.

Later on, the author says:

> Currently, the team behind Perfect Wiki is just two people.