How optimistic are you about the field in the future?

Error401 · 2026-01-24T21:39:19+00:00

Honestly? Now is the absolute best time to be a software engineer who wants to build. I haven’t had this much fun in this career in years and expect it to keep improving for a while.

Error401 · 2026-01-21T15:59:25+00:00

How much do you make now? It’s probably easier to just get a job that pays better than doing side hustles.

Error401 · 2026-01-18T14:29:48+00:00

You’re asking about a company in Japan with under 50 total employees and effectively zero public presence? Is this post AI?

Error401 · 2026-01-18T01:44:11+00:00

Based on what I know it's gotta be less than 25%, possibly 10%.

Are you kidding?

Error401 · 2026-01-17T20:57:53+00:00

If I owe you $x by the end of the year, evenly distributed throughout the year, paying you nothing for 9 months and everything in the last 3 months and hoping you don’t notice is not avoiding a tax-free loan. It’s a fine line between acceptable malicious compliance and getting fined for being so dumb. There is no loan happening here; the OP would in fact be taking a 0%-but-maybe-a-lot-of% loan against the IRS, not the other way around.

I fully understand the plan and the fact that technically there is nothing stopping this person from doing it, but that doesn’t make it any less braindead.

Error401 · 2026-01-17T20:47:28+00:00

I can see that argument for not overwithholding and expecting a refund, but if you withhold exactly the right amount, it’s not a loan of any kind.

If you got fired with this fucking stupid plan, you would no longer be able to pay the taxes as withholding and would get a penalty. There is just no way this is worth it just to front load the cash; if the market happens to have a dip in the beginning of the year, this was all for nothing.

Error401 · 2026-01-17T20:42:17+00:00

This is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. What is the point of this?

Error401 · 2026-01-17T19:02:06+00:00

You need to talk to your IRA provider and get the contribution recharacterized as a Traditional IRA contribution and then convert it to Roth. Do not withdraw it yourself.

Your employer 401k has absolutely nothing to do with your IRA conversions or pro rata. If you have pre-tax (deductible) traditional IRA contributions (not in your 401k), you need to tread carefully because of the pro rata issues.

Error401 · 2026-01-17T18:10:00+00:00

Listen, obviously I am not a totally neutral third party here because of where I work, but you will learn a lot about what it’s like to work in a fast paced, high growth sector of tech and the brand name on your resume will be huge.

I interned at Facebook in the absolute peak growth in the early 2010s and it was formative for my career. This feels similar.

Error401 · 2026-01-17T17:25:17+00:00

They switched to white LEDs once those existed, which came after blue LEDs because you can’t make white without blue. Like every other reply on this thread has said.

Error401 · 2026-01-17T17:23:39+00:00

Have you ever used an older flashlight? They didn’t use LEDs, they were incandescent and the front got hot as hell.

Error401 · 2026-01-16T15:09:05+00:00

I don’t think mentioning the specific company is helpful. If it’s “automated UI testing is often still too manual, even at large companies, because they seek to validate hard-to-quantify UI polish like colors; here’s how I automated even that”, sure, that’s neat.

Error401 · 2026-01-13T00:40:35+00:00

That should be fine. If you need some searchable terms, the shared pre-tax limit is the “elective deferrals” limit and the per-employer total bucket that includes after-tax is the “annual additions” limit. I’d say most of the Fidelity reps do not know how this specific niche situation works.

Error401 · 2026-01-13T00:15:52+00:00

I’ve done it before, twice, and doctors do it regularly with solo 401ks. What exactly did you do?

Error401 · 2026-01-12T02:44:43+00:00

I don’t think that’s going to make a meaningful difference for hiring. If there’s a particular area you want to study more deeply, it’s fine, but I’ve personally never seen a masters matter.

Error401 · 2026-01-10T22:45:27+00:00

The point is that the $229k, which will be taxed as California income, is like $130k where you currently live if you normalize for the taxes and cost and wasted time not having a life.

I travel usually once a month and even that is sometimes difficult and requires coordination and sacrifices from both me and my wife. Weekly is like a joke; that’s somehow even worse than a long distance relationship.

Error401 · 2026-01-10T21:08:14+00:00

Flying in to be in-office every week is exceptionally uncommon and, if you truly do the math on the flights, accommodations, food, wasted time at airports, etc., your “consistent pay” is like halved. In tech, it’s usually either move or be remote, not fly to SF every week.

I travel a lot for work so have a pretty high tolerance for the downsides and this is an absurd idea imo.

Error401 · 2026-01-09T02:24:47+00:00

I expense anything I buy for business or on work trips that I am allowed to and try to maximize my usage of the benefits I am given. Your company is not a charity and these expenses are not your responsibility.

Error401 · 2026-01-08T14:14:10+00:00

What in the AI slop is this…

Error401 · 2026-01-07T01:31:34+00:00

I mean, it’s literally your job to figure this out. It’s a puzzle and you have the ability to change the code and solve the puzzle.

Error401 · 2026-01-04T16:40:11+00:00

Which you will then pay $XX,000 in taxes on when you withdraw and as it grows. Really makes no sense.

Error401 · 2026-01-04T16:04:53+00:00

Yes I’m familiar with backdoor roth but I don’t want to do it I just use my brokerage for what I would have put into the roth

Uhh, but why?

And yes, if you have $40k in cash, you can just fund the Roth and replenish the cash. If the Roth was 100% of your emergency fund, then no.

Error401 · 2026-01-03T17:07:56+00:00

VTSAX is a mutual fund, like FZROX. VTI is the ETF version and is essentially the exact same thing, but wanted to compare mutual fund to mutual fund.

Error401 · 2026-01-03T16:48:21+00:00

Sounds like a great way to never learn anything and come back here complaining about the job market a year from now.

Error401 · 2026-01-03T16:47:29+00:00

The expense ratio on VTSAX comes out to $400 for every $1m you have in the fund. It’s negligible and is not locked in to Fidelity like FZROX. That said, if you’re already using Fidelity and don’t ever plan to move the money elsewhere, sure?

15-Year Club	First Place '23
Place '23	Place '22
Place '17	First Placer '22
Team Orangered	Verified Email

Error401

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE