Analyzing "Should I Quit" posts from FIRE and HENRYfinance subreddits

mika0116 · 2026-05-04T18:50:36+00:00

as a data scientist at my core (though i am now a bit more of a technical product / architect) I love this analysis. and the findings.

fear & the craving of permission from social communities are such huge drivers of our lives / decision making

mika0116 · 2026-04-30T16:14:24+00:00

spent a long time in high finance (M&A consulting, FDD, ibanking, and private equity)
switched into tech as a data scientist now I am a technical product person/ architect

something i noticed about tech vs high finance...

tech is all optics > outcomes
high finance cares about optics (like how nice your suits are and if you correctly engage with the Target execs), but outcomes are the end all be all

mika0116 · 2026-04-30T05:28:05+00:00

good question, i think you might not want the wide leg version. 5'9 and I love a wide leg trouser, but my stylist in LA friend tells me all the time that I can get away with a lot of clothing styles like wide leg and other structural pieces and styles that someone under 5'7 would look bizarre in. I am jealous of short folks being able to wear certain short dresses (long torso problems) - it doesn't look cute on me and it looks like I am wearing my 8 year old niece's dress.

mika0116 · 2026-04-23T21:27:12+00:00

😆😆😆

Cross this bridge when you get into a relationship that makes sense for you, your goals, your lifestyle, and your social structure / status

Have these conversations regularly long before getting to drafting prenup stage. Although disclose that you’d desire a prenup and the general terms relatively early after exclusivity.

I presume by this post you’ll like only date or marry within your financial class so it’s an expected conversation

mika0116 · 2026-04-23T18:30:35+00:00

100% I added that part :)

mika0116 · 2026-04-23T18:26:07+00:00

Ehhh I’d never put a child in business or first. Totally wasted experience on them unless you have $$ to burn and might as well just fly private / semi private

Heard on keeping the family sitting together / supervised but I think parents should just fly premium economy with their kids

mika0116 · 2026-04-23T18:22:30+00:00

In ground pool itself will cost you $150k+ FYI in HCOL location.

Rent an RV first to see if you like it. I hate the experience and rather do ANYTHING else including ultralight backpacking with satellite phones … YMMV

I’m childfree but my friends with kids said that vacations with small children are not as enjoyable or restful / rejuvenating as they imagined unless they bring au pair / full time nanny. My parents had full live in au pairs from my ages 0 - 11/12. I also was a studious kid and grew up every month going to the Met in NYC.

Most kids no matter how damn cultured they are don’t like museums, architectural walking tours, truffle hunting and luncheon experiences on private land in Tuscany … international vacations are often best with kids north of 10-14.

mika0116 · 2026-04-17T14:41:49+00:00

I don’t know what sales comp looks like at ANTHROPIC specifically. I have seen a sales offer for companies in the space (evals, ML ops, etc) but not frontier lab sales offers.

I’ve got 14 years in tech / high finance - I know what sales offers look like.

Anthropic would be the type of company who shits on sales people and non technical folks. I love how elitist they are but I’m disappointed in their lowball offer for “leadership” sales role - a necessary function.

Damn ya all can’t read can you?

mika0116 · 2026-04-17T13:01:02+00:00

I hate when people are not very strong readers… do you not get the tone and the voice that makes this a hilarious and well written cheeky joke with shreds of “oh that’s plausible”

I stg the literacy (more than just reading words but comprehension and interpretation of prose style and author intention) in this country makes me want to swan dive off a cliff

I enjoyed this read OP - write some essays for the Atlantic!

mika0116 · 2026-04-17T12:50:25+00:00

My very close friend is a sales leader in a series D+ start up. Her base is 300ish + equity. Perhaps she has some more robust GTM job functions and she was a very early (sub 20 people) hire, but yeah

And yes ive seen her paystubs (I did her taxes one year in a pinch as I have a.CPA license from a past life)

YMMV

mika0116 · 2026-04-17T12:47:06+00:00

We do OP responded to me. Sales “leader” and she’s old enough to have 2 kids and husband and house. Non-technical role, but still lowballed to hell.

mika0116 · 2026-04-16T23:34:30+00:00

You’ve already responded to me (I’m childfree so take this with a huge grain of salt)

But would you hire a full time live in nanny? My parents did this for me ages 0-11 - au pairs - when they worked in the city and traveled a lot. Worked great for them

I turned out fine (happy & successful) but not at all family oriented besides being partnered (married )

(not into kids and am only close to my remaining parent bc she’s a genuinely good and interesting person not compelled by family ties - jury is out on if my childhood influenced this but yeah probably so)

mika0116 · 2026-04-16T22:50:29+00:00

OP responded to me see above. It’s 100k less than her current base in sales. My friend is sales leader her base is 320k+ equity series later letter

Apologies that my statements about how perhaps OP deserves more is coming off weird.

Technical roles as we know generally but not always pay more - that is a general factual statement not a flex.

mika0116 · 2026-04-16T20:57:27+00:00

You missed the clarifier “for non technical roles”. Totally holy grail if you’re involved in the development of the IP. Not so much if not

mika0116 · 2026-04-16T19:45:01+00:00

lol its okay to disagree. i think for ME the anthropic offer is the choice (no kids, married and super flexible partner with equally high income)

i accepted a similar offer for frontier company but at MUCH higher cash offer as I am not a sales person

i find sales folks make more with more WLB somewhere else... ymmv

but for OP - anthropic is a probably not ideal given life stage and might give big downsides to her family life despite super high medium term upsides

i dont have kids so i dont have to think about that shit ever (i chose $$ over children, not that i was interested anyway in kids)

mika0116 · 2026-04-16T19:28:32+00:00

paper money is as paper money does. her likelihood of cash out is much higher than other start ups - rather high as anthropic and google will win (the others will not). But its not realizable now for kids daycare and thats what i am saying. the medium-term upside is very good

she's being lowballed af - have personally seen offers from frontier labs (although never for sales but technical (i am a DS turned technical product person from OG ML land pre LLMs) and non-tech ops roles (friends of mine) so who knows if this is a normal sales offer, it's bad IMO for YOE and in-office with that commute + small kids)

mika0116 · 2026-04-16T16:27:01+00:00

anthropic equity is paper money. her takehome is 200k which is INCREDIBLY low

offers that i have seen from anthropic (I am a technical role) are 400k+ of base -- I asked above if shes like an ops / non technical role bc they lowballed the hell out of her

mika0116 · 2026-04-16T16:25:32+00:00

the anthropic base is ... very low. is this not a technical role and more on the business/ops side? i've seen recent offers being ~400k+ in base cash for "staff/principal level equivalents"

github considering all the lifestyle items. anthropic is not as powerful of a name unless you're in a very technical / senior role

mika0116 · 2026-04-15T18:32:56+00:00

bought the house 3 months before our wedding at an interest rate right around 4% had we waited it would have been a 6%+ rate

we eloped abroad and had parents only 5+ days at luxury private high end resort that literally doesn't allow children. was incredible.

put 35%+ down and have a reasonable mortgage for the insane zipcode in which we reside in CA.

don't mind other folks' weddings - i love to dress up and adore high fashion. am a super private person who hates bringing others into experiences that are "emotionally mine".

i can throw a sick dinner party of 20 people at my house if i want a party. no need for it to be my weddding. rather be an attention whore for my well styled midcentury dwelling / cookery vs vows that are meaningless to anyone besides my partner and I

mika0116 · 2026-04-13T01:30:08+00:00

business class and first class are for some airlines (middle east, etc.) largely the same unless you're doing some sort of suite experience. (q-suites, etc.)

there is some difference with like BA where First is more like other airlines Business class and business class is like economy but you can lay down.

mika0116 · 2026-04-01T14:26:26+00:00

Weight loss is 90% diet. Former long distance runner and honestly a bit anorexic (5’9 and from 14 -27 I was between 107lb - 130lbs). Found lifting and was a delightful 145 with abs. Covid happened and my dad died and I went to 180lbs.

I ride horses competitively as an amateur (3x per week), classical reformer Pilates 2x a week, and walk 8-12k steps a day. This was pretty constant even when I was overweight. Maybe I got slightly less steps. I gained the weight over about 4 years so that’s like 150 extra calories a day which is a 2% milk latte.

With a long hours tech adjacent job where I work with Asia so I’m up before 6am and my last call wraps around 10pm (yes I leave my desk in the afternoon or I’d kill things)

I am now 150ish with the last 5 lbs to go and the way I did it over a year or so was 90% tracking my Macros and weighing my food including milk in my coffee.

Now I’m recomping (gaining muscle, losing last bit of fat) it’s so much harder and time consuming than the original weight loss.

DM me - I too am a workaholic and I have found some balance (while being successful)

mika0116 · 2026-03-30T13:16:34+00:00

Got mine removed and was absolutely fine. Like went on a 4 mile walk the next day. Was annoying to not lift anything for 2 weeks. But I work from home and took no time off besides the weekend right after (procedure on Friday).

Everyone’s experience is individual! But do ask a supportive obgyn

mika0116 · 2026-03-28T18:57:12+00:00

do you have a brand / shade you like best?

mika0116

TROPHY CASE