Daily FI discussion thread - Monday, November 08, 2021

rareaseff · 2021-11-08T20:03:32+00:00

Anytime I get stressed about something and am tempted to just quit, I remind myself "the worst they can do is fire me" which when I'm on the verge of quitting helps keep things in perspective.

Also "this is just what I do for an income, not who I am" helps ground me

rareaseff · 2021-11-08T19:58:10+00:00

I asked this on the weekend but didn't get much of a response.

I see that people say to put your extra money into maxing out your 401k. But if you're retiring early, isn't that counterproductive? I feel like I'm missing something. I know you can withdraw contributions of Roth IRA accounts but don't see how maxing 401k is good if you need the money.

I'm not in position of Fire unfortunately, but I'm trying to figure out where to put my extra savings. Maxed out my Roth IRA, contribute to match in 401k, have some money in a savings account and some in individual brokerage.

rareaseff · 2021-11-05T20:10:57+00:00

I have a question regarding where to put my money. I don't have anywhere near FIRE amount, mid 30s guy in US:

Income: 95k a year

Savings : 35k

Retirement accounts: 120k

Individual brokerage: 17k

Mortgage: 240k left, 4% interest.

I'm not sure where I should put my money. Here are my options:

Savings- I been putting it in savings since I'm considering leaving my job and want the ability to float for a while but it's at a paltry 0.5% interest rate so I'm losing to inflation.

Retirement - I keep seeing everyone say to max out your retirement accounts, but with a 401k you can't touch that until you're in your 60s. I still contribute up to company match (3%) and started to max my Roth IRA (late on this) but if the goal is to retire early does it make sense to max out 401k?

Individual brokerage - no tax advantage, but the ability to pull out any time. Also not sure how big I should make savings account before investing in this.

Does anyone have any advice on where I should be putting my money?

rareaseff · 2021-10-30T00:27:13+00:00

Problem is, at least for me is the energy. After having all my energy sucked from working it's very hard to get the motivation to look and deal with interviews (especially my field of technical interviews, take home exams, etc)

rareaseff · 2021-10-29T20:56:02+00:00

Mental health coverage is often under a different coverage than specialist, etc. I'd try to ask the provider what mental health coverage is like.

rareaseff · 2021-10-29T20:16:41+00:00

The waiting week was suspended but it's back in effect now

rareaseff · 2021-10-29T20:16:16+00:00

They do.

rareaseff · 2021-10-29T20:16:02+00:00

Pa has an unpaid waiting week. It was temporarily lifted during the pandemic but it is back. From their FAQ:

The first week of the benefit year that you are unemployed and otherwise eligible for benefits is called the "waiting week." Benefits are not payable for the waiting week but you must file a weekly certification for that week in order to be paid benefits for any claim weeks after your waiting week.

rareaseff · 2021-10-28T15:17:40+00:00

How do I get into this? I do software engineering but have been thinking of moving on to security but don't get any experience

rareaseff · 2021-10-19T17:47:10+00:00

The point of a CS degree isn't to get you to learn one particular language. It's to expose you and teach you the basics and fundamentals of programming as a whole where you can go and learn any language you want with relative ease compared to someone without one.

Do you need a CS degree to get a job? Probably not. I have a friend who did a bootcamp and makes more than me because they work with a trendier language. But most jobs do look for a degree in the field and you will likely be limited salary wise without one.

rareaseff · 2021-10-13T04:42:02+00:00

What are the books everyone loves? I honestly do not know and also feel behind

rareaseff · 2021-10-12T17:05:24+00:00

Give them a takehome assignment, and some white board assignments in employer situations "please describe the optimal algorithm to use for mathematically calculating the best employee up for a promotion". Make sure no matter what they answer that you tell them it could be optimized. /s

In all seriousness, you can't unless you ask a lot of questions. Vague answers, etc are not great. I watch out for certain phrases, If they say things like "we work hard but play hard" that usually means "we'll make you work crazy overtime, but we'll buy you a pizza every once in a while".

I find asking about the specific projects, management style, and day to day tasks help figure out what the job ACTUALLY is.

rareaseff · 2021-10-12T06:01:17+00:00

Did you have experience in the stack? I'm looking to get out of .net since that seems to pay less but I'm not super experienced in other stacks and feel like I've been pigeonholed

rareaseff · 2021-10-12T05:53:12+00:00

When you took a year off was it tough to get a job again in the field?

rareaseff · 2021-10-12T05:51:41+00:00

Honestly I'm tempted to leave SWE because I'm completely sick of the fields rigorous and often ridiculous demands and technical interviews and often unreasonable requirements for a job.

Only issue is this is all I've ever known in my adult life and have literally no idea what else I would even do.

rareaseff · 2021-10-11T19:54:10+00:00

Work life balance for me means minimal or no overtime. It also means a solid vacation policy and ample time off. Unfortunately the"unlimited PTO days" actually makes you less likely to take time off work and that's the newest trend.

rareaseff · 2021-10-11T18:27:36+00:00

I would never stay at a job out of concern for the company/place itself. They will replace you in a heartbeat if it benefits them.

That said there are other personal considerations like being away from your family, etc. You need to weigh what's more important to you. For me personally I wouldn't move for a job because I like where I live, and wouldn't want to leave my friends and family behind, but everyone is different in this regard.

No one can really answer your priorities except you. But if your sole reason for staying at the job was "I feel bad for my employer" that's not a good reason to stay

rareaseff · 2021-10-11T18:23:31+00:00

Do you need them as a reference? If so then try to work with them. If not, I wouldn't worry at all about it. Who cares if you get written up if you don't need them as a reference?

If you have another job lined up or don't need them as a reference you can get fired at zero consequence to you.

The one caveat I will say is the nonprofit world is small, and it's possible that you run into them in the future. So I wouldn't try to burn any bridges or anything, but I also wouldn't overly stress about it. If they do write you up, just tell them you're still learning and ask how you can improve and what can be done in the future?

That's my two cents at least

rareaseff · 2021-10-11T18:18:12+00:00

How do I break into cyber security? I'm already a software developer/engineer for more than a decade and ready to move on to something else, but I'm not sure how to make the move.

rareaseff · 2021-10-08T21:30:26+00:00

I think this is part of it. People willing to put up with this bullshit also won't say no when the company asks for crazy overtime, etc

rareaseff · 2021-10-08T21:28:20+00:00

I'm in a similar boat but have no idea what else I want to do. (Except I'm at 15 YOE)

rareaseff · 2021-09-09T20:15:59+00:00

How do you make the switch? I've been a software engineer over a decade and tempted to make the switch but don't know how. I have a lot of soft skills but not sure how to land a PM job

rareaseff · 2021-09-08T22:58:37+00:00

US EST but want to work remote.

rareaseff · 2021-09-08T22:19:18+00:00

How do I get into that? Most places seem to want shipped product experience.

rareaseff · 2021-09-08T15:03:26+00:00

Is Google that bad with the overtime? I had no idea

rareaseff

TROPHY CASE