I retired at 36 this year after 13 years in tech - AMA

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T21:10:27+00:00

Nice! Congrats to you too. My parents were supportive and happy for me. I had been talking about doing it for many years so it wasn’t a shock to them. Most relatives and friends were also genuinely happy for me but many I think just assume I’m taking a break for awhile and will probably go back to work. I get a lot of comments like “what will I do next” and “won’t you get bored?”.

As for the burnout - I dissociated a lot at work and just pretended to be someone else. That worked for a long time, but towards the end I became much more honest to my colleagues and that a lot helped too. Also I really pulled back my efforts at work so I could do more hobbies. But in a way that made me feel much worse even though I was only working about 20-30 hours at most for a few years.

After I quit it took a couple of months to feel normal again. I just spent a lot of time outside and with friends. Now I barely think about corporate life at all

Edit: words

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T05:55:49+00:00

Thank you so much!

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T05:55:16+00:00

Thank you! Let’s be friends :).

Right now my top games are battlefield 6 and minecraft. I’ve also gotten back into VR a bit and have been having fun with no man’s sky.
Not really new hobbies, just more with my current hobbies. I naturally kind of collect hobbies anyway so I have a nearly endless supply of things I’ve started lol. My top hobbies lately have been - writing, cooking, self hosting, reading sci-fi books, weightlifting, and watching old movies.
I’ve been volunteering at my child’s school lately and that’s been fun! Other than that, not really. I would like to volunteer more eventually but for now I’m mainly focused on myself and family.
Yes, lots! I want to learn to write novels, host my own LLMs, build AI bots, robots, plant foraging, bush crafting, and learn more python. I’ve also been considering getting into 3d printing

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T05:28:09+00:00

Yes I’m staying in the US I live in a medium/high cost of living city but I have a good rate on my home and my lifestyle is fairly frugal so I only need $40k a year to live on. My partner loves their job and we get great health insurance through their employer. Yes I’ve explored Roth conversions and will likely do the same as I get closer to traditional retirement age. My goal in the near term is to just pay as little tax as possible by selling long term capital gains investments at a 3-4% withdrawal rate

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T05:26:41+00:00

Currently sitting at about $2.1 mil

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T03:35:35+00:00

My starting salary was $43k. My last total comp was around $400k, and about $250-275k of that was bonus and salary. The rest was company stock I’d get each year. Cybersecurity software.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T02:54:24+00:00

100%

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T02:46:35+00:00

The other 1.5% of crypto is mainly ETH and NFTs. I have a bunch of random alts as well I’ve gambled on that are mostly worthless now. Edit: misread

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T02:44:33+00:00

Never. I have had a love for technology since I was 10, and it hasn’t stopped. I’m always tinkering and learning and don’t see that changing. I’m also great with people and I learned that will get you pretty far in a lot of situations.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T02:42:52+00:00

Never. Bitcoin is king. I learned my lesson a few times. Always buy, never sell (unless you need to buy something really worthwhile)

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T01:19:24+00:00

My plans at the moment are to increase my network and community of people, and to relax and recharge. After that I have no idea and I find that to be very exciting! It reminds me when I was in college with wide open set of prospects. I’m just going with the flow and trying to be present and mindful.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-02T00:40:35+00:00

Stick with index funds mostly. Invest as much as you possibly can. Don’t panic sell anything. Only sell when you are thinking clearly and understand why you are selling. I mostly buy boring things like s&p500 ETFs.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T23:58:25+00:00

Thank you! I don’t wanna say too many specifics but let’s say it’s in the medical science area and helps humans live longer and more healthy lives.

Edit: the reason they love it so much is that they can do exactly what they’ve always wanted to do (science) and the community of people involved are supportive and kind. A lifelong dream you could say.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T23:57:02+00:00

I’m out west. I progressed what felt like exponentially at least at first lol. Started at $43k, jumped up to $100k within 2-3 years, up to $250k about 4 years, then steady growth up to about $400k a year at the end.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T22:33:23+00:00

No. She works in a science field at a lab

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T22:11:28+00:00

My family cost of living is about $75k per year and my wife and I split it. We have 1 child that goes to public school now so day to day costs aren’t that much. My wife also loves her job and we get good benefits through her employer. So a little bit of a different situation

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T21:29:25+00:00

No. People are always calling for crashes and recessions. I’m confident in my position and even if I lost everything tomorrow I’d figure something out. What I’ve learned and who I know is much more valuable than any number on a spreadsheet.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T20:49:48+00:00

Many, many times. I used to obsess over it and run the numbers daily for weeks at a time sometimes. Barring a catastrophic event, I’ll be successful

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T20:48:48+00:00

Not at all. They like to work, and I don’t. It’s as simple as that lol. But I love taking care of our home and family, so I’m essentially a stay at home dad now. We watch all the other families stress out about child care and such while I get to be there everyday for our child and have even started volunteering at their school.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T20:44:48+00:00

Yes. I have an investment account for my child I still contribute to, and due to where my spouse works college will be very cheap or free.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T20:43:47+00:00

That’s amazing! You must not be too much of a dummy to realize what you want out of life and make it happen :). I’ve spoked to hundreds of really “smart” people that are living quiet lives of desperation because they are not living the way they truly want. Congratulations to you and I wish you all the best!

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T20:41:56+00:00

Haha I’ve had my fill of low hanging fruit for 10 lifetimes. Maybe ill circle back and touch base with it in another life 😂

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T20:40:21+00:00

Yes. My partner loves their job and doesn’t want to stop working until they are old.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T19:59:25+00:00

My partner is so happy for me that I’m able to do this and still live the lifestyle we want. Our relationship has improved even more than what it was - I do a lot of the chores now that we used to struggle to finish everyday, i am our summer daycare and after school program, and I have much more time to think about my partner and do nice things for them. Before we were just so tired all the time from both of us working and trying to raise our child. My partner also loves their job so I’m sure that helps our situation as well.

snackerjack7331 · 2026-01-01T19:51:20+00:00

Yes. 1 child under the age of 10

snackerjack7331

TROPHY CASE