from Hacker News

A Day Job Is So Much Easier Than Entrepreneurship

by m0wer on 6/25/24, 11:42 AM with 18 comments

• by jedrek on 6/25/24, 12:54 PM

  How is this a real submission?

  Yes, a day job is easier, because a day job has a very real cap on your renumeration. Work for a company, create a product, have that product generate $50 million p/a in sales? Cool, you're still making the same bi-weekly $3000.

  This is literally by design, and if you don't see it, what's going on?

• by m0llusk on 6/25/24, 1:28 PM

  It really depend on who you are. My journey as a company founder has been difficult, but I have been able to work with clients to provide services they value and make things work. In contrast as an employee there was constant, ruthless competition, layoffs or culling pretty much every year, and I frequently felt curb stomped by coworkers and sometimes entire teams. If you are socially competent then a day job is very likely going to be easier, but if you are autistic or otherwise challenged in this very competitive environment then running a business yourself may be the only way to rise above the fray.

• by floundy on 6/25/24, 1:10 PM

  Always considered Financial Samurai to be the most insufferable blogger in the financial independence space. (Yes, worse than Mr. "My Tesla is a business expense so I can make my spending look artificially low" Money Mustache or the Frugalwoods "I'm totally retired at 30, let me see how long I can hide my husband's high-powered career and income to rebrand being a stay at home mom into a blogger").

  Sam seems to lie about all his numbers (net worth, income, and spending). Like really, claiming to make tens of thousands of dollars selling ebooks exclusively through his website and not even offering them for sale on Amazon which accounts for 80-90% of most authors' sales? He's great at selling the "idea" of FI to people, but it's clear that his best interests aren't aligned with those of his readers as he does things like push shady private real estate funds that give him kickbacks.

• by uptownfunk on 6/25/24, 1:02 PM

  Entrepreneurship is so brutal, so crushing. Day job way way easier.

• by MilStdJunkie on 6/25/24, 2:13 PM

  "Easy" and "hard" are a lot less important than "risk", I think. Sure, as entrepreneur, I might make 200% gains one out of four times versus 10% gains four out of four times as FTE, but if I'm not already sitting on sustainment money then it doesn't matter what the gains are - I need that four out of four.

  It's why you see mostly kids with eff-off money in the game, a few kids from upper middle class, and the tiniest trickle of the actually poor. If you ever wanted a non-commie reason for UBI, that's one of them - you expand the entrepreneur pool by a metric buttload.

• by gatinsama on 6/25/24, 12:56 PM

  No way. Really? I'm shocked.

• by HumblyTossed on 6/25/24, 12:44 PM

  Oh yeah? Which day job.

• by elintknower on 6/25/24, 2:25 PM

  This post is well written and accurate except for the salary numbers.

  As someone who's done a number of startups I do make fun of friends of mine who refer to mutual FAANG employed friends as "wage slaves" making quite literally $10k bi-weekly.

  As I'm getting into my 30's I totally see the appeal - becoming less materialistic outside of experiences and my personal financial stability is also making a "huge exit" given the emotional energy input less and less appealing.

  Guess Paul Graham was right about naive young founders after all /s