[moltenguardian]

For those of you here that have hit your FIRE number: have you ever brought this up with your manager or potential new company? I'm in this position myself where I don't have to work any more, and mainly just want a fun job. I don't want to be underpaid for the value I'm providing, but I also don't want to be jerked around.

[PragmaticPulp]

I worked with a guy who made several million dollars from a prior startup and didn't need to work any more.

He was a good guy, wrote good code, was fun to work with. But at the same time, his FIRE status was front and center every time it came to task assignment and other issues. His manager was always afraid to give him un-fun tasks or push back when he was behind schedule for fear he'd quit. Not a great dynamic for the rest of the team who didn't have as much leverage and therefore received a disproportionate amount of the un-fun work.

If a candidate came to me suggesting that they didn't need this job but they only wanted to work if it was fun, I'd honestly have to proceed very cautiously. The last thing I want to do is hire a candidate who opens with an indirect threat that they're going to leave the second the job isn't fun any more. We have one of the better team environments, but I can't guarantee that work will always be fun and never require some hard weeks or months to get things done.

I'd personally not mention it. It's not only irrelevant to the hiring discussion, but it's a weird warning shot to your future manager before you're even hired.

[sillysaurusx]

Apparently -- I only heard this once, so take it with a grain of salt -- it's why a Walmart manager is typically cautious when someone with qualifications wants a job. "You want a job as a cashier? Uh huh, I bet you won't show up for your shifts, since you don't need to."

I always thought that was kind of interesting, that being overqualified for a Walmart job might make it harder to just get a Walmart job. (I briefly considered it in a pinch but decided to drive for Uber instead.)

[elihu]

The other reason for the manager to be cautious is that the applicant may quickly become a manager, and the old manager will be out of a job. Or maybe the manager's manager will be out of a job.

[popinman322]

I'm generalizing my own experience here, but I imagine it typically takes time for people to reach the conclusion that they want to leave. What if they enjoy some of those "un-fun" tasks? Or maybe they take pride in their work? Or maybe they just like writing code? Or maybe they enjoy working with their coworkers?

I think maybe his manager misplayed and could have approached this from a different perspective. "Ah, I have someone who I can keep at the same pay who is willing to work for the hell of it." Or something like that. Definitely feels like that's the kind of thing you could negotiate with an employee who's joining just for the work and not for the money.

[pltrthrowaway]

Throwaway account, for obvious reasons...

I hit my FIRE number about a year and a half before leaving my last corporate gig, and have a BATNA (Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement) of, basically, "fuck you, fire me" meant I went into my last couple of salary/role/location negotations with enough excess confidence that I was always able to press for what I wanted (within reason), presumably because everyone opposite me could tell they didn't have a lot of wiggle room.

It only works until it doesn't, though -- I left that job when they closed my office out from underneath me and straight-up relocated my role elsewhere. They asked me to move with it, and I said "no thanks". Obviously they called my bluff (I was being totally unreasonable, to be clear), and...now I'm self-employed.

On the upside, I did mention that I'd already hit that FIRE number, so...

[SpicyLemonZest]

I know people who've used their FIRE status as an argument for why they should be able to take a long sabbatical and decide whether they want to come back at the end of it, but I've never seen anyone use it to argue for special treatment in the job. I kinda feel like I'd be uncomfortable working with someone who got that kind of "favored child" status.

[pltrthrowaway]

Explicitly point out their FIRE status? Yeah, that'd be a dick (and probably failing) negotiating tactic. But even just having it in the back of your head is going to make you go into those negotations with confidence superpowers that no amount of "I think I deserve this raise" belief could ever match.

[0x202020]

My manager is aware only because we have worked together several times, but he still fights for a yearly raise on the 5-15% scale of things without me asking, and does for other team members as far as I know. For the most part I work 5 by 5s but if there is a meeting or it’s my turn to be the on call engineer I don’t get to shove those duties to the side because they aren’t fun. I have followed and will continue to follow said manager for the foreseeable future due to the relationship we have

[bitcoinmoney]

Wow. 5-15%? What role is this? Unheard of except on promotions

[Areading314]

I would not bring it up as it would actually make you a less desirable candidate/employee because you could just quit at any time.