[scarface_74]

I bet while you “weren’t doing in person coding tests” as a developer you also weren’t making the type of compensation that the people who were “grinding leetCode and working for a FAANG” (tm) r/cscareerquestions.

I use to brag like you, about “not doing take home test” for 25 years. Then I landed at BigTech and saw that returning interns were making about what I made two years earlier at 45.

I’m not complaining, my goal had been to get into $BigTech in 2020 and relocate when my youngest (step)son graduated I did so without a coding interview and without relocating by pivoting to “cloud consulting/application modernization” (cloud + enterprise application architecture/development). But I tell my younger relatives to practice coding interviews and go for the most compensation possible.

[johnnyanmac]

If you base your success on money, sure. Maybe tests are a good filter.

Personally, I'm seeking something more furfilling and the difference between 200k and 300k doesn't matter if I don't find the work furfilling. 300k to 400k would be negligible for any material possessions I'd want.

But to each their own.

[scarface_74]

Yes, I have this insatiable addiction for food and shelter. The best way I know how to support my addiction is to trade labor for money.

[the_only_law]

Which as we all know is impossible to do without FAANG money.

[scarface_74]

Sure it is, I had my 3200 square foot home built in 2016 in the northern burbs of Atlanta when I was making $135K.

But why given the choice (theoretically) would I give up making $ALotMore just by practicing for coding interviews?

Like I said, I personally didn’t have to thanks to years of industry experience, knowing “cloud”, and having soft skills. But why would anyone without the path dependencies I had (ie children in school that I didn’t want to relocate) hold their nose up at doing what it takes to make $160K+ straight out of college and a quarter million+ a year by the time they are 25?

[johnnyanmac]

>But why given the choice (theoretically) would I give up making $ALotMore just by practicing for coding interviews?

Because I am content in my current state of life? Because the type of work being offered is not engaging to me and I have the luxury to choose? Because I'm not trying to speedrun out of the job market and retire at 40?

I'm making more than $135k, but once I get a decent car and pay off my house... what next?

- Paid off student loans

- Already maxing out my 401k for retirement as well as investing in an IRA account

- I of course have hobbies and disposable goods to buy, but It's not $5000/month worth of stuff.

- I have a decent savings right now, and I imagine by the time I pay off my house I will have a very hefty buffer as well as some more of that going into stocks

The only consideration is potentially for kids, but that's not even in the cards right now. Maybe I'd consider traveling, but I've never had those dreams where I'm an adventurer, nor one where I retire in some vacation resort. I'll cross them bridge when I get there, and it's not like I don't have the savings buffer if I need a short term transition phase for $ALotMore down the line should the need arise.

As is it now, if I got a million dollars in 10 years after I paid off my house/car my first impulse would be... going to art school. Not investing in some more stocks or starting a busines or whatnot which tends to be popular here, I'd just continue to develop myself in skills I never had a chance to. And a million dollars would take that from being a part time side hobby to something I can focus on full time for a few years.

----

so yea, given all that talk, guess my career in tech lol.

[throwaway675309]

Or take my path, find a job that balances work and life priorities, doesn't require you to stress out on grinding rote memorized leet code problems, and work on a side business in your less stressed free time so that you can start your own company.

FAANG companies already have far too much power and influence, I'm ideologically opposed to giving them even more by subordinating myself to them for the almighty dollar.