5 ms·

you can do that only if you are a senior dev.. what do junior devs, recent college grads do?

by k3dz 15y ago

enjo 15y ago
There is no point in your life that you can more easily take 3 months off to do whatever you want than when you are a "recent college grad". My biggest life regret was not realizing this at the time. I jumped into the workforce and pursued my career at 95 mph. I should have spent a year travelling.
- cmurdock 15y ago
  Unless you have college loans that you start paying on immediately after leaving college... which is bordering on most people these days.
  - adrianparsons 15y ago
    Depending on the loan, you may qualify for "Income-Based Repayment" plans, which reduce monthly payments to $0 if you are making little or no money. You still accrue interest, and the crushing psychological weight of all that debt is still there, but it's definitely an option for new grads.
  - jrockway 15y ago
    I doubt it. State schools are still pretty cheap. After a minimal scholarship, UIC cost me something like $1300 a semester. That ends up being a not-that-crippling debt.
    - lotusleaf1987 15y ago
      If you go to a University of California, it costs at least $10,000 in tuition a year alone,definitely more now, that's what it was two years ago. Plus books and rent for most people.
  - camiller 15y ago
    Usually (or at least back when I graduated from college the first time) there was a six-month window before you had to start re-paying the college loan.
jasonkester 15y ago
Save up for a few years so you can take your dream trip once you've gained some leverage?
dmm 15y ago
Live on less than half of your net(take-home) pay and save the rest. Now for every month that you work, you are also saving a month's worth of living expenses. After two years of this you have two years of fuck you money. Two years is enough time to learn python or something else significant. Your savings can last even longer if you get a $10/hr job such as waiting tables part-time. Work daily on developing marketable skills. Work daily on communicating how your work impacts the business you're in. Imagine your boss asks you tomorrow, "Why shouldn't I fire you right now?". What would you say? Always have a resume prepared. Once you have done this you can go up to your boss and tell her you are taking two months off and you won't care what she says in reply.
- MatthewPhillips 15y ago
  Recent grads are only making ~40k, some times less, some times considerably less (people have posted Ask HNs about this topic before). As someone who used to be in that camp, living off half your net at that salary range is not realistic; living on 75% is barely so, if you're eating bologna sandwiches every night. Having a second job is a great idea, it's just too bad you can't get a good consulting job when you're a junior dev. Once you have a couple of years of experience you can start to get consulting work and from there you are pretty much set financially. The first couple of years are tough though. Vacations aren't realistic unless you have family that helps you out.
  - jasonkester 15y ago
    Most undergrads are only making ~$0/year, and seem to get by just fine. Adding an extra $40k into the mix would only seem to help. I made $37k at my first job, and managed to put $10k of that into the market for the first four years. So yes, it's possible. Everything the grandparent says is good advice (apart from the waiting tables thing. Freelancing pays 10-30x as much.) Live cheap when you're young, bank away as much as possible, spend your 30s living on a beach. It's very doable if that's what you want.
    - dmm 15y ago
      I just mentioned waiting tables because it was a job almost anyone could do and that pays decently. It's something you could find quickly to stretch savings between jobs. I don't have any experience with freelancing but that's probably a better idea.
grosales 15y ago
I did that as a mid level dev. I had timing on my side though. I waited until we finished a big project, and then I presented my two week letter and went on a month long trip. I came back and found a job almost immediately. My point being that when your body asks you for change, do not hold back, and make that change. Be confident in your skills and don't be afraid of telling your boss that you need a break. Because even though the Germans may think so, we are not robots.
danenania 15y ago
Improve your skills, build a portfolio, and switch into contracting as soon as you can. You make a lot more if you're good, can make your own schedule (including long vacations if desired, or working vacations), and the somewhat higher risk and uncertainty are easy to manage when you're young and without dependents. You also get more diverse experience and contacts that increase your desirability if you want to return to 9-5 land AND if you're adventurous, you can go live in a developing nation with a low cost of living, which has the same effect as a big income boost, plus you get to spend your time somewhere that isn't yuppie land (and presumably has nice weather).
nfriedly 15y ago
I took the month of August off from my software dev job between my freshmen and sophomore years of college. That was in addition to ~3 weeks of other vacation time spread throughout that year. I spent the month traveling and volunteering. It was unpaid, but my expenses were pretty low at the time and I had enough in savings to get by just fine. I highly recommend it.

you can do that only if you are a senior dev.. what do junior devs, recent college grads do?

by k3dz 15y ago

you can do that only if you are a senior dev.. what do junior devs, recent college grads do?

enjo 15y ago

There is no point in your life that you can more easily take 3 months off to do whatever you want than when you are a "recent college grad". My biggest life regret was not realizing this at the time. I jumped into the workforce and pursued my career at 95 mph. I should have spent a year travelling.

cmurdock 15y ago
Unless you have college loans that you start paying on immediately after leaving college... which is bordering on most people these days.
- adrianparsons 15y ago
  Depending on the loan, you may qualify for "Income-Based Repayment" plans, which reduce monthly payments to $0 if you are making little or no money. You still accrue interest, and the crushing psychological weight of all that debt is still there, but it's definitely an option for new grads.
- jrockway 15y ago
  I doubt it. State schools are still pretty cheap. After a minimal scholarship, UIC cost me something like $1300 a semester. That ends up being a not-that-crippling debt.
  - lotusleaf1987 15y ago
    If you go to a University of California, it costs at least $10,000 in tuition a year alone,definitely more now, that's what it was two years ago. Plus books and rent for most people.
- camiller 15y ago
  Usually (or at least back when I graduated from college the first time) there was a six-month window before you had to start re-paying the college loan.

jasonkester 15y ago

Save up for a few years so you can take your dream trip once you've gained some leverage?

dmm 15y ago

Live on less than half of your net(take-home) pay and save the rest. Now for every month that you work, you are also saving a month's worth of living expenses. After two years of this you have two years of fuck you money. Two years is enough time to learn python or something else significant. Your savings can last even longer if you get a $10/hr job such as waiting tables part-time. Work daily on developing marketable skills. Work daily on communicating how your work impacts the business you're in. Imagine your boss asks you tomorrow, "Why shouldn't I fire you right now?". What would you say? Always have a resume prepared. Once you have done this you can go up to your boss and tell her you are taking two months off and you won't care what she says in reply.

MatthewPhillips 15y ago
Recent grads are only making ~40k, some times less, some times considerably less (people have posted Ask HNs about this topic before). As someone who used to be in that camp, living off half your net at that salary range is not realistic; living on 75% is barely so, if you're eating bologna sandwiches every night. Having a second job is a great idea, it's just too bad you can't get a good consulting job when you're a junior dev. Once you have a couple of years of experience you can start to get consulting work and from there you are pretty much set financially. The first couple of years are tough though. Vacations aren't realistic unless you have family that helps you out.
- jasonkester 15y ago
  Most undergrads are only making ~$0/year, and seem to get by just fine. Adding an extra $40k into the mix would only seem to help. I made $37k at my first job, and managed to put $10k of that into the market for the first four years. So yes, it's possible. Everything the grandparent says is good advice (apart from the waiting tables thing. Freelancing pays 10-30x as much.) Live cheap when you're young, bank away as much as possible, spend your 30s living on a beach. It's very doable if that's what you want.
  - dmm 15y ago
    I just mentioned waiting tables because it was a job almost anyone could do and that pays decently. It's something you could find quickly to stretch savings between jobs. I don't have any experience with freelancing but that's probably a better idea.

grosales 15y ago

I did that as a mid level dev. I had timing on my side though. I waited until we finished a big project, and then I presented my two week letter and went on a month long trip. I came back and found a job almost immediately. My point being that when your body asks you for change, do not hold back, and make that change. Be confident in your skills and don't be afraid of telling your boss that you need a break. Because even though the Germans may think so, we are not robots.

danenania 15y ago

Improve your skills, build a portfolio, and switch into contracting as soon as you can. You make a lot more if you're good, can make your own schedule (including long vacations if desired, or working vacations), and the somewhat higher risk and uncertainty are easy to manage when you're young and without dependents. You also get more diverse experience and contacts that increase your desirability if you want to return to 9-5 land AND if you're adventurous, you can go live in a developing nation with a low cost of living, which has the same effect as a big income boost, plus you get to spend your time somewhere that isn't yuppie land (and presumably has nice weather).

nfriedly 15y ago

I took the month of August off from my software dev job between my freshmen and sophomore years of college. That was in addition to ~3 weeks of other vacation time spread throughout that year. I spent the month traveling and volunteering. It was unpaid, but my expenses were pretty low at the time and I had enough in savings to get by just fine. I highly recommend it.