Ether's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Contact:

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

Shade-tree I'm happy to hear you're keeping up on my journey!
Since your son might have some interest in the field, I'll share what I have gleaned so far from my limited experience

1. There are not nearly as many entry level security jobs as there are entry level IT and programming positions
Anecdotal evidence can be found here
2. Security is a small and extremely skilled subset of the technology industry
There are only 70,000 security workers compared to 1,100,000 programmer and 700,000 help desk workers Source
3. Getting "hacked" isn't about being dumb/lazy, but more how valuable your information is. Governments, the military, and massive corporation have all been hacked despite great minds running their security program. Heck even Iran's uranium enrichment faculties were hacked read more here. If you're a valuable enough target, chances are someone will temporarily hack you!

*disclaimer* this is just my rookie interpretation of computer security, if anyone knows more than me please share!

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Contact:

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

August Income Statement
Inflow
Scholarships : 1670
Job: 1110
Gifts: 200
Interest: 15

Outflow
Tuition: 930
University Fees: 60
Rent & Utilities: 540
Furniture: 420
Food: 160
Travel: 60
Gifts: 25

Saving Rate: 27%

Commentary
-The school year has begun! Between classes and work I have much less free time & getting less sleep.
-Buddies are back in town! The extra parties and trips balance out having to work more.
-2/3 done with city housing program education to qualify for a cheap loan. Found a newish 2 bed condo three blocks from school
for 55k. Factoring in mortgage, insurance, utilities, HOA, taxes, and maintenance it looks like that condo is cheaper than my
$550/month rent. I hope to make a home purchase in the next 1-2 years. I feel confident I want to stay in this city for the next 5-10
years.
-I'm busy but happy & optimistic
Last edited by ether on Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

singvestor
Posts: 205
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2015 12:48 am

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by singvestor »

I am deeply impressed with your dedication and how organized you are at such a young age. Impressive!

nmirela
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:34 pm
Location: Romania

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by nmirela »

I have to second singvestor's thoughts! You are really impressive young man! Keep up the good work, and good luck with your plans for owning a house!

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Contact:

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

October Income Statement
Inflow
Scholarships : 1670
Job: 880
Consulting: 340
Interest: 15

Outflow
Tuition: 930
University Fees: 60
Rent & Utilities: 540
Food: 150
Entertainment: 20

Saving Rate: 41%

Commentary
-My city was declared a federal disaster zone following serious flooding. A dozen dead and massive property damage. My family and I are safe and suffered zero property damage, but a quarter of the city lost their homes. Nobody has flood insurance since we're not in a flood zone and the grim reality is setting in.
-Showed me how fragile things can be. Disaster brings out both the worst and the best in people.
-Starting applications for a summer internship in corporate america

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

December Income Statement
Inflow: $2675
Outflow: $1750
Saving Rate: 35%

Commentary
-Broke 30k assets, 24k in cash, 6k in equities
-Flood really killed my interest in real estate. The areas I was looking at were swept away. Government never designated that area a flood zone so most people didn't have flood insurance, just the normal policy. Their homes are gone, insurance won't help, and government is only offering loans. Those areas are a dead zone and I don't see any repairs being done. I guess they were just renters or declared bankruptcy.
-My education is winding down, I have 2 semesters left. I'm graduated 3 semester ahead of schedule. Hoping to negotiate it so I can get the rest of my scholarships in a lump sum. If not, I'll spend a couple semesters as an exchange student and use my scholarships as a travel piggybank. Any recommendations for where to travel?
-Things are very relaxing. I have a low stress job with a hands off boss, more free time since my hard classes are over, my mind is clear, and the most difficult choice I have ahead of my is what new hobby to pick up. I hope this never ends!

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

February Commentary
-Got a summer internship @ $20/hr, working as a sysadmin for a mega-bank.
-Political season in full swing, it's nice to see people getting out and getting active.
-Pretty important month for my friends: a marriage, a divorce, a death and a birth. The cycle of life!
-Overall a pleasant couple months!

ether
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Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

August 2016 Commentary
-Just accepted a job in IT working at the same mega-bank for $80k (70k base, +5% pension, +3% 401k, +5-10% bonus)
-Start date is July 2017 but I graduate in December 2016
-Originally the offer was to work in NYC, but there was no locality adjustment. I negotiated to stay in North Carolina.
-I really like this company and wouldn't mind spending my entire accumulation phase there
-My main goal is to have fun, help my friends with their job hunts, to keep learning outside of class
-Assets are at $40k (35K in cash, 5k in equities)
-It's nice to know college was worth it. Never in my dreams did I think I was capable of making this kind of money.
- For the past two years I worked odd shift for a food pantry at my university to give back, I recently became the vice president due people graduating. It's actually really fun, we are pretty much are running a free grocery store and we have about 20 volunteers and 200 people we help consistently.

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jennypenny
Posts: 6851
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by jennypenny »

How did you get an employer to offer you a job a year out?

Congratulations on graduating early. I'm amazed at how many people are still locked into the 4-year bachelor track without ever examining what they're trying to accomplish in college and if there's a better way to achieve it.
Last edited by jennypenny on Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

jacob
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by jacob »

@jp - I might be talking old-age here, but if the 2010s are anything like the 1990s, most kids don't know, don't care to know, and aren't told/given any alternatives. The few students who do know are fighting an uphill battle against the herd telling them otherwise. At least that was my experience, as part of the herd.

5to9
Posts: 192
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:32 pm

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by 5to9 »

jennypenny wrote:How did you get an employer to offer you a job a year out?
It's not that uncommon in larger IT companies to try to grab the next graduating seniors as soon as possible. It feels like every year the offers go out earlier as every one tries to get an edge.

ether
Posts: 263
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Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

@jp 5to9 is exactly right. Also incentives students not to apply to competing firms. I'm about 90% sure no other company can beat that salary in a low COLA city, so the strategy worked!
@jacob college never changes with time. Just trust the system is the motto.

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

Commentary
-Been over a year since my last update!
-Graduated college and moved to Hawaii for 5 months.
-New job starts in 6 month, no real desire to grind hard before that.
- Pays 80k/yr when factoring wage and bennies.
-Lived on Big Island, Hawaii. Interesting place with fun people and natural wonders
-Got to visit Miami, Vegas, San Fran, San Diego, NYC, Philly, Dallas & Charlotte
-Pretty damn happy :D
Last edited by ether on Wed Apr 18, 2018 6:47 pm, edited 3 times in total.

classical_Liberal
Posts: 2283
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:05 am

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by classical_Liberal »

...
Last edited by classical_Liberal on Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Seppia
Posts: 2016
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2016 9:34 am
Location: South Florida

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by Seppia »

Wow, congrats. I way way, way, WAY less mature at your age.
Keep kicking ass

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

Thanks y'all! Been lurking in this community for four years and I've learned so much. I'll always try to help the people around me see the benefits of this lifestyle. It has made me happier, more confident, opened so many doors to life!

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

Commentary
-Been a half year since my last update!
-Been grinding at my mega-bank job for 8 months now.
-Job title is data analyst, helping do performance reporting with the tableau software. NYSE:DATA
-Got a 10% pay bump to 90k/yr for good performance, but easily clocking in 70 hours a week.
-Operating a side consulting company for SEO, basic web dev, and wikipedia cleanup.
-Favorite gigs so far were implementing switch mining for a $700k ethereum mining farm and pro-bono consulting with a local charter school for good karma
-Broke 80k USD in net worth [$500 cash, $20k taxable brokerage, $40k pre-tax 401k, $10k Roth, $10k paid off subcompact car (2017)]
-It has been a long journey, but I think I've made it
-Wouldn't trade my experiences for anything in the world, I'm just so thankfully for the tech industry being merit based and allowing me to make a living
Last edited by ether on Sun Feb 24, 2019 10:48 pm, edited 3 times in total.

wafflehousehat
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:01 am

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by wafflehousehat »

I like this inflow/outflow thing -- I'm going to start thinking like that.

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Contact:

Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

Commentary
-Hard work has paid off. Got bumped again to 105k/yr base + 20k in benefits (payroll tax, healthcare, 401k, commuter, 6 weeks vacation)
-Finally out of probation since I finished my 1st year
-They flushed out 20% of my peers, pour one out for the homies
-Title is Business Intelligence programmer, just work with SQL, datastage and some web reporting tools to make intel reports
-Mostly HR, spending, and finance data
-Doing HR reporting made me realize how fragile big company stability is
-Majority of workforce is remote foreign or H1B contractors and organization is top heavy, not great for advancement
-100k NW, but I'm realizing that this asset inflation can't last forever now that the USD overnight is 2%

ether
Posts: 263
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:50 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Re: Ether's Journal

Post by ether »

Feb 2019

Age: 23
Networth: 140k USD (130k in US equities index, 10k in car)

Monthly Inflows:
W2 Labor: $10,000
Schedule C Consulting Profits: $500
Long Term Capital Gains: $350

Monthly Outflows:
Taxation (Sales, Income, Payroll, Property): $3,500
2016 Honda Fit (depreciation, opportunity cost, maintenance, fuel) $400
Rent: $500
Food: $300
Entertainment: $400

~50% gross income savings rate

Commentary
*Total workaholic two years in. I'm effectively working two jobs between my 9-5 and attempting to be a freelance consultant.
*Got an offer to teach at local tech bootcamp, not lucrative but want to give back and won't impact 9-5
*Attempting to get Italian Citizenship via Jus sanguinis so I can expand overseas. If your great grandparents or more recent were Italian nationals you qualify for citizenship. More Italians overseas than in Italy and with demographic issues seems like immigration is laxer for decedents of Italian nationals
*Getting deep into the world of SEO, distance education and web design, absolutely fascinating. Undergraduate education is a complete joke and bootcamps are so much more relevant to learning employable skills
Last edited by ether on Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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