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This question's gauche, but: given the prevalence of $400k++ comp packages for ~30-year-olds in Big Tech, why aren't there lots more "gentle[wo]man scholars"? i.e. people quitting to do non-remunerative creative projects I can think of some, but shouldn't there be thousands?

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Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Yes, even those comp packages wouldn't permit this as a single earner with a family of four; some people have debt; etc. But I'd still expect more of this? Most people I know in a position do this tend to instead a) increase lifestyle; b) become founders; or c) become a VC.

1:14 AM · Jan 28, 2022Twitter Web App

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Caveat Tweet: this is a descriptive question, not a normative one! Not saying people have made the wrong choice, just curious why the "gentle[wo]man scholar" choice is not more popular. Also should mention that I am not in this category—didn't stick around Big Tech long enough.

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What's your basis for comparison? Even in a major metro area you can do pretty well in the suburbs for a family of 4 with half of that.

Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Jan 28

Yes, that's probably true!

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Median household income in New York is what? $58k? If you can't support a family with 7x that, I think you're doing it wrong.

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Founder and VC are creative projects, no?

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You've answered your question. Also: $400k isn't what it used to be. For families, education costs are skyrocketing and these people will never be eligible for aid. Much of the satisfaction people achieved through nonremunerative work in the past can be had with tweets and likes.

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Becoming a founder is that though ;)

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Does the lead of an open-source project fall under “scholar” or “founder”? Were Linus, Guido, etc. originally “scholars”, but are now “founders”? What about the Wordle or Advent of Code guys?