32M, single, MCOL area (Denver). Just crossed 280k net worth this month which feels huge, but I'm also starting to second guess my entire strategy.
Current numbers:
- Salary: 115k base + ~15k RSUs/year at a mid sized tech company
- Net worth: 282k (195k in retirement accounts, 72k taxable, 15k emergency fund)
- Expenses: around 48k/year including rent
- Savings rate: roughly 52%
My FI number is around 1M so at this rate I'm looking at maybe 8-9 more years if markets cooperate. The problem is my company has been doing layoffs every quarter for the past year. We're not growing anymore and morale is terrible. I've survived 3 rounds so far but honestly it feels like playing russian roulette.
I have a standing offer from a larger company that would bump me to 165k total comp, but the role is way more stressful (on call rotation, higher expectations, etc). Part of me thinks I should just take it and compress my timeline by a few years. The other part thinks the stress isn't worth it and I should ride out my current job as long as possible since the work life balance is still decent.
What's weird is I keep seeing all these predictions on polymarket about tech layoffs continuing through 2026, which makes me think maybe the grass isn't greener anywhere right now. But then again, a bigger company on your resume is probably more stable long term?
I guess my questions are:
- Would you take the higher stress/higher pay job to shave off 2-3 years?
- Is 1M a realistic FI number or am I being too conservative? (no plans for kids, might move to lower COL area eventually)
- Anyone else feeling weird about staying in tech right now even though the money is still decent?
I know I'm in a privileged position to even have these options but the constant layoff anxiety is really getting to me. Some days I think about just coasting at my current job and accepting that FI might take 10 years instead of 8, and other days I think Im being stupid for not maximizing earnings while I can.
Hit 280k net worth at 35, but getting cold feet about my tech job situation
byu/LimitElegant9681 infinancialindependence
Posted by LimitElegant9681
7 Comments
1) Yes – personally I would take the new job as that is the fastest way to increase your wages. You can always continue to look for a new gig.
2) I will let someone else chime in.
3) I’m in tech, but in Tech since early 2000s. The one constant thing about tech is that it is always changing. If you aren’t willing to learn and take on new roles/types you will fail quickly.
Your current job also sounds like it has a fair amount of stress and uncertainty. Something underrated in wealth building is knowing when it’s the right time to jump ship. I’d say it’s more risky to stay in a lower paying job where you’re constantly at risk of losing your job anyway.
Would you rather apply for a job while employed, or after you’ve been laid off?
What would the job security be at the larger company? I’d be inclined to maximize earnings, especially with looming layoffs.
$1mm both seems conservative to me and like a bit of a stretch to get to in 8 years. But the nice thing about the FI part of is that it gives you the independence to make the decisions on what’s important to you.
I’ll focus just on #2.
I think $1M is not a realistic FI number unless you are ready to move to another country or live quite frugally.
Excluding social security, you’d want around $1.37M to support $48k of annual spending for ~50 years. This is the fail-safe amount, where you wouldn’t ever be required to tighten your belt or produce side income to prevent the exhaustion of the portfolio.
I think it is important to consider the fail-safe amount when your budget doesn’t have much wiggle room. On $48k/yr, I don’t imagine you have a giant fun budget / discretionary spending that could be adjusted if the market tanked.
If you just had $1M and used a 4.7% SWR, you’d probably “fail” about 10-15% of the time. That means, in 1 out of 8 futures, you’d be required to reduce spending or produce side income. If the economy is tanking so hard it is in the ~10th percentile of outcomes, assumedly jobs will be tough to acquire. Then, without a large discretionary budget to reduce spending, you’d be forced to eat cat food or move to SE Asia.
Something slightly counterintuitive about retirement is that keep your spending low in the good times will have a minor impact on your success if markets drop 30%+.
To eliminate this risk, ERN suggests people just work a little longer, save a bit more and get the SWR closer to the 3.5% fail-safe amount required for early retirement. If the market produced 9% nominal and you saved $60k each year, you’d pretty much hit that $1.37M in 2 additional years. Then, you could bump your spending up to $61k/yr, with a plan to reduce it to $48k in the worst 10% of market return outcomes.
What kind of severance would you have with your current employer if laid off? I’m in a similar situation with a company that’s been doing rolling layoffs with no sign of stopping (though the company itself is at no risk of going away and if anything business is growing. I think a lot of companies are just cargo culting doing layoffs to boost stock prices right now).
I’ve considered changing, but I still think overall I’m more likely to dodge layoffs than not. Its a cushy job, and per our current policies I’d be entitled to 8 months salary if laid off. Anywhere else I went I’d be last in,first out,with no severance cushion, and the job is pretty much guaranteed to be more stressful. So I’m job hugging and rolling the dice for now. Might look different if I had an offer in hand, though.
Anyway just wanted to suggest severance policies should play a role in your calculations
1M is not nearly conservative enough! 1MM with the 4% rule gives you just 40k spend a year. You’re already spending more than that now, so in 8 years with inflation there’s little to no chance you’re going to want to live on only 40k, even without a family. I would be way more conservative and shoot for at least 2M in your shoes