Ask HN: What's the best decision you made early in your career
13Rohitcss65/26/2025, 6:09:09 PM
Comments (6)
hiAndrewQuinn · 2h ago
Realistically, it was probably graduating high school. It's step one in the so-called 'success sequence' for a reason:
1. Finish high school.
2. Get a full-time job once you finish school.
3. Get married before you have children.
97% of millennials who followed that sequence avoided poverty by the time we hit age 30 or so, so it's got a pretty good success rate. #2 has the most immediate impact here, but #1 makes #2 much easier, and not following #3 sadly makes #2 moderately harder (juggling childcare is tough even in the best of circumstances).
Finishing college would be a somewhat distant second, as it makes the entry pathway into a lot of white collar jobs a lot easier, even internationally. This was especially important when I realized pretty soon after finishing college that I had good reason to leave the US.
I'm now happily married with kids and full time employed in a senior position here in Finland, all by 30, so I'd say I've done pretty well for myself.
gcheong · 22h ago
Put as much money into my 401K as I was legally allowed to.
jotjotzzz · 20h ago
(Also investing in Roth IRA as long as you qualify)!
2rsf · 10h ago
My best decision was not making any hard decision, it did took me through some unexpected twists and turns but overall I think I ended up in a rather good place
aantix · 23h ago
Following the conventions of Ruby on Rails.
It continues to pay dividends in app design, organization and code patterns.
1. Finish high school.
2. Get a full-time job once you finish school.
3. Get married before you have children.
97% of millennials who followed that sequence avoided poverty by the time we hit age 30 or so, so it's got a pretty good success rate. #2 has the most immediate impact here, but #1 makes #2 much easier, and not following #3 sadly makes #2 moderately harder (juggling childcare is tough even in the best of circumstances).
Finishing college would be a somewhat distant second, as it makes the entry pathway into a lot of white collar jobs a lot easier, even internationally. This was especially important when I realized pretty soon after finishing college that I had good reason to leave the US.
I'm now happily married with kids and full time employed in a senior position here in Finland, all by 30, so I'd say I've done pretty well for myself.
It continues to pay dividends in app design, organization and code patterns.