
Ask HN: What job to get after failed startup? - tway13521
Been working on an app startup for a while, and while I&#x27;m not 100% convinced it has failed, financially I&#x27;m in a spot where I can&#x27;t really continue.<p>I&#x27;m at a bit of a loss as to what kind of job to pursue next. I have a very broad and deep set of skills. On the technical side, this includes: full stack dev, hardcore machine learning &#x2F; applied math stuff, finance and algorithmic trading.<p>On the nontechnical side, I&#x27;ve now acquired all kinds of experience that comes from conceiving and building a product from scratch.<p>I can go back to do something technical or finance-y but that seems a bit limiting after being responsible for literally everything on my product. But I&#x27;m mostly interested in maximizing my economic outcome and would only consider things that pay at least 200k&#x2F;yr.<p>Any suggestions of things that could be a good match aside from data science or finance stuff? I have no idea what&#x27;s out there and my network is essentially zero. I didn&#x27;t have investors for this so pursuing a soft landing via that route is not an option.
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davismwfl
Honestly it seems like you are out of touch with the market and with what is
reasonable. $200k for devs is not impossible, but I would not call it common
either and more rarely have I seen a salary around $200k. Usually I see more
like mid 100's with RSU's and/or performance bonuses that can push you up to
the high 100's or possibly over $200k.

Finance is your best place to try and get a comp package that is in that
range, but even then it will be in specific markets and depending where you
are you may need to relocate etc. That may not be an issue for you, but $200k
in NYC is different then $200k in Austin Tx, or North Carolina etc. You can
live very comfortably on quite a bit less then $200k in most markets,
excluding maybe SF and NYC. If your expenses are such that you require that
level of income then you are in a bit of a bind without a network to fall back
on.

Generally, people that get to these levels almost always do it through a
network of contacts, and even in finance they typically have a good network to
rely on and a track record of proof to go with it.

I'd love to hear any details to the contrary, specifically by someone who has
done it or has first hand knowledge.

Edit: One point, you didn't limit your comment to dev roles. BizDev, marketing
and sales roles can also be other methods, but again, without a network or a
proven track record in those fields you will be hard pressed to get an offer
in that range. You may work up to that range within a few years, but you won't
start there generally.

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brad0
I'll be blunt and say there's no way you're gonna get 200k with no network and
avoiding finance.

Finance is the only place I can think of that you'd be able to pull 200k and
that would only be with a lot of contacts.

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sharemywin
Sales but only if your really good.

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Kinnard
You could get a job and keep working on your startup . . . but it sounds like
it's not really your thing. How long have you been working on it?

