> Those who graduate into recessions have crimped lifetime earnings compared to those who graduate into expansions.
It's about not having access to opportunities.
Something that comes to mind as an example: I would argue that the whole F.I.R.E. movement was possible only for a very specific subset of people that started working in tech in very few regions of the world between 2005/2010. That's a 5 years window to get in, maybe a bit more but that's it.
Then the cost of living started booming, stock prices started booming, stock options and other kind of equity grants would never appreciate as before.
People that attempt it now as a form of financial discipline have nothing to do with the people that invented it and retired as millionaires before reaching 30 by being a bit frugal and investing everything in the nasdaq.
I recently stumbled upon the linkedin profile of someone that worked from Apple 2008/2014 and then was able to retire thanks to a mix of stock options and early investments in tech. He was surely savvy about it, but the conditions to be even able to do that seems astronomically low in the grand scheme of things. Just being born in another country or a couple of years later would make it impossible.
And areas of finance like investment banking. The specific examples I'm familiar with who retired quite young got in during maybe the late 1980s and out in probably their 40s.
There were also tech people during the dot-com bubble assuming they had money to invest and got out in time.
But I agree it was probably easier for people in especially SV at especially some of the large tech companies during about the past 15 years.
It's about not having access to opportunities.
Something that comes to mind as an example: I would argue that the whole F.I.R.E. movement was possible only for a very specific subset of people that started working in tech in very few regions of the world between 2005/2010. That's a 5 years window to get in, maybe a bit more but that's it.
Then the cost of living started booming, stock prices started booming, stock options and other kind of equity grants would never appreciate as before.
People that attempt it now as a form of financial discipline have nothing to do with the people that invented it and retired as millionaires before reaching 30 by being a bit frugal and investing everything in the nasdaq.
I recently stumbled upon the linkedin profile of someone that worked from Apple 2008/2014 and then was able to retire thanks to a mix of stock options and early investments in tech. He was surely savvy about it, but the conditions to be even able to do that seems astronomically low in the grand scheme of things. Just being born in another country or a couple of years later would make it impossible.