
I'm on a journey of self-actualization! I've been coasting for the last two years, and I'm unhappy with the result. I intend to turn things around, and I want my own income, mobility, and living space. Resolves YES if on May 1, 2025, I have full-time employment¹, a driver's license, and a place where I pay rent. Resolves NO if any one of those is missing.
¹ Update 2025-09-01 (PST): - Full-time employment is clarified to a reliable income stream, driven by my own efforts, large enough to support my desired standard of living (e.g., starting a company). (AI summary of creator comment)
@shankypanky narrowly failed my first driving test (proctor said I was doing great except that I made one disqualifying mistake towards the end), retry scheduled for April 7. Some leads for work, but hard to tell how confident to be there. I expect rent to follow quickly after income, but it might come down to the wire depending on how work leads to.
@AriZerner lmk if I can help at all on the work hunting front (market or no market, happy to help out if I can)
@shankypanky thank you! Do you know of any opportunities for software engineers, especially where you could make an intro? I'm especially interested in working with LLMs, but I'm not super picky at this point. If you have the time and inclination, you can read a bunch of words about my ideal job and my strengths here: https://arizerner.com/posts/my-career-values/
@AriZerner oh nice I'll have a look a bit later this morning, and I'll think about who I might be able to connect you with or suggest. I'm not in the Bay Area these days but I don't think it matters. x
@AriZerner drivers license is easy, report back tomorrow with progress made
@AriZerner I'm an idiot and thought this resolved March. Keeping my mana here for you to take
@No_uh I'm 27. I live in the US, having moved back recently after living in Mexico for about 4 years. By coasting I mean having a good time, keeping my home nice, traveling, maintaining social relationships, but not meaningfully producing anything external or building human capital. I worked as a full-time SWE for three years before getting laid off two years ago. I had my own apartment from September 2022-September 2024 and spent most of my nights in hostels for a few years before that. I've never had a driver's license, that'll be new for me.
@traders I'd like to clarify/broaden the scope of "full-time employment" to something like "a reliable income stream, driven by my own efforts, large enough to support my desired standard of living" to allow for something like starting a company. This is in keeping with the spirit of the question, achieving my goal of getting back to self-sufficiency, but would be a material change to the resolution criteria. Any thoughts on whether/how I can do this fairly?
@AriZerner Happy for self-employed to be treated as fully-employed, provided it’s generating actual revenue.
I also would tentatively accept a startup type role that doesn’t generate revenue, provided it’s full-time and funded by genuine investment.
Actually, quick question for context generally: do you have substantial savings and/or familial support?
@OP I've basically exhausted the (formerly substantial) savings that let me coast for the last two years. As of September 2024 I'm living with my dad and he's paying for groceries.
@Quroe only a potential of something for now, but I want to account for the possibility now rather than risk having to retroactively change the resolution criteria when it's definitely relevant