«

On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 23:42:25 +1300, K & S wrote:


>
> Well just found out that my neighbor has..

What, retired?

I would've thought it was surprising if any of your neighbours hadn't
retired - being in Kapiti and all.


Seriously, I doubt many US programmers would've been able to retire that
early unless they worked for the right company at the right time and
cashed in all their share options at the right time (ie not recently).

Cheers
Anton

"jerm" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 23:42:25 +1300, K & S
> <> said
>
> >
> >
> >Well just found out that my neighbor has..
> >
> >From the US and retired at 37 or less.
> >
> >So their is money or was in programming, but may be not here.
> >
> >
> >
> I know a former programmer who retired around that age, a few years ago.
> His biggest problem these days is deciding which colour BMW to drive each
> day. His biggest revelation was that there's much nicer people flying
> economy than first or business class. So he always flies economy.
>
> But he is not typical.

How old was Adrien De Croy when he sold Ghost to Symantec? He could have
retired several times over on that sale.
>
>

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 00:28:52 GMT, (Nihil) said

>In article <>,
>says...
>>
>>On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 23:42:25 +1300, K & S
>><> said
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Well just found out that my neighbor has..
>>>
>>>From the US and retired at 37 or less.
>>>
>>>So their is money or was in programming, but may be not here.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>I know a former programmer who retired around that age, a few years ago.
>>His biggest problem these days is deciding which colour BMW to drive each
>>day. His biggest revelation was that there's much nicer people flying
>>economy than first or business class. So he always flies economy.
>
>Whatever!
Tall poppy syndrome rises unchecked. I'm not that naive.
>I think it's because he can't afford business class and that BMW is
>probably on HP.
No. And it's BMWs, plus some fun cars, Mustangs, Corvettes, Firebirds.
>Be aware - Most people exagerate their wealth and drive fancy cars to
>improve their social standing.
True. However in this case I have seen adequate proof of his nett worth.
And it's all from programming. And a great deal of luck. Many of his
contemporaries are still code chuckers, working for a wage.

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 18:35:37 +1300, jerm <> wrote:

>On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 00:28:52 GMT, (Nihil) said
>
>>In article <>,
>>says...
>>>
>>>On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 23:42:25 +1300, K & S
>>><> said
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Well just found out that my neighbor has..
>>>>
>>>>From the US and retired at 37 or less.
>>>>
>>>>So their is money or was in programming, but may be not here.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>I know a former programmer who retired around that age, a few years ago.
>>>His biggest problem these days is deciding which colour BMW to drive each
>>>day. His biggest revelation was that there's much nicer people flying
>>>economy than first or business class. So he always flies economy.
>>
>>Whatever!
>Tall poppy syndrome rises unchecked. I'm not that naive.
>>I think it's because he can't afford business class and that BMW is
>>probably on HP.
>No. And it's BMWs, plus some fun cars, Mustangs, Corvettes, Firebirds.
>>Be aware - Most people exagerate their wealth and drive fancy cars to
>>improve their social standing.
>True. However in this case I have seen adequate proof of his nett worth.
>And it's all from programming. And a great deal of luck. Many of his
>contemporaries are still code chuckers, working for a wage.
>



No this chap has a Diesel Humvee, and some other cars..

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 18:10:44 +1300, pete wrote:

> How old was Adrien De Croy when he sold Ghost to Symantec? He could have
> retired several times over on that sale.

Don't you mean Wingate?

I would regard those more as an example of a successful businessman rather
than a successful programmer as such (they probably happened to be both
though). ie the success came from good product development, business deals
and marketing rather than just being a good programmer.

Cheers
Anton

"AD." <> wrote in message
news...
> On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 18:10:44 +1300, pete wrote:
>
> > How old was Adrien De Croy when he sold Ghost to Symantec? He could have
> > retired several times over on that sale.
>
> Don't you mean Wingate?
>
> I would regard those more as an example of a successful businessman rather
> than a successful programmer as such (they probably happened to be both
> though). ie the success came from good product development, business deals
> and marketing rather than just being a good programmer.
>
> Cheers
> Anton

Yeah, you're right. Who did Ghost, then? "twas a Kiwi, wasn't it?

On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 23:42:25 +1300, K & S wrote:

> Well just found out that my neighbor has..
> From the US and retired at 37 or less.
> So their is money or was in programming, but may be not here.

You can earn good money overseas (in software development or consulting),
especially on short term contracts. It's easier for younger single people
to do this, not so good for families to uproot and live out of a suit
case. I know of several kiwis that were earning around 800 pounds a day
contracting in London a few years back and similar amounts contracting in
other EU locations (none have retired yet that I'm aware of). It appears
to be much harder to get well payed permanent IT employment in the UK.

Reminds me:
Around 14 years ago, a colleague and I went to London to do some software
based consultancy; our firm charged us out at NZ$2000 per day plus all expenses
(including business class air fares). That was pretty good money back then.
[Consultancy requested by the client, our company was reluctant to send
anyone as it wasn't really our main charter]. The guy I went with
subsequently left the company and returned to London
to work for the same client at the same daily rate, but for himself this
time. He later returned to NZ and semi-retired, but was still dabbling in
the IT world last time I made contact with him.

Average IT salaries in the US don't look that good to me given the cost of
living. However, some people I know have done very well over there. It's a matter
of being in the right place at the right time.

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 20:02:39 +1300, pete wrote:

>
> "AD." <> wrote in message
> news...
>> On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 18:10:44 +1300, pete wrote:
>>
>> > How old was Adrien De Croy when he sold Ghost to Symantec? He could
>> > have retired several times over on that sale.
>>
>> Don't you mean Wingate?
>>
>> I would regard those more as an example of a successful businessman
>> rather than a successful programmer as such (they probably happened to
>> be both though). ie the success came from good product development,
>> business deals and marketing rather than just being a good programmer.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Anton
>
> Yeah, you're right. Who did Ghost, then? "twas a Kiwi, wasn't it?

Yep, Binary Research - I forget the names of the founders though.

Cheers
Anton

T.N.O. wrote:

> Jay wrote:
>> Apparently 25% of NZers are overseas at the moment so perhaps
>> that might tell you something.
>
> approx 25% of Aussies are also overseas at any one time, does that tell
> you something?

No, the figure is about 3%.
Search the SMH for the exact figure from a news item a couple of
week back.

"Jay" <> wrote in message
news:...
> T.N.O. wrote:
>
> > Jay wrote:
> >> Apparently 25% of NZers are overseas at the moment so perhaps
> >> that might tell you something.
> >
> > approx 25% of Aussies are also overseas at any one time, does that tell
> > you something?
>
> No, the figure is about 3%.
> Search the SMH for the exact figure from a news item a couple of
> week back.
>
Oh look Mummy. Another convict with an inferiority complex.

--
Mr Scebe
"Personally i think you're a ****ing idiot"
~Sean Connery in "The Rock"