I read "Dopamine Nation" recently and TikTok "ticks" so many negative boxes. Having lost hours to this ultimate time wasting app, there is no chance my kids are getting this on their phone.
As the book hypothesizes, poor Dopamine regulation and the increasingly prescribed medication to treat this are becoming the norm. Particularly among working classes who have poorer earning potential and engaging work.
Yeah you're right there. 150k salary is better than a £600 day contract.
£150k per year is tricky to find for salaried positions as a dev. They exist but not as visible (to me at least) compared to the contract equivalents.
The enjoyment side is something I hear mixed opinions on. There are plenty of "disguised employment" type contracts in the UK that just go to contractors for rarer skill sets. YMMV.
£100k London as a single person could definitely buy a flat somewhere. Maybe not a great area but it's doable.
A house with a garden, kids, private school etc. 100k won't cut it unfortunately.
For some reason I thought FAANGs in London were paid really well but seems like contracting or finance is the only way to get a reasonable income.
I have a buddy who was working for a DeepMind and now works for Google (UK). His salary is £140k.
Meanwhile day rates of £600 per day are pretty standard and pay the same for arguably less hassle.
I don't think anyone was trying to do the wrong thing but rather timelines and budgets were tight.