Story

After many years of working hard, my wife and I finally decided to have a kid recently. I am looking forward to spending a lot more time with her, while working just a 9-5. However, the AI boom seems like a short-lived, once in a life-time opportunity. Now I am considering if I should dive in fully even if it means sacrificing time with family?

Options: 1) Joining an AI startup 2) Founding an AI startup 3) Stay at my big-tech role

I make good money at my current role, but I am extremely passionate about the work I do. With the AI boom, there seems to be a lot of great infra, data movement and algorithmic challenges on the table. However, it is also clear that options 1 and 2 seem to require a lot more time commitment than a simple 9-5 job.

There are also financial considerations. If AI affects the SWE job market in a meaningful way, my future salary will be drastically low. Maybe it makes sense to devote myself to work for 3-5 more years and make a lot more money in the short term? I understand that there is also some probability associated with the final amount I walk away with.

Any others thinking about how to approach the AI boom vs leaning in fully to parenthood?