> Got offered a full-time job in the tech industry with (gaaasp pension!) outside of Dublin, 5 minutes from my front door, with better salary, bonuses and healthcare. Things can work out well (and I really don't mean to sound patronizing here) with patience and a bit of luck.

While it seems to have become the trend to rail against traditional 40 hour/week jobs, the stability they can offer it extremely enticing to people with families. Eevee lives with 3 other grown adults and no children.

As someone looking to make the jump from a traditional job to financial independence (and self employment), I've noticed that people like Tim Ferris and Ramit Sethi all have one thing in common: no children. They are able to take the risks they can because when they fail, it's only on them.

With kids and a house, it's no longer the case. The people I follow who have successfully made the transition (Mr. Money Mustahce, Simple Programmer) have all used the traditional job as a means of support until they were ready to launch.

Also, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with just wanting to put in 40 hours and go home.

With kids and a mortgage, my perspective definitely shifted. I could have continued on doing what I did with the contracting, but I know for a fact that my family life would have suffered as a result. Having a 40 hour a week job is great because it gives me the ability to plan better for my family, in terms of time and money.

Yes, it does feel 'transitional' but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I really like the company that I now work for, and I still have time to work on 'side projects' at home whenever I feel like it. It's also a hell of a lot stressful. I have the ability to 'let go' of work stress a lot easier than ever before.

A pension? I've never heard of a pension in tech (though I am from a different country than you). I've never heard of companies taking part of their earnings to invest in the well being of their people. The most I have heard of are perks like ping-pong, a free beer once in a while, and conferences. They often even give you a computer to work on! And a chair to sit in!

(I kid you not, these are often listed as perks in tech job ads)

Obviously startups are not the place to look for a pension but I haven't even heard of established companies in tech offering them.

Seems like a dead-end career if you care about retiring and sending your kids to a decent school (if that's what they want). My grandfather-in-law was set for life when he retired as a mechanical engineer. I'm in my mid-30s and I don't see my career ever ending and my financial future seems like it will always be at risk no matter how I invest and manage my savings.

What kind of company, might I ask, offers such a rare thing?

Outside the US the term "pension" also is used to mean that the company pays into some(semi-) government scheme that provides a pension. I think the company itself paying the actual pension when you retire is a US only phenomenon.

I can't speak for the person you replied to, but I live in the Netherlands and here (and if I'm not mistaken in most of Europe) offering a pension plan is obligatory for companies in most sectors, including tech. Then again, our perspective on these things is quite different from for instance the USA, health insurance is not an option, it is obligatory.

A private pension (where the company pays for retirement) just doesnt make sense when lots of major tech companies havent even been around for a decade. This model was a better fit for when companies would last 50+ years and people would have their entire career at a single company.

These days its better handled by a federal/social investment fund that all companies contribute to and then pays out to each individual. But that's basically social security.

In the UK all companies (this is being phased in) have to offer a pension to their employees.

A mid-sized software/services company in Ireland.