Ten things you should know about the NSA hacker

[SinCityVoluntaryist]

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/10-things-to-know-about-edward-snowden-92491.html

 So this guy drops out of high school, doesn't finish community college, ends up with a six-figure salary and hacks the NSA? Fuck college, man.

[braindead0]

AFAIK he didn't hack anything. 

[JustSayNoToStatism]

This has to be a case of "it's not what you know but who you know."

[magentawave]

Yup, you can do that if you're really good with computers.

[braindead0]

This has to be a case of "it's not what you know but who you know."

Maybe, maybe not.  I think the $200k is a bit of an exaggeration, that's nowhere near the norm for IT people in any sector gubment or not.  However I don't have salaries handy for Hawaii wasn't he working there supposedly? Cost of living might be so high out there that $200k = $70k elsewhere.

There also seems to be reports that he actually was making $122k.. And the way this has been reported is he was making a 'Rate' of $200k.  In the consulting industry that's what the consulting firm (Booz Alllan) charges for your services, what you take home will typically be a lot less, could be as little as 20% however 40-70% is much more normal.

Factor in living in Hawaii. According to one site I looked at it's 88% higher than the national average..

EDIT: http://www.costoflivingbystate.org/hawaii-cost-of-living.html

According to that page you have to make $120k minimum to afford a house in Hawaii. 

[braindead0]

More on the subject: http://theweek.com/article/index/245492/5-ways-nsa-leaker-edward-snowdens-story-isnt-holding-up

[magentawave]

I used to live there and can confirm that the cost of living in Hawaii is insanely high. I remember a loaf of bread at a little health food store on Maui was going for $4.00 and that was 15 years ago!

Its inevitable to see stories leaking today to discredit him as I'm sure all the creepy and immoral CIA/NSA spooks have been working overtime the last few days. This is typical of what they do. The weird thing is that Snowden didn't reveal anything we didn't already know since earlier manifestations of PRISM (Echelon and Carnivore) have been around for many years.

[JustSayNoToStatism]

This has to be a case of "it's not what you know but who you know."

Maybe, maybe not.  I think the $200k is a bit of an exaggeration, that's nowhere near the norm for IT people in any sector gubment or not.  However I don't have salaries handy for Hawaii wasn't he working there supposedly? Cost of living might be so high out there that $200k = $70k elsewhere.

There also seems to be reports that he actually was making $122k.. And the way this has been reported is he was making a 'Rate' of $200k.  In the consulting industry that's what the consulting firm (Booz Alllan) charges for your services, what you take home will typically be a lot less, could be as little as 20% however 40-70% is much more normal.

Factor in living in Hawaii. According to one site I looked at it's 88% higher than the national average..

EDIT: http://www.costoflivingbystate.org/hawaii-cost-of-living.html

According to that page you have to make $120k minimum to afford a house in Hawaii. 

Thanks for the reply. That explains part of it. But I still find it hard to believe that he would have been chosen for a government position of that sort given his education. I'm not saying people without it can't do well, because they certainly can. But in government there are usually inflexible requirements for candidates in the hiring process.

[Seth King]

This has to be a case of "it's not what you know but who you know."

Maybe, maybe not.  I think the $200k is a bit of an exaggeration, that's nowhere near the norm for IT people in any sector gubment or not.  However I don't have salaries handy for Hawaii wasn't he working there supposedly? Cost of living might be so high out there that $200k = $70k elsewhere.

There also seems to be reports that he actually was making $122k.. And the way this has been reported is he was making a 'Rate' of $200k.  In the consulting industry that's what the consulting firm (Booz Alllan) charges for your services, what you take home will typically be a lot less, could be as little as 20% however 40-70% is much more normal.

Factor in living in Hawaii. According to one site I looked at it's 88% higher than the national average..

EDIT: http://www.costoflivingbystate.org/hawaii-cost-of-living.html

According to that page you have to make $120k minimum to afford a house in Hawaii. 

Thanks for the reply. That explains part of it. But I still find it hard to believe that he would have been chosen for a government position of that sort given his education. I'm not saying people without it can't do well, because they certainly can. But in government there are usually inflexible requirements for candidates in the hiring process.

My understanding is that the F.B.I. has very stringent background checks, but the C.I.A. doesn't care about that stuff. They just want talent.