{
  "id": 2585351,
  "title": "I dropped out of college and now earn $159,000 as a software engineer. Lifestyle creep left me $30,000 in debt.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/i-dropped-out-of-college-and-now-earn-159-000-as-a-software-engineer",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-22T13:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/software-engineer-cost-of-living-in-nyc-2026-8"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Devonte Duncan, a 27-year-old software engineer based in Brooklyn, New York City, has transitioned from dropping out of college to becoming a six-figure earner. Living in an expensive city, he faces challenges with lifestyle creep and debt management. His monthly salary is $13,250, and after taxes and deductions, he takes home approximately $7,752. His main source of additional income comes from his YouTube channel, \"Dose of Devy,\" which generates around $100 a month. Devonte acknowledges the difficulty of managing his relationship with money, as he initially struggled with understanding credit scores, loans, and homeownership, being unfamiliar with these concepts due to his family not owning a home. Despite dropping out of college after realizing the cost of pursuing a physics major, he enrolled in the Marcy Lab School, a year-long software engineering fellowship, which led him to secure a high-paying job upon graduation. Devonte now focuses on building his savings, setting aside 10% of each paycheck, and has a debt consolidation loan for $30,000 with a monthly payment of $947, reducing his overall interest rate. He balances his expenses, including transportation, groceries, hobbies, and occasional trips, while maintaining a disciplined approach to his finances.",
  "summary": "A Brooklyn-based software engineer, shares his journey from college dropout to a six-figure salary and managing NYC's high living costs.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}