After spending more than a decade building a lucrative career in the US technology industry, software engineer Carlos Santana Roldan says he is ready to walk away from corporate life and retire in Mexico before turning 40.
The 38-year-old, who currently works as a contractor for a major music company in California, earns more than $200,000 a year (around Rs 1.89 crore). At the peak of his career, he earned approximately $420,000 (around Rs 3.97 crore) in a single year while working at social media company Snap.
Yet despite earning a salary that many aspiring tech workers dream of, Roldan says financial freedom, rather than climbing the corporate ladder, has become his primary goal.
"I think this is probably my last full-time job," he told Business Insider.
Roldan's journey began in Mexico, where he worked as a software engineer for companies serving American clients. Early in his career, he earned between $800 and $1,500 a month (around Rs 75,700 to Rs 1.42 lakh), far less than what he would later make in the United States.
In 2013, seeking better career opportunities and higher pay, he moved to the US. Over the next decade, he steadily progressed through the technology industry, eventually landing roles at major companies and dramatically increasing his income.
His biggest financial breakthrough came during his time at Snap. As the company's stock price soared, Roldan's compensation package rose sharply, helping him earn nearly Rs 4 crore in 2021 alone.
However, the high-paying career also came with challenges. Roldan experienced layoffs and faced uncertainty surrounding his immigration status, experiences that pushed him to rethink his long-term priorities.
Instead of spending his growing income on luxury purchases, he began investing heavily in real estate projects in Mexico. He built holiday rental cabins and even developed his own booking software using his engineering skills, creating an additional source of income outside his corporate career.
According to Roldan, living in the United States also changed his perspective on money. While higher salaries offered greater opportunities, they were often accompanied by higher living costs and increased consumer spending.
Over time, he shifted his focus away from accumulating wealth through employment and towards building financial independence through investments.
Today, most of his assets remain in Mexico, where he plans to spend the next phase of his life. His immediate goal is to complete one more holiday rental project before stepping away from software engineering altogether.
For Roldan, earning nearly Rs 2 crore a year was never the end goal. Instead, he says, it was a means to achieve something he values even more: the freedom to stop working on someone else's schedule.
