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Worth is always relative. What metric shall I base it on? If I base it against the salary of all similarly experienced programmers in the world then it is lower

Worth is always relative. What metric shall I base it on? If I base it against the salary of all similarly experienced programmers in the world then it is lower than if I narrow it to just the United States. If I narrow it to the United States it may be too high if I live in a smaller rural area with less jobs and am unwilling to move. Then I can narrow it down to my region, but then I may undervalue myself as I could always telecommute. Measuring ones value is always relative and open salaries are to the benefit of the employee not the employer.

aantix 11y ago
Of course it's relative, but your average Joe programmer is going to take the same strategy, so what, you're going to end up grouped into the pool of average salaries. Super. If you're not that great of a programmer, then stop there. But if you feel like you make a higher contribution, that the very code that you write is relied upon for generating millions of dollars, why would you frame the discussion around what Average Joe is making down the hallway? These numbers don't matter because you're not like them anyway, and it's up to you to frame your story differently. Show them the numbers. Get the outlier deal. Then take your family on vacation to a remote island. Save extra and not work for 6 months. Get a fucking better than average deal and don't worry about Sad Sally who can't figure out her own worth to get a descent deal.