4 ms·

So? Developers straight out of college can sometimes make triple the average household income.

• vacri 10y ago
  The point is to compare yourself to the entirety of society, and not just 'keep up with the joneses' in your own special bubble.
  • morgante 10y ago
    Sure. I feel quite lucky that my particular skillset is richly rewarded. That doesn't mean there aren't underpaid software engineers. Even when their lowball salary is higher than the average household income.
    • pc86 10y ago
      "Decent living" doesn't mean that you're under or overpaid for your skill set, position and responsibilities. It usually means based on your geographic area as a whole (or objectively whether or not you can sustain yourself). The median household income in the US is a "decent living" in almost the entire country, even some urban centers. Saying that 2x+ is a "decent living" is completely tone deaf.
• amyjess 10y ago
  Depends on where you live. In SV, sure, but they have the highest cost of living in the world. In Dallas, a fresh out of college CS grad can probably expect a salary in the lower 40s. And the cost of living is cheap enough you can afford a house on that.
  • CoachRufus87 10y ago
    Where in DFW can you purchase a nice home on 40k?
    • amyjess 10y ago
      I'm talking about renting, not purchasing.
  • mywittyname 10y ago
    That's a sad salary. Especially when moving a few hours away to San Antonio will yield a 20k+/yr salary increase. Even if housing in Dallas were free, it's still better to move from a financial perspective.
  • mklim 10y ago
    Really? That seems weirdly low, even with a lower COL taken into a account. In Southeast Michigan a new grad would expect to start somewhere around 60, and that's enough to buy a decent to huge house depending on where you end up living.