> Why are they not transparent like finance guys, lawyers, doctors etc. The average banker or lawyer is an order of magnitude better at negotiation and valuati

> Why are they not transparent like finance guys, lawyers, doctors etc. The average banker or lawyer is an order of magnitude better at negotiation and valuation than the average developer. It's literally their job. For a finance guy, not optimizing your compensation package is sacrilegious. Meanwhile we have still have lots of developers who think it's absurd that they'd even be paid $100k and don't want to think about money at all. [0] They drag down compensation for themselves and for others. Unfortunately it's not simply a matter of information. You can tell people that the market rate for their position is $200k/yr but they'll tell you that's absurd, that they think it's too much, or that they'd rather just focus on code. Doctors solved this by sharply restricting supply and making it illegal to practice without being part of their cartel. [0] Seriously, on HN people regularly complain about making too much. Even in this very thread you can find people who are skeptical of high salaries: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12588504 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12588504