4 ms·

Just a couple of points from the UK perspective: In the UK it is normal to quote salaries gross, pre-tax, but you're going to pay 40% on anything over £43k - a

Just a couple of points from the UK perspective: In the UK it is normal to quote salaries gross, pre-tax, but you're going to pay 40% on anything over £43k - and that's about right for a mid-level dev in London - and 45% on anything over £150k which is mid-size CTO territory. However, advertised rates are always pre-tax. As to how to get a better idea of rates, genuinely, self-reporting is BS. Looking at advertised rates is the best way to get a sense of trends. http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk is used by everybody I know. Note that salaries in the North/Scotland are much lower than in London. A mid-level dev salary in London is potentially high-end startup CTO/Head of Engineering in Manchester or Leeds. Not discussing/disclosing salaries is common in the UK, and when people do, they often low-ball it, IME. I have always considered people's reports of earning $200k as being a little… optimistic.

aidanhs 10y ago
> £43k - and that's about right for a mid-level dev in London - and 45% on anything over £150k which is mid-size CTO territory Clearly this depends significantly on role, but looking at your link indicates that £43k is a bit below-par (as I'd expect) for any of the more in-demand areas. For example, if you can interview well (regardless of skill) then you can probably get a mid-level DevOps job for ~£60k if you shop around a little (or just put 'DevOps' on your linkedin profile and wait - I have multiple messages from recruiters suggesting £55k+ despite DevOps not really being what I do any more, and I suspect these aren't the top payers).
- user5994461 10y ago
  All companies I've been at were hiring grads at >= 40k in London. It's not credible to me to say that £43k is mid level. That's a junior salary for any tech position. Regarding DevOps, it is so bad in demand right now, you'll get 60-70k easy without lifting a finger if you can handle any interview. There is noone to take these jobs anyway, all people who are interested in money have long gone contractors at > 500 £ a day anyway.
  - ldn_throwaway 10y ago
    Where are these £40k junior jobs? I've been in a junior position in London for 2 years earning mid £20k's and have been interviewing at other places for months, but the best offer I can find is £32k. Everyone I've talked to about it is in a similar ballpark.
    - user5994461 10y ago
      £2Xk in London is outrageous. It's less than the living wage. I expect ALL companies to pay better than what you have now: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13541679 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13541679 Do they ask how much you're currently paid and you reply 20k ? They will definitely use that information against you. You're so low that you might have to jump to 3X, then leave again in 6 months to go higher. What's you linkedin? Link to you resume? What's your degree? Can you handle the usual 3 hours whiteboard marathon?
      - LifeQuestioner 10y ago
        Btw, 20k is less than living wage are you kidding??? 18k is Living wage. Lots of my grad friends fro ma top UK university were offered in their high 20's to start. But added bonuses. So one was 28k+2k bonus in first year. After 3 years, moved to 40k+bonuses. Only have one friend who made 40k as a junior, he's one of the best coders i've ever come across. Oh and he went to work in finance.
      - hd4 10y ago
        The single BEST advice, bar none, I have ever got from reading HN is to never disclose your current salary to recruiters under any circumstances, the only possible motive they have in asking is to lowball you. You should always ask for what you feel entitled to, and you should always punch upwards. UK here, btw. To describe the hiring market for programmers here as toxic would be a huge understatement.
dragonzooord 10y ago
Salaries are pre-tax in the US as well. People do earn $200k - it is just much much more rare in the UK than in the Bay Area - especially with the pound as weak as it is nowadays. However, glassdoor does put the total comp of a Senior Software Engineer at google at £181k - https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salary/Google-Senior-Software-Engineer-Salaries-E9079_D_KO7,31.htm https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salary/Google-Senior-Software-En...

aidanhs 10y ago

> £43k - and that's about right for a mid-level dev in London - and 45% on anything over £150k which is mid-size CTO territory Clearly this depends significantly on role, but looking at your link indicates that £43k is a bit below-par (as I'd expect) for any of the more in-demand areas. For example, if you can interview well (regardless of skill) then you can probably get a mid-level DevOps job for ~£60k if you shop around a little (or just put 'DevOps' on your linkedin profile and wait - I have multiple messages from recruiters suggesting £55k+ despite DevOps not really being what I do any more, and I suspect these aren't the top payers).

user5994461 10y ago
All companies I've been at were hiring grads at >= 40k in London. It's not credible to me to say that £43k is mid level. That's a junior salary for any tech position. Regarding DevOps, it is so bad in demand right now, you'll get 60-70k easy without lifting a finger if you can handle any interview. There is noone to take these jobs anyway, all people who are interested in money have long gone contractors at > 500 £ a day anyway.
- ldn_throwaway 10y ago
  Where are these £40k junior jobs? I've been in a junior position in London for 2 years earning mid £20k's and have been interviewing at other places for months, but the best offer I can find is £32k. Everyone I've talked to about it is in a similar ballpark.
  - user5994461 10y ago
    £2Xk in London is outrageous. It's less than the living wage. I expect ALL companies to pay better than what you have now: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13541679 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13541679 Do they ask how much you're currently paid and you reply 20k ? They will definitely use that information against you. You're so low that you might have to jump to 3X, then leave again in 6 months to go higher. What's you linkedin? Link to you resume? What's your degree? Can you handle the usual 3 hours whiteboard marathon?
    - LifeQuestioner 10y ago
      Btw, 20k is less than living wage are you kidding??? 18k is Living wage. Lots of my grad friends fro ma top UK university were offered in their high 20's to start. But added bonuses. So one was 28k+2k bonus in first year. After 3 years, moved to 40k+bonuses. Only have one friend who made 40k as a junior, he's one of the best coders i've ever come across. Oh and he went to work in finance.
    - hd4 10y ago
      The single BEST advice, bar none, I have ever got from reading HN is to never disclose your current salary to recruiters under any circumstances, the only possible motive they have in asking is to lowball you. You should always ask for what you feel entitled to, and you should always punch upwards. UK here, btw. To describe the hiring market for programmers here as toxic would be a huge understatement.

dragonzooord 10y ago

Salaries are pre-tax in the US as well. People do earn $200k - it is just much much more rare in the UK than in the Bay Area - especially with the pound as weak as it is nowadays. However, glassdoor does put the total comp of a Senior Software Engineer at google at £181k - https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salary/Google-Senior-Software-Engineer-Salaries-E9079_D_KO7,31.htm https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salary/Google-Senior-Software-En...