4 ms·

It seems like software salaries really cap out at like ~150. I don't see how jumping around jobs is going to push you past that, unless the new skill you learn

It seems like software salaries really cap out at like ~150. I don't see how jumping around jobs is going to push you past that, unless the new skill you learned was a PHD.

commandlinefan 9y ago
And that's really, really the top-end, if you're insanely qualified and insanely experienced. I spend a lot of time on StackOverflow (who among us doesn't?) and of course I see the targeted want-ads in the right rail; most of them include salary information and it's usually around $80-$120, so they're thinking $120 is for the most qualified of the most qualified.
ashelmire 9y ago
That’s average for a senior dev in SF according to Glassdoor. I know people in tech who have been making that for years with just a bachelors... and not even in CS. My stepdad, my girlfriend’s father...
- scarface74 9y ago
  Not everyone lives in the west coast or has the same cost of living vs salary ratio.
  - ashelmire 9y ago
    I’m on the east coast. My stepdad and my girlfriend’s dad were both making 150k in tech and I don’t get the impression either was unusually well paid.
gshakir 9y ago
Which location is that for a cap like 150?
scarface74 9y ago
True. In my market - a major metroplitan area not on the west coast - I'm seeing salaries for hands on coders and architects maxing out at 150K for an FTE. As a W2 contractor (meaning you work for the contracting company that pays the employeers share of employment taxes), I'm seeing rates up to $90 an hour. If you assume 2080 hours a year - 80 hours holidays - 120 hours PTO - 120 hours between gigs, you are at $158,000 a year. But the few times I have contracted, I have always gotten more than 40 hours a week. I'm just now at the point in my career that I could get top dollar contractor rates when I start back looking. Let me clarify that those numbers are for W2 contractors. You're basically still working for another company. I'm not referring to 1099 contracting where you have to pay an additional 6.2% in SS up to $127K and 2.8% in Medicare.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
burkemw3 9y ago
I would not ignore stock grants and bonuses, which are not very well quantified on sites like glassdoor.
GVIrish 9y ago
150 might be the 90-95 percentile in some places, but it is absolutely not the ceiling. There are niches that pay above that if you're willing to acquire the skills needed to get those jobs. Machine Learning, big data, and cloud engineering are all niches that can get you close to $200k. Those jobs are not available in every city, but they're not exclusive to NY and SF. The other path to higher salaries is specializing in a particular technology that enterprise companies pay handsomely for. Salesforce is one of those, as is Sharepoint.
solipsism 9y ago
These conversations should really be about overall easily-liquidable compensation (RSUs count, options don't) rather than base salary. At the big tech companies, $150k is a medium-to-high base salary, but most people are making much closer to $200k or more in overall compensation.
pfarnsworth 9y ago
150k? Not in Silicon Valley. My base is 200k and my friend just got a job with a $300k base, but he's on the principal architect level. With bonuses and stock comp, we make a lot more.
- rubicon33 9y ago
  Yea, sure. I highly doubt you or your friend make that salary without some special niche knowledge. Even a PHD, perhaps.
  - pfarnsworth 9y ago
    You would be wrong. I am a regular backend coder. I'm good though, but most of my coworkers make around the same as me. My friend is very talented which is why he makes that much. He has an unrelated MSc (he's from India), but he's a principal engineer. The point is 150k is not a barrier whatsoever, at least in Silicon Valley.
nojvek 9y ago
Not entirely true. The ceiling is much higher if you can show that you deliver serious value.

It seems like software salaries really cap out at like ~150. I don't see how jumping around jobs is going to push you past that, unless the new skill you learned was a PHD.

commandlinefan 9y ago

And that's really, really the top-end, if you're insanely qualified and insanely experienced. I spend a lot of time on StackOverflow (who among us doesn't?) and of course I see the targeted want-ads in the right rail; most of them include salary information and it's usually around $80-$120, so they're thinking $120 is for the most qualified of the most qualified.

ashelmire 9y ago

That’s average for a senior dev in SF according to Glassdoor. I know people in tech who have been making that for years with just a bachelors... and not even in CS. My stepdad, my girlfriend’s father...

scarface74 9y ago
Not everyone lives in the west coast or has the same cost of living vs salary ratio.
- ashelmire 9y ago
  I’m on the east coast. My stepdad and my girlfriend’s dad were both making 150k in tech and I don’t get the impression either was unusually well paid.

gshakir 9y ago

Which location is that for a cap like 150?

scarface74 9y ago

True. In my market - a major metroplitan area not on the west coast - I'm seeing salaries for hands on coders and architects maxing out at 150K for an FTE. As a W2 contractor (meaning you work for the contracting company that pays the employeers share of employment taxes), I'm seeing rates up to $90 an hour. If you assume 2080 hours a year - 80 hours holidays - 120 hours PTO - 120 hours between gigs, you are at $158,000 a year. But the few times I have contracted, I have always gotten more than 40 hours a week. I'm just now at the point in my career that I could get top dollar contractor rates when I start back looking. Let me clarify that those numbers are for W2 contractors. You're basically still working for another company. I'm not referring to 1099 contracting where you have to pay an additional 6.2% in SS up to $127K and 2.8% in Medicare.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

burkemw3 9y ago

I would not ignore stock grants and bonuses, which are not very well quantified on sites like glassdoor.

GVIrish 9y ago

150 might be the 90-95 percentile in some places, but it is absolutely not the ceiling. There are niches that pay above that if you're willing to acquire the skills needed to get those jobs. Machine Learning, big data, and cloud engineering are all niches that can get you close to $200k. Those jobs are not available in every city, but they're not exclusive to NY and SF. The other path to higher salaries is specializing in a particular technology that enterprise companies pay handsomely for. Salesforce is one of those, as is Sharepoint.

solipsism 9y ago

These conversations should really be about overall easily-liquidable compensation (RSUs count, options don't) rather than base salary. At the big tech companies, $150k is a medium-to-high base salary, but most people are making much closer to $200k or more in overall compensation.

pfarnsworth 9y ago

150k? Not in Silicon Valley. My base is 200k and my friend just got a job with a $300k base, but he's on the principal architect level. With bonuses and stock comp, we make a lot more.

rubicon33 9y ago
Yea, sure. I highly doubt you or your friend make that salary without some special niche knowledge. Even a PHD, perhaps.
- pfarnsworth 9y ago
  You would be wrong. I am a regular backend coder. I'm good though, but most of my coworkers make around the same as me. My friend is very talented which is why he makes that much. He has an unrelated MSc (he's from India), but he's a principal engineer. The point is 150k is not a barrier whatsoever, at least in Silicon Valley.

nojvek 9y ago

Not entirely true. The ceiling is much higher if you can show that you deliver serious value.