4 ms·

I make quite a bit too... but the average developer doesnt.. average US software dev salary is just $100k/year.

by rgbrenner 7y ago

jimbokun 7y ago
That's more than about 90% of US workers.
- mikekchar 7y ago
  TL;DR (in advance): I think you are correct in your estimate, though household income is higher than that. $100K household income is still considerably higher than most Americans make. Just to give some real numbers, the median household income in the US is $63,688. Unfortunately I couldn't find reliable numbers for dual income families in the US, but it appears to be over 60% (I saw numbers anywhere between 60-69%, but unfortunately no authoritative references). Rough histogram of income distribution is: 10th percentile: < $15K 20th percentile: $15K <=> $25K 30th percentile: $25K <=> $35K 40th percentile: $35K <=> $50K 50th percentile: $50K <=> $65K 60th percentile: $65K <=> $80K 70th percentile: $80K <=> $130K 80th percentile: $130K <=> $160K 90th percentile: > $160K I constructed this from a variety of different sources since I couldn't find anything that stated it explicitly. It is not entirely accurate, but it should give you a rough idea of the distribution. Would be nice if someone could find better data.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    Just adding a reference. https://dqydj.com/average-median-top-household-income-percentiles/ https://dqydj.com/average-median-top-household-income-percen...
peruvian 7y ago
That's twice the US household average even in big cities. Most workers will never make $100k.
perl4ever 7y ago
Pay scale for programmers at large organizations I'm aware of starts around $55K and tops out around $100K. And non-profits or small businesses pay even less. I browse job ads on indeed frequently and see offerings in the $40-50K range for IT positions in the NYC area. What do people think that offshore employees of an American IT company are paid? I haven't any definite figures for places I've worked, but I have gotten the impression from Indian job ads that $10K/year is in the ballpark. Why would a typical company pay more than five times that for US-based employees?
- scarface74 7y ago
  I’m nowhere near the west coast - I’m on the opposite coast. In most major cities in the US outside of the west coast your bog standard enterprise developers make $110K - $170K. This also excludes NYC.
  - perl4ever 7y ago
    The nice thing about standards is there are so many of them... ...and they don't have to represent more than a fraction of what's out there. Also, "bog standard" is not something real Amurricans recognize.
    - scarface74 7y ago
      Well in the US, look at the top 20 cities for developers - a simple Google search and then go to salary.com. That range is average. As far “bog standard”, I’m referring to a CRUD developer doing “enterprise software” that may never see the light of day outside of the company or your yet another software as a service developer. They don’t spend all day worrying about “computer science” and algorithms and they don’t spend time worrying about the complexity of reversing a b-tree on a whiteboard.
      - perl4ever 7y ago
        Look at it this way, what I think you're talking about requires roughly the same level of talent as being a decent mechanic, electrician, or whatever, and clients get billed about the same per hour, like $100-150. So, if we pretend we don't have preconceptions, and with the knowledge that the programmers are competing with people who are paid $5/hr, whereas my other examples aren't, does it make sense that they would be paid much more than $50-100K on average?

I make quite a bit too... but the average developer doesnt.. average US software dev salary is just $100k/year.

jimbokun 7y ago

That's more than about 90% of US workers.

mikekchar 7y ago
TL;DR (in advance): I think you are correct in your estimate, though household income is higher than that. $100K household income is still considerably higher than most Americans make. Just to give some real numbers, the median household income in the US is $63,688. Unfortunately I couldn't find reliable numbers for dual income families in the US, but it appears to be over 60% (I saw numbers anywhere between 60-69%, but unfortunately no authoritative references). Rough histogram of income distribution is: 10th percentile: < $15K 20th percentile: $15K <=> $25K 30th percentile: $25K <=> $35K 40th percentile: $35K <=> $50K 50th percentile: $50K <=> $65K 60th percentile: $65K <=> $80K 70th percentile: $80K <=> $130K 80th percentile: $130K <=> $160K 90th percentile: > $160K I constructed this from a variety of different sources since I couldn't find anything that stated it explicitly. It is not entirely accurate, but it should give you a rough idea of the distribution. Would be nice if someone could find better data.
- scarface74 7y ago
  Just adding a reference. https://dqydj.com/average-median-top-household-income-percentiles/ https://dqydj.com/average-median-top-household-income-percen...

peruvian 7y ago

That's twice the US household average even in big cities. Most workers will never make $100k.

perl4ever 7y ago

Pay scale for programmers at large organizations I'm aware of starts around $55K and tops out around $100K. And non-profits or small businesses pay even less. I browse job ads on indeed frequently and see offerings in the $40-50K range for IT positions in the NYC area. What do people think that offshore employees of an American IT company are paid? I haven't any definite figures for places I've worked, but I have gotten the impression from Indian job ads that $10K/year is in the ballpark. Why would a typical company pay more than five times that for US-based employees?

scarface74 7y ago
I’m nowhere near the west coast - I’m on the opposite coast. In most major cities in the US outside of the west coast your bog standard enterprise developers make $110K - $170K. This also excludes NYC.
- perl4ever 7y ago
  The nice thing about standards is there are so many of them... ...and they don't have to represent more than a fraction of what's out there. Also, "bog standard" is not something real Amurricans recognize.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    Well in the US, look at the top 20 cities for developers - a simple Google search and then go to salary.com. That range is average. As far “bog standard”, I’m referring to a CRUD developer doing “enterprise software” that may never see the light of day outside of the company or your yet another software as a service developer. They don’t spend all day worrying about “computer science” and algorithms and they don’t spend time worrying about the complexity of reversing a b-tree on a whiteboard.
    - perl4ever 7y ago
      Look at it this way, what I think you're talking about requires roughly the same level of talent as being a decent mechanic, electrician, or whatever, and clients get billed about the same per hour, like $100-150. So, if we pretend we don't have preconceptions, and with the knowledge that the programmers are competing with people who are paid $5/hr, whereas my other examples aren't, does it make sense that they would be paid much more than $50-100K on average?