5 ms·

> 8-10x the median russian salary That's not awfully high and probably less than most of HN readers can earn in a first world country. Completely agree with

> 8-10x the median russian salary That's not awfully high and probably less than most of HN readers can earn in a first world country. Completely agree with everything else though. Just pointing out the obvious.

Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago
Well, it's more than mid-level developers in top Russian tech companies like Yandex are paid, and it's also way more than the income of any non-famous US athlete from non-mainstream sports (runners, rowers, etc).
- user5994461 7y ago
  So what? Top athletes make money, it's not new. Olympics athletes are a few select tens of people. If you want a comparison, French athletes get 50k cash per medal if I remember the numbers right. Russia really want to win and show off internationally so no wonder they pay their top athletes.
  - bobthepanda 7y ago
    I mean, 50k cash for a medal you can only really get every four years is not a whole lot of money.
    - user5994461 7y ago
      It's only the bonus for the podium, they get other allowances of course. Bear in mind that (winning) athletes usually get more than one medal. Think swimming for example freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, in different distances and in team relay. Lots of opportunities.
  - Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago
    That's not 'medalists', it's everyone who gets on the national team. In any sport, even relatively obscure. Top athletes that receive medals on international competitions get way more, in prizes, premiums, gifts like expensive cars/apartments/etc from federal and regional authorities. So unless Western amateur athlete has some luxurious ad contract, he/she won't be even close to Russian 'amateurs'.
- golergka 7y ago
  Yandex famously underpays compared to the market. I'd that 10x median (300-350) is certainly doable for a senior developer in Moscow – not easy, but certainly not undheard of.
  - Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago
    Senior developers are not 'mid-level' I was referencing to. Of course, it's not unheard, but I estimate that maybe 1-2% of Russian developers break 300k rub/month. In Moscow most devs are paid less than 200k

Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago

Well, it's more than mid-level developers in top Russian tech companies like Yandex are paid, and it's also way more than the income of any non-famous US athlete from non-mainstream sports (runners, rowers, etc).

user5994461 7y ago
So what? Top athletes make money, it's not new. Olympics athletes are a few select tens of people. If you want a comparison, French athletes get 50k cash per medal if I remember the numbers right. Russia really want to win and show off internationally so no wonder they pay their top athletes.
- bobthepanda 7y ago
  I mean, 50k cash for a medal you can only really get every four years is not a whole lot of money.
  - user5994461 7y ago
    It's only the bonus for the podium, they get other allowances of course. Bear in mind that (winning) athletes usually get more than one medal. Think swimming for example freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, in different distances and in team relay. Lots of opportunities.
- Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago
  That's not 'medalists', it's everyone who gets on the national team. In any sport, even relatively obscure. Top athletes that receive medals on international competitions get way more, in prizes, premiums, gifts like expensive cars/apartments/etc from federal and regional authorities. So unless Western amateur athlete has some luxurious ad contract, he/she won't be even close to Russian 'amateurs'.
golergka 7y ago
Yandex famously underpays compared to the market. I'd that 10x median (300-350) is certainly doable for a senior developer in Moscow – not easy, but certainly not undheard of.
- Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago
  Senior developers are not 'mid-level' I was referencing to. Of course, it's not unheard, but I estimate that maybe 1-2% of Russian developers break 300k rub/month. In Moscow most devs are paid less than 200k