6 ms·

I'm curious where this poster got that figure. I haven't found anything like it, in fact a pretty consistent 145k average salary. I would also be wary of averag

I'm curious where this poster got that figure. I haven't found anything like it, in fact a pretty consistent 145k average salary. I would also be wary of average vs. median, as there's some real crazy outliers out there.

fahadkhan 7y ago
Pedantic note. You probably mean mean (or mode) vs median. They are all different types of averages (amongst others).
- rootusrootus 7y ago
  I'm guessing OP did in fact mean median, since the point is that outliers at the top can really skew the mean. Median gives a more realistic idea of what people are typically earning.
  - fahadkhan 7y ago
    My comment was about "I would also be wary of average vs. median"
    - alexbanks 7y ago
      You're right, it was pedantic.
skookum 7y ago
Presumably from stories like this one earlier this week: https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-tech-workers-earn-279k-year-average-double-wages-every-sector/ https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-tech-workers-earn-279k...
- Apocryphon 7y ago
  Amazon/Microsoft TC, probably. Base salary is a different story.
  - skookum 7y ago
    I don't know why there is always this nitpick. I just take it for granted that when someone talks about tech "salaries" they mean "total comp". Virtually everyone in my peer group makes more than half of their total comp from non-salary compensation. Sure that portion varies somewhat due to market forces, but there seems little point in discussing base salaries.
    - Apocryphon 7y ago
      There's a huge difference from getting stock grants from FAANGM and getting options from startups, which may easily turn into funny money. The recent underwhelming tech IPOs from Uber, and perhaps worrying upcoming IPOs from AirBnB, indicate that even options from unicorns might be of debatable worth. It's just not money in the bank in the same way those from the tech giants are.
      - skookum 7y ago
        Did you read the article you're responding to? It's historical data, which is as literal money in the bank as you can get. What's the point of saying "oh sure, but this is skewed by Amazon/Microsoft TC, base salaries are actually much lower" in this context?
    - codegeek 7y ago
      Because Cash is king. Everything else can be taken away or reduced or diluted or what not.
      - skookum 7y ago
        This is backward looking data. It's what people earned, not some pie-in-the-sky projection of future IPO windfalls.
irrational 7y ago
I have a sister-in-law that I recently learned is making $275k in a tech job in Seattle. She has no college degree or formal training. She has just learned things on the job over the years. I was frankly astonished. That is more than double what I make as a senior software engineer 3 hours away in Portland.
- r00fus 7y ago
  What job / company (or industry if you can't say)?
  - irrational 7y ago
    Something to do with cloud computing, but not for any of the FANG + Microsoft companies.
    - NikolaeVarius 7y ago
      Well FAANG seems to be missing an A, and a certain company does cloud computing starting with an A
      - irrational 7y ago
        Well the company she works for doesn't start with an A. But what is the A I'm missing? Oh, Apple. Nope, not Apple.
- brailsafe 7y ago
  As a software dev just to the north in Vancouver, BC at 110k CAD: that's bananas money.
  - __turbobrew__ 7y ago
    I am a software engineer in Vancouver as well, feels bad. My partner doesn't want to move so I am taking the pay cut. I have noticed that Vancouver dev salaries have been increasing the last few years, but no where close to +200K USD. My end goal is to move to the Okanagan and get a remote job where I could get similar pay to Vancouver with much lower living costs.
galazzah 7y ago
https://www.levels.fyi/ https://www.levels.fyi/ has some pretty good figures. I also am fairly certain its total comp and not salary...
- ryandrake 7y ago
  Levels.fyi: outlier employees at outlier companies. Not even close to “average for normal software developer.”
  - thebean11 7y ago
    Outlier employees is probably an exaggeration. Sure, they may be making above average at those companies but no way those Google/FB salaries are true outliers.
bloblaw 7y ago
Got it here: https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-tech-workers-earn-279k-year-average-double-wages-every-sector/ https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-tech-workers-earn-279k...
alfiedotwtf 7y ago
$145k for Bay Area salaries? I’m assuming this doesn’t include the wild bonuses and options I keep hearing about, because given how living expenses are, that seems like a negative ROI
- alexbanks 7y ago
  Well yes, because bonuses and options aren't guaranteed salary.

fahadkhan 7y ago

Pedantic note. You probably mean mean (or mode) vs median. They are all different types of averages (amongst others).

rootusrootus 7y ago
I'm guessing OP did in fact mean median, since the point is that outliers at the top can really skew the mean. Median gives a more realistic idea of what people are typically earning.
- fahadkhan 7y ago
  My comment was about "I would also be wary of average vs. median"
  - alexbanks 7y ago
    You're right, it was pedantic.

skookum 7y ago

Presumably from stories like this one earlier this week: https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-tech-workers-earn-279k-year-average-double-wages-every-sector/ https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-tech-workers-earn-279k...

Apocryphon 7y ago
Amazon/Microsoft TC, probably. Base salary is a different story.
- skookum 7y ago
  I don't know why there is always this nitpick. I just take it for granted that when someone talks about tech "salaries" they mean "total comp". Virtually everyone in my peer group makes more than half of their total comp from non-salary compensation. Sure that portion varies somewhat due to market forces, but there seems little point in discussing base salaries.
  - Apocryphon 7y ago
    There's a huge difference from getting stock grants from FAANGM and getting options from startups, which may easily turn into funny money. The recent underwhelming tech IPOs from Uber, and perhaps worrying upcoming IPOs from AirBnB, indicate that even options from unicorns might be of debatable worth. It's just not money in the bank in the same way those from the tech giants are.
    - skookum 7y ago
      Did you read the article you're responding to? It's historical data, which is as literal money in the bank as you can get. What's the point of saying "oh sure, but this is skewed by Amazon/Microsoft TC, base salaries are actually much lower" in this context?
  - codegeek 7y ago
    Because Cash is king. Everything else can be taken away or reduced or diluted or what not.
    - skookum 7y ago
      This is backward looking data. It's what people earned, not some pie-in-the-sky projection of future IPO windfalls.

irrational 7y ago

I have a sister-in-law that I recently learned is making $275k in a tech job in Seattle. She has no college degree or formal training. She has just learned things on the job over the years. I was frankly astonished. That is more than double what I make as a senior software engineer 3 hours away in Portland.

r00fus 7y ago
What job / company (or industry if you can't say)?
- irrational 7y ago
  Something to do with cloud computing, but not for any of the FANG + Microsoft companies.
  - NikolaeVarius 7y ago
    Well FAANG seems to be missing an A, and a certain company does cloud computing starting with an A
    - irrational 7y ago
      Well the company she works for doesn't start with an A. But what is the A I'm missing? Oh, Apple. Nope, not Apple.
brailsafe 7y ago
As a software dev just to the north in Vancouver, BC at 110k CAD: that's bananas money.
- __turbobrew__ 7y ago
  I am a software engineer in Vancouver as well, feels bad. My partner doesn't want to move so I am taking the pay cut. I have noticed that Vancouver dev salaries have been increasing the last few years, but no where close to +200K USD. My end goal is to move to the Okanagan and get a remote job where I could get similar pay to Vancouver with much lower living costs.

galazzah 7y ago

https://www.levels.fyi/ https://www.levels.fyi/ has some pretty good figures. I also am fairly certain its total comp and not salary...

ryandrake 7y ago
Levels.fyi: outlier employees at outlier companies. Not even close to “average for normal software developer.”
- thebean11 7y ago
  Outlier employees is probably an exaggeration. Sure, they may be making above average at those companies but no way those Google/FB salaries are true outliers.

bloblaw 7y ago

Got it here: https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-tech-workers-earn-279k-year-average-double-wages-every-sector/ https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-tech-workers-earn-279k...

alfiedotwtf 7y ago

$145k for Bay Area salaries? I’m assuming this doesn’t include the wild bonuses and options I keep hearing about, because given how living expenses are, that seems like a negative ROI

alexbanks 7y ago
Well yes, because bonuses and options aren't guaranteed salary.