6 ms·

Just out of curiosity, as an Atlanta based dev, what kinds of salaries are common in Austin at various levels?

pratik661 6y ago
I hope I don't open a major can of worms by my parent comment. This is based on a sample of my own personal experience of 1 Austin interview and LOTs of Atlanta interviews. As a SDE with 4 YOE, I was offered $110k ish in Austin vs barely scraping 90-100k in Atlanta. I ended up taking an offer in NYC (which was my top choice to begin with).
- dimmke 6y ago
  I live in Atlanta. I get a lot of recruiters pitching me senior SWE jobs from mediocre companies with salary ranges between 115k-130k. I think 130-150 is average for senior roles. That's definitely lower than other markets, but Atlanta is a much cheaper place to live than most other big cities. Housing is definitely catching up though. The only thing I will say about Atlanta, it gets HUMID for large swathes of the year. The climate is really unpleasant if you're prone to sweating and enjoy being outdoors.
  - ethbr0 6y ago
    Someone from a more temperate climate asked me about sweating in the South once. "What do you do when it's 90+ and you need to be outside?" "You sweat and accept that other people sweat." If you shower once a day, a little sweat isn't a bit deal. I think of it as making sure my pores are clear.
- nzt48 6y ago
  Out of all of the new-grad GT students I know, the minimum they were offered was 83k in Atlanta.
SOLAR_FIELDS 6y ago
levels.fyi is a good resource. Those are typically Bay Area salaries so a good rule of thumb is to take the numbers reported there and knock off 10-20% for Austin.
- PNWChris 6y ago
  I recently got a new job in a Midwestern city and made extensive use of levels.fyi (and Blind) during the process. It helps a ton with setting expectations and understanding what wages and equity to aim for (or a bit above even). There’s a feature on the site where you can click a given level for a given company, and filter the individual offer data to a given metro/city. It’s super useful, even if a bit more labor intensive than being able to use the top-of-the-fold summary stats. Edit: the link to click is “filter locations”, it’s on the top right after clicking/opening a given level’s info card.
- aeoleonn 6y ago
  I'd say knock off more considerably than 10-20%, at least compared to this cost of living calculator: https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator/compare/austin-tx-vs-seattle-wa https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator/compare... $150k in Austin equates to $236k in Seattle (knock off 35%) $150k in Austin equates to $296k in SF Bay (knock off 50%)
  - pivoter 6y ago
    Cost of living calculations are silly. Nobody earning 236k in seattle is spending their entire paycheck on cost of living. Tell me, does a share of Tesla cost more in Seattle than Austin?
    - andrewzah 6y ago
      $236k in Columbia, South Carolina is vastly different than $236k in Seattle. Cost of living calculations are not only not silly, they're essential. Stock market shares are the same, but things like gas prices, groceries, utilities, and rent are vastly different.
echelon 6y ago
I live in Atlanta and grew up in the area. This is my 2021 total comp from workday: $160k base $380k equity $540k total comp I've been highly compensated in Atlanta for nearly my entire career, except the year when I worked out of ATDC. edit: I misread that you were looking for Austin figures, not Atlanta. I still think this is valuable for the ATLiens here. We've had tech companies here for over a decade - you just have to know.
- rytill 6y ago
  So you thought the OP asked "What software engineer salaries are common in Atlanta at various levels?" and you replied, "Here is my $540k salary. (This datapoint should be included in your perception of what is common in Atlanta.)"
  - echelon 6y ago
    Yeah.
- throwaway713 6y ago
  You make $540k and still want to live in Atlanta? Out of curiosity, do you really like the area more than other places? Or is it because family is nearby?
  - echelon 6y ago
    The simple answer is that my family is here, but it's honestly more than that. I've spent time in SF, Portland, various cities in Texas, and a year in Florida. (Never the northeast or Colorado, which are omissions - but I hate snow and cold.) Spent a year in Japan, and a few months in China. Expat life might have been fun if I was still in my 20's... Despite all of that, Atlanta has always felt right. It's incredibly diverse - way more than many cities - and full of culture. The music scene is on point, and I used to go to shows at least once a week before the pandemic. I'm frequently on the Beltline (and used to use it to commute to work pre-Covid). The Hooch, ample outdoors, hiking, lakes. I also own an amazing condo here. 25'' ceilings, penthouse skyline view with 20'' windows, historic all-brick walls. It's amazing. It'd easily cost millions in another city, yet my mortgage payment is less than $2k/mo here. I'll probably be able to retire at 40. Or start a company with minimal risk. Georgia has a ton to do, and the cost of living is still incredibly cheap. I can't imagine leaving, just buying a second home.

I hope I don't open a major can of worms by my parent comment. This is based on a sample of my own personal experience of 1 Austin interview and LOTs of Atlanta interviews. As a SDE with 4 YOE, I was offered $110k ish in Austin vs barely scraping 90-100k in Atlanta. I ended up taking an offer in NYC (which was my top choice to begin with).

dimmke 6y ago
I live in Atlanta. I get a lot of recruiters pitching me senior SWE jobs from mediocre companies with salary ranges between 115k-130k. I think 130-150 is average for senior roles. That's definitely lower than other markets, but Atlanta is a much cheaper place to live than most other big cities. Housing is definitely catching up though. The only thing I will say about Atlanta, it gets HUMID for large swathes of the year. The climate is really unpleasant if you're prone to sweating and enjoy being outdoors.
- ethbr0 6y ago
  Someone from a more temperate climate asked me about sweating in the South once. "What do you do when it's 90+ and you need to be outside?" "You sweat and accept that other people sweat." If you shower once a day, a little sweat isn't a bit deal. I think of it as making sure my pores are clear.
nzt48 6y ago
Out of all of the new-grad GT students I know, the minimum they were offered was 83k in Atlanta.

SOLAR_FIELDS 6y ago

levels.fyi is a good resource. Those are typically Bay Area salaries so a good rule of thumb is to take the numbers reported there and knock off 10-20% for Austin.

PNWChris 6y ago
I recently got a new job in a Midwestern city and made extensive use of levels.fyi (and Blind) during the process. It helps a ton with setting expectations and understanding what wages and equity to aim for (or a bit above even). There’s a feature on the site where you can click a given level for a given company, and filter the individual offer data to a given metro/city. It’s super useful, even if a bit more labor intensive than being able to use the top-of-the-fold summary stats. Edit: the link to click is “filter locations”, it’s on the top right after clicking/opening a given level’s info card.
aeoleonn 6y ago
I'd say knock off more considerably than 10-20%, at least compared to this cost of living calculator: https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator/compare/austin-tx-vs-seattle-wa https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator/compare... $150k in Austin equates to $236k in Seattle (knock off 35%) $150k in Austin equates to $296k in SF Bay (knock off 50%)
- pivoter 6y ago
  Cost of living calculations are silly. Nobody earning 236k in seattle is spending their entire paycheck on cost of living. Tell me, does a share of Tesla cost more in Seattle than Austin?
  - andrewzah 6y ago
    $236k in Columbia, South Carolina is vastly different than $236k in Seattle. Cost of living calculations are not only not silly, they're essential. Stock market shares are the same, but things like gas prices, groceries, utilities, and rent are vastly different.

echelon 6y ago

I live in Atlanta and grew up in the area. This is my 2021 total comp from workday: $160k base $380k equity $540k total comp I've been highly compensated in Atlanta for nearly my entire career, except the year when I worked out of ATDC. edit: I misread that you were looking for Austin figures, not Atlanta. I still think this is valuable for the ATLiens here. We've had tech companies here for over a decade - you just have to know.

rytill 6y ago
So you thought the OP asked "What software engineer salaries are common in Atlanta at various levels?" and you replied, "Here is my $540k salary. (This datapoint should be included in your perception of what is common in Atlanta.)"
- echelon 6y ago
  Yeah.
throwaway713 6y ago
You make $540k and still want to live in Atlanta? Out of curiosity, do you really like the area more than other places? Or is it because family is nearby?
- echelon 6y ago
  The simple answer is that my family is here, but it's honestly more than that. I've spent time in SF, Portland, various cities in Texas, and a year in Florida. (Never the northeast or Colorado, which are omissions - but I hate snow and cold.) Spent a year in Japan, and a few months in China. Expat life might have been fun if I was still in my 20's... Despite all of that, Atlanta has always felt right. It's incredibly diverse - way more than many cities - and full of culture. The music scene is on point, and I used to go to shows at least once a week before the pandemic. I'm frequently on the Beltline (and used to use it to commute to work pre-Covid). The Hooch, ample outdoors, hiking, lakes. I also own an amazing condo here. 25'' ceilings, penthouse skyline view with 20'' windows, historic all-brick walls. It's amazing. It'd easily cost millions in another city, yet my mortgage payment is less than $2k/mo here. I'll probably be able to retire at 40. Or start a company with minimal risk. Georgia has a ton to do, and the cost of living is still incredibly cheap. I can't imagine leaving, just buying a second home.