4 ms·

$5K a week? That's about a quarter of a million a year ... is that a typical US salary?

Jtsummers 5y ago
No, not even for software developers. Median household income in 2020 in the US was about $62k. Average was almost $88k.
- hollerith 5y ago
  It might be the average though for people who create projects people are willing to pay $5000 or more for.
  - spicybright 5y ago
    Maybe. That group is still probably 0.01% of the US.
burkaman 5y ago
No, it's about 5x a typical US salary.
fooker 5y ago
It’s typical tech salary for people with ~5+ years of experience doing something interesting.
- quaffapint 5y ago
  Maybe in a few tech/expensive areas of the country, but not for the average dev with way more than 5+ yrs in the average US.
  - fooker 5y ago
    Of course not the average dev. But once you are good at a niche topic, it is definitely the case.
- thrwaeasddsaf 5y ago
  Is it really or is it just in the SV bubble? Or is this a case of "it's not interesting if it's not in SV"? Sometimes reading HN gives me the feeling that there is no "tech" other than FAANG in the US. Or somehow every little "tech" company is just making FU money, which sounds hard to believe.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - gpas 5y ago
    No it's not [0]. I know HN is a bubble, a rich and successful one, but it's crazy how detached from reality some comments are. It borders between an extreme 'fake it till you make it' mentality and sheer trolling. For reference, in my G7 country $5k are 3 to 4 months wage. [0] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LEU0254530600A https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LEU0254530600A
  - fooker 5y ago
    > Or is this a case of "it's not interesting if it's not in SV" This is a case of "get deep knowledge about something which can not be replicated by googling your way out". Become a recognized expert in compilers, OS internals, or similar areas and suddenly you get $250-300k anywhere in US/Canada. Europe tech salaries are much lower.

No, not even for software developers. Median household income in 2020 in the US was about $62k. Average was almost $88k.

hollerith 5y ago
It might be the average though for people who create projects people are willing to pay $5000 or more for.
- spicybright 5y ago
  Maybe. That group is still probably 0.01% of the US.

burkaman 5y ago

No, it's about 5x a typical US salary.

fooker 5y ago

It’s typical tech salary for people with ~5+ years of experience doing something interesting.

quaffapint 5y ago
Maybe in a few tech/expensive areas of the country, but not for the average dev with way more than 5+ yrs in the average US.
- fooker 5y ago
  Of course not the average dev. But once you are good at a niche topic, it is definitely the case.
thrwaeasddsaf 5y ago
Is it really or is it just in the SV bubble? Or is this a case of "it's not interesting if it's not in SV"? Sometimes reading HN gives me the feeling that there is no "tech" other than FAANG in the US. Or somehow every little "tech" company is just making FU money, which sounds hard to believe.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- gpas 5y ago
  No it's not [0]. I know HN is a bubble, a rich and successful one, but it's crazy how detached from reality some comments are. It borders between an extreme 'fake it till you make it' mentality and sheer trolling. For reference, in my G7 country $5k are 3 to 4 months wage. [0] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LEU0254530600A https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LEU0254530600A
- fooker 5y ago
  > Or is this a case of "it's not interesting if it's not in SV" This is a case of "get deep knowledge about something which can not be replicated by googling your way out". Become a recognized expert in compilers, OS internals, or similar areas and suddenly you get $250-300k anywhere in US/Canada. Europe tech salaries are much lower.