As much as you can get. Why worry about the poor negotiating skills of almost everyone else? Either you're looking to cover your living expenses or you're loo

As much as you can get. Why worry about the poor negotiating skills of almost everyone else? Either you're looking to cover your living expenses or you're looking to maximize your revenue. If the former who cares what anyone else makes, if the latter who cares what average is. If you want to maximize your revenue learn to negotiate, it's still mostly summer and there is lots of cash and few devs. Get multiple offers on the table, read the companies blog and make sure you're espousing dev practice de jour. Nothing is as attractive as a scarce resource, tell everyone that your friend works at one of the other offers on the table so you're kind of partial. Be likable, when you ask what kind of problems they have on the first interview bring up that problem at the 2nd and ask how it's going, what they've tried, come in with a suggestion, etc. Unless you want to be an average developer you should care little about what the average developer gets paid. Apply at companies that aren't features on TC Jobs or YC Jobs, companies with more cash and less publicity. If they have fat stacks of resumes because they are a YC company you're not going to be able to negotiate very well. That company that your friend works at that hasn't been on HN and hasn't been featured on TC, apply there.