3 ms·

> The median dev income in the US is about $110k. I'd hardly call that "too lucrative". Outside of a select few excessively expensive areas, $110k a year makes

> The median dev income in the US is about $110k. I'd hardly call that "too lucrative". Outside of a select few excessively expensive areas, $110k a year makes for a great lifestyle. We're talking nearly 2.5-3x the median salary of an American worker here. I don't know if the deviation follows, but how is a 2-3x higher median not lucrative?

giantg2 5y ago
Yeah, it is about 3x. I don't see it as a great lifestyle in most places. For example, I'm in the Philly area. It's pretty average, probably even slightly above, for cost of living. $110k just barely supports a family with a chance at retirement. Cheap cars, average to small house, 50 minute commute for cheaper area, etc. Now that can be different if living in a rural area, but the costs in just about any city suburbs will provide a decent lifestyle, but not great. After all, I was incentivized to work a low paying job for extra income.
- xboxnolifes 5y ago
  A median here is over the entire country. If you are being paid a median (national) salary, but live/work in a more expensive (national) area, you are likely not being paid median relative to your area. You are likely being paid below median. But you are still likely being paid more than other industries in the same area. > $110k just barely supports a family with a chance at retirement. This may or may not be true, but I was talking about individual earners here, and median household income averages >1 earner per household. In this example, a 110k household income is less than double the national median household income, so it will definitely feel less lucrative when raising a family.
  - giantg2 5y ago
    That depends. You can't just look at the area, but also your job type. There are tons of factors. I know that many pharma people in my area make more than me. I know high school teachers that make about the same as me. There are tons of people that make more than I do. This argument about median is really a tangent, but the point was that $110k per year is not excessive. The conversation was that software development is "too lucrative" to incentivize people to work on side projects. In my experience, that's simply not true.

giantg2 5y ago

Yeah, it is about 3x. I don't see it as a great lifestyle in most places. For example, I'm in the Philly area. It's pretty average, probably even slightly above, for cost of living. $110k just barely supports a family with a chance at retirement. Cheap cars, average to small house, 50 minute commute for cheaper area, etc. Now that can be different if living in a rural area, but the costs in just about any city suburbs will provide a decent lifestyle, but not great. After all, I was incentivized to work a low paying job for extra income.

xboxnolifes 5y ago
A median here is over the entire country. If you are being paid a median (national) salary, but live/work in a more expensive (national) area, you are likely not being paid median relative to your area. You are likely being paid below median. But you are still likely being paid more than other industries in the same area. > $110k just barely supports a family with a chance at retirement. This may or may not be true, but I was talking about individual earners here, and median household income averages >1 earner per household. In this example, a 110k household income is less than double the national median household income, so it will definitely feel less lucrative when raising a family.
- giantg2 5y ago
  That depends. You can't just look at the area, but also your job type. There are tons of factors. I know that many pharma people in my area make more than me. I know high school teachers that make about the same as me. There are tons of people that make more than I do. This argument about median is really a tangent, but the point was that $110k per year is not excessive. The conversation was that software development is "too lucrative" to incentivize people to work on side projects. In my experience, that's simply not true.