6 ms·

Outside certain very expensive places software developers typically don't make six figure yearly amounts. Good luck trying to make over 0.3M USD with 3-5 years

by rl1987 5y ago

Outside certain very expensive places software developers typically don't make six figure yearly amounts. Good luck trying to make over 0.3M USD with 3-5 years of experience in Europe or Asia. Besides, not everyone can learn programming at a professional level, just like not everyone can learn how to be professional doctor, artist or manager.

strzibny 5y ago
Yes, the whole premise is very US-centric.
- rl1987 5y ago
  I'm not American, but I think it might be even more narrow than that. Is it reasonable to expect six figure developer salaries if one is from outside small number of states with a lot of tech industry? What if one lives in Alaska?
  - akvadrako 5y ago
    Seems like almost no SWE jobs in Alaska https://www.levels.fyi/comp.html?track=Software%20Engineer&region=743 https://www.levels.fyi/comp.html?track=Software%20Engineer&r...
- memling 5y ago
  > Yes, the whole premise is very US-centric. It's actually even more localized than that: the vast majority of places in the US don't pay that much. Silicon Valley, NYC, and some other metros will have higher ranges, of course, and BigCorps can afford to pay it. But if you live in the Midwest or program for a company whose business isn't software—which is likely a healthy minority of software positions, if not a majority—you generally won't make that much.
- gyulai 5y ago
  Was just going to say the same thing. ...I might have phrased it in a snarky way like "Do overpayed SWEs in the U.S. realize just how lucky they were for having come out of an American vagina?" It's a good thing I don't have to do that now.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- cosmodisk 5y ago
  300K salaries- yes, it's a US-only thing. However a lot of countries dev jobs are better paid than most. E.g in my own little country it's not unheard for seniors to make 5-7 times more than an average person in the country. That's still a huge difference.
- kyriakos 5y ago
  It's really not US only phenomenon. The numbers are different in Europe but definitely higher than other professional jobs. Doctors earn more but software engineers usually earn at least x2 a country's average salary.
kranke155 5y ago
A lot of people don’t want to either. I do think most people will eventually learn some programming as part of their jobs, but I am a visual person who just gets depressed/confused when I tried to learn React and maybe make a career in it. I know i would be making more money, but I have a well paying career in the visual creative field now and I have no intention of learning any more coding than I already know. Maybe eventually I’ll make a Unity project using C#.
Curzel 5y ago
I mostly agree. Let’s also consider cost of living here vs the US, and average pay. For example, I live in north Italy and i currently earn 60k euro yearly, which is 2.5x the average italian paycheck of 27k. I also have a 10% bonus, which is something most companies outside of IT simply do not offer in Italy. I think doctors average pay is around 60-70k for comparison with highly paying jobs…
- dzhiurgis 5y ago
  Cost of living doesn't account for quality of living. Most of Europe live in small flats - a large detached house equals millionaire (heck everyone with property nowadays is a millionaire) level wealth.
  - Curzel 5y ago
    Agree. But again, depends on the area. An attic in Trento city center, in an historical building, completely renewed very recently? 400k That gets you a very small flat in Milan, and not even near city center. Same price gets you a big-ass detached house where I live (30 minutes drive from nearest city) As for quality of living I don’t have much experience, I’ve been living for a while in Ireland and UK, but only few weeks at a time, so I don’t really have anything to contribute to that discussion tbh

by rl1987 5y ago

strzibny 5y ago

Yes, the whole premise is very US-centric.

rl1987 5y ago
I'm not American, but I think it might be even more narrow than that. Is it reasonable to expect six figure developer salaries if one is from outside small number of states with a lot of tech industry? What if one lives in Alaska?
- akvadrako 5y ago
  Seems like almost no SWE jobs in Alaska https://www.levels.fyi/comp.html?track=Software%20Engineer&region=743 https://www.levels.fyi/comp.html?track=Software%20Engineer&r...
memling 5y ago
> Yes, the whole premise is very US-centric. It's actually even more localized than that: the vast majority of places in the US don't pay that much. Silicon Valley, NYC, and some other metros will have higher ranges, of course, and BigCorps can afford to pay it. But if you live in the Midwest or program for a company whose business isn't software—which is likely a healthy minority of software positions, if not a majority—you generally won't make that much.
gyulai 5y ago
Was just going to say the same thing. ...I might have phrased it in a snarky way like "Do overpayed SWEs in the U.S. realize just how lucky they were for having come out of an American vagina?" It's a good thing I don't have to do that now.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
cosmodisk 5y ago
300K salaries- yes, it's a US-only thing. However a lot of countries dev jobs are better paid than most. E.g in my own little country it's not unheard for seniors to make 5-7 times more than an average person in the country. That's still a huge difference.
kyriakos 5y ago
It's really not US only phenomenon. The numbers are different in Europe but definitely higher than other professional jobs. Doctors earn more but software engineers usually earn at least x2 a country's average salary.

kranke155 5y ago

A lot of people don’t want to either. I do think most people will eventually learn some programming as part of their jobs, but I am a visual person who just gets depressed/confused when I tried to learn React and maybe make a career in it. I know i would be making more money, but I have a well paying career in the visual creative field now and I have no intention of learning any more coding than I already know. Maybe eventually I’ll make a Unity project using C#.

Curzel 5y ago

I mostly agree. Let’s also consider cost of living here vs the US, and average pay. For example, I live in north Italy and i currently earn 60k euro yearly, which is 2.5x the average italian paycheck of 27k. I also have a 10% bonus, which is something most companies outside of IT simply do not offer in Italy. I think doctors average pay is around 60-70k for comparison with highly paying jobs…

dzhiurgis 5y ago
Cost of living doesn't account for quality of living. Most of Europe live in small flats - a large detached house equals millionaire (heck everyone with property nowadays is a millionaire) level wealth.
- Curzel 5y ago
  Agree. But again, depends on the area. An attic in Trento city center, in an historical building, completely renewed very recently? 400k That gets you a very small flat in Milan, and not even near city center. Same price gets you a big-ass detached house where I live (30 minutes drive from nearest city) As for quality of living I don’t have much experience, I’ve been living for a while in Ireland and UK, but only few weeks at a time, so I don’t really have anything to contribute to that discussion tbh