4 ms·

$200k is increasingly a mid-career engineering salary in many parts of the US. Some quick examples taken from companies reported on levels.fyi, where pay around

by runako 5y ago

$200k is increasingly a mid-career engineering salary in many parts of the US. Some quick examples taken from companies reported on levels.fyi, where pay around $200k was reported for people working outside the most expensive US cities plus Austin: - Lowe's (Charlotte): https://www.levels.fyi/company/Lowe-s/salaries/Software-Engineer/ https://www.levels.fyi/company/Lowe-s/salaries/Software-Engi... - Equifax (Atlanta): https://www.levels.fyi/company/Equifax/salaries/Software-Engineer/ https://www.levels.fyi/company/Equifax/salaries/Software-Eng... - ExxonMobil (Houston): https://www.levels.fyi/company/ExxonMobil/salaries/Software-Engineer/ https://www.levels.fyi/company/ExxonMobil/salaries/Software-... - T-Mobile (Dallas): https://www.levels.fyi/company/T-Mobile/salaries/Software-Engineer/Principal-Engineer/ https://www.levels.fyi/company/T-Mobile/salaries/Software-En... TL;DR; look around and ask for more if you don't see $200k near you and you would like to earn more. I'm biased, but I think it's also worth noting that $200k in Dallas leaves a person with a lot more money left over after basic expenses than it does in SF.

usayimunderpaid 5y ago
As a technical lead (one level above senior software developer in my current company), I make €96k in Germany. I had an interview with Klarna, and they offered me €85k (they actually started with 75 and went up to 85), and the interviewer nearly laughed at me when I asked for €110k. Different continent, different problems? :)
- shankr 5y ago
  For me it was Shopify laughing at me for asking for 90K with 7 years of experience. EDIT: Shopify not Spotify
- runako 5y ago
  https://techpays.com https://techpays.com looks really interesting for European compensation transparency. Tech folks should get paid a lot more, especially those outside the US.
- jypepin 5y ago
  salaries in europe are much lower - but to be fair, I lived much better in amsterdam with 100k euro than SF with 150k
Goronmon 5y ago
That ExxonMobile link has 3 of 20 salaries being an amount above $122k and only 1 at $200k. So, even in your cherry-picked examples one of the companies only has a single person making this "mid-career salary".
- runako 5y ago
  0 - These examples were chosen specifically to avoid software & Internet companies, to show that "real" companies that operate in "normal" parts of the country also pay in the $200k range. (These companies are also likely to have less representation on levels.fyi because people who spend any time on levels quickly start wondering why they aren't working for a tech company.) "Cherry-picking" would be highlighting all the FAAMNG workers who are remote and/or working in satellite offices. Google engineers in midtown Atlanta are paid well above any of these, but I specifically did not include those jobs because those in fact are elite. 1 - levels.fyi will not have a record of all the folks working at a given company. 2 - Somebody is indeed the highest-paid engineer at every firm, so that data point is relevant. (It could be you!) 3 - Fine, swap out ExxonMobil for Chevron in Houston and then realize they hire from the same talent pool and likely are in the same total comp range: https://www.levels.fyi/company/Chevron/salaries/Software-Engineer/ https://www.levels.fyi/company/Chevron/salaries/Software-Eng... 4 - Take JP Morgan in Houston as a bonus: https://www.levels.fyi/company/JPMorgan-Chase/salaries/Software-Engineer/ https://www.levels.fyi/company/JPMorgan-Chase/salaries/Softw... 5 - Yes, some tech people make a lot less than others. It is also true that $200k is still rapidly becoming a mid-career salary in major US cities beyond the expensive coasts. (No, you are not mid-career at age 28.)
  - TechTeam12 5y ago
    5. What constitutes mid-career? Why do you disqualify someone who is 28?
    - runako 5y ago
      Great question! Mid-career means somewhere near the middle of your career. If you expect to work from age ~23 to ~65, the middle is around age 44. (Edit: if you start work at age 18, the middle is still over age 41.) Age 28 is much closer to the beginning of your career than the middle. Even if you retire at 50, the middle of your career is still in your mid-30s.

by runako 5y ago

usayimunderpaid 5y ago

As a technical lead (one level above senior software developer in my current company), I make €96k in Germany. I had an interview with Klarna, and they offered me €85k (they actually started with 75 and went up to 85), and the interviewer nearly laughed at me when I asked for €110k. Different continent, different problems? :)

shankr 5y ago
For me it was Shopify laughing at me for asking for 90K with 7 years of experience. EDIT: Shopify not Spotify
runako 5y ago
https://techpays.com https://techpays.com looks really interesting for European compensation transparency. Tech folks should get paid a lot more, especially those outside the US.
jypepin 5y ago
salaries in europe are much lower - but to be fair, I lived much better in amsterdam with 100k euro than SF with 150k

Goronmon 5y ago

That ExxonMobile link has 3 of 20 salaries being an amount above $122k and only 1 at $200k. So, even in your cherry-picked examples one of the companies only has a single person making this "mid-career salary".

runako 5y ago
0 - These examples were chosen specifically to avoid software & Internet companies, to show that "real" companies that operate in "normal" parts of the country also pay in the $200k range. (These companies are also likely to have less representation on levels.fyi because people who spend any time on levels quickly start wondering why they aren't working for a tech company.) "Cherry-picking" would be highlighting all the FAAMNG workers who are remote and/or working in satellite offices. Google engineers in midtown Atlanta are paid well above any of these, but I specifically did not include those jobs because those in fact are elite. 1 - levels.fyi will not have a record of all the folks working at a given company. 2 - Somebody is indeed the highest-paid engineer at every firm, so that data point is relevant. (It could be you!) 3 - Fine, swap out ExxonMobil for Chevron in Houston and then realize they hire from the same talent pool and likely are in the same total comp range: https://www.levels.fyi/company/Chevron/salaries/Software-Engineer/ https://www.levels.fyi/company/Chevron/salaries/Software-Eng... 4 - Take JP Morgan in Houston as a bonus: https://www.levels.fyi/company/JPMorgan-Chase/salaries/Software-Engineer/ https://www.levels.fyi/company/JPMorgan-Chase/salaries/Softw... 5 - Yes, some tech people make a lot less than others. It is also true that $200k is still rapidly becoming a mid-career salary in major US cities beyond the expensive coasts. (No, you are not mid-career at age 28.)
- TechTeam12 5y ago
  5. What constitutes mid-career? Why do you disqualify someone who is 28?
  - runako 5y ago
    Great question! Mid-career means somewhere near the middle of your career. If you expect to work from age ~23 to ~65, the middle is around age 44. (Edit: if you start work at age 18, the middle is still over age 41.) Age 28 is much closer to the beginning of your career than the middle. Even if you retire at 50, the middle of your career is still in your mid-30s.