3 ms·

They probably have a rich, well connected daddy. For normal people, $250k is probably as high as you can possibly go. I also have experience with distributed sy

They probably have a rich, well connected daddy. For normal people, $250k is probably as high as you can possibly go. I also have experience with distributed systems, worked 80 hours a week for 10 years straight and built several popular open source projects and I can't get past $80k... Almost feels like a conspiracy against me at this stage but I suspect it just comes down to not having a rich daddy who is connected to politicians and corporate execs. If you look at any rich person these days with a high salary, there is always a rich daddy, rich mommy, rich sugarmomma, rich sugardaddy or rich buddies pulling strings behind the scenes. It's just the new spoiled brat reality. HR people probably run candidates through an opaque automated system which filters out anyone who doesn't have a rich sugardaddy.

ajkjk 4y ago
> Almost feels like a conspiracy against me at this stage but I suspect it just comes down to not having a rich daddy who is connected to politicians and corporate execs. I don't know where you live but there is no way this is the case. 80k is less than starting salaries for new grads. Maybe you meant 180k? In which case, that's still around the level for a second level employee at a big company (a few years of experience). Getting a job at FAANG or whatever else doesn't require special connections, just knowing how to interview and knowing how to be pleasant to work with. It doesn't require connections at all -- if anything it's one of the most democratic hiring processes of any field, where you can apply online and have a job a few months later on your merit alone without any networking being required.
- MauranKilom 4y ago
  Outside the US, 80k is a high salary. It matters a lot which country we are talking about for whether 80k with that experience is insanely low (USA) or insanely high (India). Take a look at the StackOverflow (self-reported) income statistics in various countries: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020#technology-what-languages-are-associated-with-the-highest-salaries-worldwide-global https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020#technology-wh... (compare Global vs United States) https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021#salary-comp-total https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021#salary-comp-t... (compare All Respondents vs United States) https://stackoverflow.blog/2018/09/05/developer-salaries-in-2018-updating-the-stack-overflow-salary-calculator/ https://stackoverflow.blog/2018/09/05/developer-salaries-in-...
- jongjong 4y ago
  I recently applied to a job at a well known company which offered $160k. The interview process was going perfectly I aced every stage of the process both in terms of tech skills and communication/people skills then got to the final stage which involved talking to the director of engineering. I assumed that was just a formality and it was a done deal... But surprise, the director didn't even show up to the interview, instead I got someone else and they interviewed me. I thought it went perfectly, I was able to answer every question without issue and demonstrate my knowledge... Then after over 1 week with no response, I send them an email to ask about next steps and I get an email back saying that "Unfortunately, another candidate has been chosen"... But the thing is, I know that they had multiple positions available and we had even discussed multiple options and they saw me as a potential fit for multiple different teams. This is just one story I have among many. My resume is stellar, my communication skills are great, the interviewers always seem impressed while I'm taking to them, my colleagues always treat me with respect wherever I go... But somehow all these weird things happen to me whenever I deal with big corporations or startups backed by big VCs. Ironically, before that, I had an experience on the other side interviewing candidates at my previous company but somehow none of the really good candidates which I recommended got in. Instead, they hired only mediocre developers.
roflyear 4y ago
It honestly seems like you have an attitude problem.
- jongjong 4y ago
  Of course now I have since developed an attitude problem in my personal life. Though it doesn't show up in my professional life. What kind of person would go through what I've been through and not develop an attitude problem?
HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
Are you in the US? Where? Even here in Minneapolis, upper Midwest, there wasn't anyone on the team I managed making less than $80k. And I actually complained to the owner (small company) that we would lose people because their salaries weren't keeping up with the market or even with inflation. If you're a developer in the US making under $80k I would have to assume that you're in an area with absolutely no tech business or you have no desire to change that.
yonaguska 4y ago
> worked 80 hours a week for 10 years straight > Almost feels like a conspiracy against me You are conspiring against yourself. How did you put in that much work for that long and not switch jobs? It sounds like you chronically undervalued yourself and stayed in bad positions as a result. Hard work only pays off if you find someone to pay you. If you are stuck at a crappy job, work only hard enough to impress your colleagues that are about to leave. Then leverage that reputation to also make your exit. Failing that, just start over and find a new job with no prior connections. If you're at 80k, you are a loooong way from the shenanigans that go on at executive level work. And you're right, there are politics and it is cutthroat, but again... that's not something most devs will encounter until they're leading large teams.
- jongjong 4y ago
  I did switch jobs 10 times in 12 years and constantly asked for more raises, bargained hard during hiring and always delivered above and beyond. I was always highly regarded by my colleagues. Doesn't matter. Company founders usually treated me terribly. In my last job, the founders said that I was essential but then when I asked for a raise plus more responsibilities and told them that it was a deal breaker otherwise, they refused. In spite of being flush with millions of funding. The CTO even threatened with violence. Their business has been going downhill since I left and the CTO has since turned members of the industry against me as revenge for leaving... In spite of the fact that my work exceeded expectations (by the CTO's own admission). To rub salt into the wound, their company was using an open source project which I had built for free (a popular project with almost 6k stars on GitHub). You're jumping to conclusions. Society does not work how you think. The fact that you cannot conceive the system as unmeritocratic and try to blame me without knowing anything about me suggests that you are probably one of the lucky few who has been given special treatment. Maybe in your peer group, one would HAVE to have done something incorrectly to end up in my situation. In my peer group, nobody ever succeeds no matter how good they are or what they do. I suspect that the difference in perception is likely rooted in widespread algorithm-based discrimination based on your social connections to rich or powerful people.

ajkjk 4y ago

> Almost feels like a conspiracy against me at this stage but I suspect it just comes down to not having a rich daddy who is connected to politicians and corporate execs. I don't know where you live but there is no way this is the case. 80k is less than starting salaries for new grads. Maybe you meant 180k? In which case, that's still around the level for a second level employee at a big company (a few years of experience). Getting a job at FAANG or whatever else doesn't require special connections, just knowing how to interview and knowing how to be pleasant to work with. It doesn't require connections at all -- if anything it's one of the most democratic hiring processes of any field, where you can apply online and have a job a few months later on your merit alone without any networking being required.

MauranKilom 4y ago
Outside the US, 80k is a high salary. It matters a lot which country we are talking about for whether 80k with that experience is insanely low (USA) or insanely high (India). Take a look at the StackOverflow (self-reported) income statistics in various countries: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020#technology-what-languages-are-associated-with-the-highest-salaries-worldwide-global https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020#technology-wh... (compare Global vs United States) https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021#salary-comp-total https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021#salary-comp-t... (compare All Respondents vs United States) https://stackoverflow.blog/2018/09/05/developer-salaries-in-2018-updating-the-stack-overflow-salary-calculator/ https://stackoverflow.blog/2018/09/05/developer-salaries-in-...
jongjong 4y ago
I recently applied to a job at a well known company which offered $160k. The interview process was going perfectly I aced every stage of the process both in terms of tech skills and communication/people skills then got to the final stage which involved talking to the director of engineering. I assumed that was just a formality and it was a done deal... But surprise, the director didn't even show up to the interview, instead I got someone else and they interviewed me. I thought it went perfectly, I was able to answer every question without issue and demonstrate my knowledge... Then after over 1 week with no response, I send them an email to ask about next steps and I get an email back saying that "Unfortunately, another candidate has been chosen"... But the thing is, I know that they had multiple positions available and we had even discussed multiple options and they saw me as a potential fit for multiple different teams. This is just one story I have among many. My resume is stellar, my communication skills are great, the interviewers always seem impressed while I'm taking to them, my colleagues always treat me with respect wherever I go... But somehow all these weird things happen to me whenever I deal with big corporations or startups backed by big VCs. Ironically, before that, I had an experience on the other side interviewing candidates at my previous company but somehow none of the really good candidates which I recommended got in. Instead, they hired only mediocre developers.

roflyear 4y ago

It honestly seems like you have an attitude problem.

jongjong 4y ago
Of course now I have since developed an attitude problem in my personal life. Though it doesn't show up in my professional life. What kind of person would go through what I've been through and not develop an attitude problem?

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago

Are you in the US? Where? Even here in Minneapolis, upper Midwest, there wasn't anyone on the team I managed making less than $80k. And I actually complained to the owner (small company) that we would lose people because their salaries weren't keeping up with the market or even with inflation. If you're a developer in the US making under $80k I would have to assume that you're in an area with absolutely no tech business or you have no desire to change that.

yonaguska 4y ago

> worked 80 hours a week for 10 years straight > Almost feels like a conspiracy against me You are conspiring against yourself. How did you put in that much work for that long and not switch jobs? It sounds like you chronically undervalued yourself and stayed in bad positions as a result. Hard work only pays off if you find someone to pay you. If you are stuck at a crappy job, work only hard enough to impress your colleagues that are about to leave. Then leverage that reputation to also make your exit. Failing that, just start over and find a new job with no prior connections. If you're at 80k, you are a loooong way from the shenanigans that go on at executive level work. And you're right, there are politics and it is cutthroat, but again... that's not something most devs will encounter until they're leading large teams.

jongjong 4y ago
I did switch jobs 10 times in 12 years and constantly asked for more raises, bargained hard during hiring and always delivered above and beyond. I was always highly regarded by my colleagues. Doesn't matter. Company founders usually treated me terribly. In my last job, the founders said that I was essential but then when I asked for a raise plus more responsibilities and told them that it was a deal breaker otherwise, they refused. In spite of being flush with millions of funding. The CTO even threatened with violence. Their business has been going downhill since I left and the CTO has since turned members of the industry against me as revenge for leaving... In spite of the fact that my work exceeded expectations (by the CTO's own admission). To rub salt into the wound, their company was using an open source project which I had built for free (a popular project with almost 6k stars on GitHub). You're jumping to conclusions. Society does not work how you think. The fact that you cannot conceive the system as unmeritocratic and try to blame me without knowing anything about me suggests that you are probably one of the lucky few who has been given special treatment. Maybe in your peer group, one would HAVE to have done something incorrectly to end up in my situation. In my peer group, nobody ever succeeds no matter how good they are or what they do. I suspect that the difference in perception is likely rooted in widespread algorithm-based discrimination based on your social connections to rich or powerful people.