3 ms·

When you have no connections, no resources, no work history in the field Sounds like you took a job at roughly the market rate (for what you're offering), not

When you have no connections, no resources, no work history in the field Sounds like you took a job at roughly the market rate (for what you're offering), not below market rate. Just because some developers earn a lot, doesn't mean all developers should immediately earn that much or otherwise consider themselves underpaid. Having connections, resources, experience, education etc. makes you more valuable and therefore increases the value of what you're offering. In other words, don't compare apples and oranges just because they're both fruit.

ThunderSizzle 4y ago
Yeah, the salaries being touted around here aren't typical for a non hyper-inflated job market. Most of the country, in my research, will pay 40-60k for a junior developer, but won't own you either (giving you time to find/ build a family, friends, hobbies, etc)
eptcyka 4y ago
How is having connections directly increasing the value I am able to deliver to an employer? I mostly use connections to get the job, so it benefits me, but it doesn't make me any more valuable to an employer.
- evilduck 4y ago
  I've referred people in my professional network to my employers saving them on recruiter fees and protracted hiring efforts, reducing opportunity cost of the job sitting vacant, reducing risks of a bad hire, and sometimes increasing productivity of those around them as well. It's hard to put exact numbers on the long tail effects but a well connected long term employee could easily be worth double.
- derekp7 4y ago
  Connections is another way of saying references, which is a less formal but sometimes more valuable variation of having credentials. If an employer hires 10 unknown people, maybe 4 will work out good and the other 6 will be possibly a net loss. Whereas hiring 10 people with references that you trust, if 9 work out then that is a positive for the employer. That is the value that having connections brings to the employer, it makes you more of a "known" vs "unknown" (not that it increases your specific value, but it is a value to the overall process).
  - ethbr0 4y ago
    This. Most job seekers misunderstand the hiring process from the hirer's perspective. Companies aren't paying someone with references more because of luck. They're paying that person more because that person has less risk and hiring the wrong employee is incredibly expensive. Effectively, they're amortizing and rebating the dollar value of that person's risk reduction into their salary. Hint for new/first job seekers: this is why (non-predatory) internships are win/win, the company is able to ascertain your risk (in lieu of references or a track record) and therefore make you and offer and hire you for a higher (de-risked) salary.
- 7speter 4y ago
  Luck.
NikolaNovak 4y ago
Right. Either Hacker News is at the peak end of salary curve, or US developers make 2x-5x what Canadian developers make. Or, of course, both :).

ThunderSizzle 4y ago

Yeah, the salaries being touted around here aren't typical for a non hyper-inflated job market. Most of the country, in my research, will pay 40-60k for a junior developer, but won't own you either (giving you time to find/ build a family, friends, hobbies, etc)

eptcyka 4y ago

How is having connections directly increasing the value I am able to deliver to an employer? I mostly use connections to get the job, so it benefits me, but it doesn't make me any more valuable to an employer.

evilduck 4y ago
I've referred people in my professional network to my employers saving them on recruiter fees and protracted hiring efforts, reducing opportunity cost of the job sitting vacant, reducing risks of a bad hire, and sometimes increasing productivity of those around them as well. It's hard to put exact numbers on the long tail effects but a well connected long term employee could easily be worth double.
derekp7 4y ago
Connections is another way of saying references, which is a less formal but sometimes more valuable variation of having credentials. If an employer hires 10 unknown people, maybe 4 will work out good and the other 6 will be possibly a net loss. Whereas hiring 10 people with references that you trust, if 9 work out then that is a positive for the employer. That is the value that having connections brings to the employer, it makes you more of a "known" vs "unknown" (not that it increases your specific value, but it is a value to the overall process).
- ethbr0 4y ago
  This. Most job seekers misunderstand the hiring process from the hirer's perspective. Companies aren't paying someone with references more because of luck. They're paying that person more because that person has less risk and hiring the wrong employee is incredibly expensive. Effectively, they're amortizing and rebating the dollar value of that person's risk reduction into their salary. Hint for new/first job seekers: this is why (non-predatory) internships are win/win, the company is able to ascertain your risk (in lieu of references or a track record) and therefore make you and offer and hire you for a higher (de-risked) salary.
7speter 4y ago
Luck.

NikolaNovak 4y ago

Right. Either Hacker News is at the peak end of salary curve, or US developers make 2x-5x what Canadian developers make. Or, of course, both :).