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130k is a very reasonable compensation for early-mid career folks in many places. Assuming your a dev, what sector+region are you in? I'm always fascinated by

130k is a very reasonable compensation for early-mid career folks in many places. Assuming your a dev, what sector+region are you in? I'm always fascinated by compensation conversations on HN, because they seem to come from a place of... very high expectations. Don't know how to say that without sounding snarky, that's not my intent. Curious.

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ianbutler 4y ago
Without giving exact information I make more than double that as a senior engineer in NJ working remotely for a non-faang but still big public tech co with approx 10 years professional xp, but I have been writing code for much longer, just shy of 20 years. My area is data engineering and internal tools and devops too depending on the role.
geraldwhen 4y ago
I’m in the southeast and also make double that. 130k total comp is entry level. I know this because I hired many people last year and some were entry level.
FredPret 4y ago
Why shouldn’t very smart people who have also spent years / decades developing technical skills in an industry that is eating the world and is the most profitable thing ever… get paid less than you need to buy a house? If they don’t make high six/low seven figures, who will? Bankers? Lawyers!?
- benatkin 4y ago
  > If they don’t make high six/low seven figures, who will? Bankers? Lawyers!? Employees and contractors, and founders contingent on equity. Also some who don't agree that founder salaries funded by investment should be modest.
- roflyear 4y ago
  Not everyone here is a super genius
nawgz 4y ago
130k is not a good software engineering salary. Period. Region doesn't matter to me, the floor of cost of living never truly goes that low. Sector? I build and deploy web or mobile apps, and I do as many parts of that as my team doesn't. Experience is 10 years, including with Senior and Engineering Manager titles. Besides the fact that I can make more than $130k by walking in the door across the market, I also believe I could generate a MRR that would return after-expenses revenue higher than that with a new business within 1 year. So I also don't see why I would take a moonshot on a poor salary, when I can aim lower, still have big upside, and avoid VCs stepping all over me
- deleted 4y ago
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- metaphor 4y ago
  > MRR that would return after-expenses revenue Come again?
  - nawgz 4y ago
    Awkwardly phrased analogue for "salary potential"
- reidjs 4y ago
  curious, have you made over $130K a year running your own business? If not, how do you know you could?
  - nawgz 4y ago
    I once worked for a 5-man business that brought in $750k annually, and the two owners were smart guys but no better than me and certainly not as professionally trained. Now, mind you, I'm not saying it would only be the product, I would also be willing to be a consultant (trading the singular VC for multiple, not-quite-fungible-but-closer-to customers), but making only $130k for your soul and a lotto ticket does not sound like an appealing deal.
wobbly_bush 4y ago
> because they seem to come from a place of... very high expectations You can see housing prices for whatever areas people are talking about and how much the monthly mortgage comes out to be to get baseline on cost of living.
adastra22 4y ago
Not in the SF Bay Area it isn't a reasonable salary.

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ianbutler 4y ago

Without giving exact information I make more than double that as a senior engineer in NJ working remotely for a non-faang but still big public tech co with approx 10 years professional xp, but I have been writing code for much longer, just shy of 20 years. My area is data engineering and internal tools and devops too depending on the role.

geraldwhen 4y ago

I’m in the southeast and also make double that. 130k total comp is entry level. I know this because I hired many people last year and some were entry level.

FredPret 4y ago

Why shouldn’t very smart people who have also spent years / decades developing technical skills in an industry that is eating the world and is the most profitable thing ever… get paid less than you need to buy a house? If they don’t make high six/low seven figures, who will? Bankers? Lawyers!?

benatkin 4y ago
> If they don’t make high six/low seven figures, who will? Bankers? Lawyers!? Employees and contractors, and founders contingent on equity. Also some who don't agree that founder salaries funded by investment should be modest.
roflyear 4y ago
Not everyone here is a super genius

nawgz 4y ago

130k is not a good software engineering salary. Period. Region doesn't matter to me, the floor of cost of living never truly goes that low. Sector? I build and deploy web or mobile apps, and I do as many parts of that as my team doesn't. Experience is 10 years, including with Senior and Engineering Manager titles. Besides the fact that I can make more than $130k by walking in the door across the market, I also believe I could generate a MRR that would return after-expenses revenue higher than that with a new business within 1 year. So I also don't see why I would take a moonshot on a poor salary, when I can aim lower, still have big upside, and avoid VCs stepping all over me

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metaphor 4y ago
> MRR that would return after-expenses revenue Come again?
- nawgz 4y ago
  Awkwardly phrased analogue for "salary potential"
reidjs 4y ago
curious, have you made over $130K a year running your own business? If not, how do you know you could?
- nawgz 4y ago
  I once worked for a 5-man business that brought in $750k annually, and the two owners were smart guys but no better than me and certainly not as professionally trained. Now, mind you, I'm not saying it would only be the product, I would also be willing to be a consultant (trading the singular VC for multiple, not-quite-fungible-but-closer-to customers), but making only $130k for your soul and a lotto ticket does not sound like an appealing deal.

wobbly_bush 4y ago

> because they seem to come from a place of... very high expectations You can see housing prices for whatever areas people are talking about and how much the monthly mortgage comes out to be to get baseline on cost of living.

adastra22 4y ago

Not in the SF Bay Area it isn't a reasonable salary.