3 ms·

why are the developers' salaries so low? $60k a year??

by johndhi 3y ago

freeCandy 3y ago
That is not a low salary for France, which is where the devs are.
datpiff 3y ago
https://www.levels.fyi/t/software-engineer/locations/france https://www.levels.fyi/t/software-engineer/locations/france
- 0xDEF 3y ago
  That site inflates salaries because it oversamples devs who work remotely for American companies. For example the site claims Ukrainian devs make $57k a year.
Tmpod 3y ago
That's a very high salary in a lot of places, perhaps the developers don't feel the need to get 100k+/year...? .-.
- spiderice 3y ago
  That’s.. one way to look at it. Should read “perhaps the company doesn’t feel the need to give developers 100k+/year”.
  - johannes1234321 3y ago
    Well, "the company" in that case is the "main programmer" being paid. And then one has to consider value of social security provided when comparing with other countries. Health insurance, retirement funds, ...
  - lukhas 3y ago
    Lichess is a non-profit with hundreds of volunteers, several part-time paid contributors/moderators and 2 full-time devs, not a company.
capableweb 3y ago
In most places in the world, that's nowhere near a low salary for a developer.
solardev 3y ago
That's how much I was paid as a dev in Chicago. I loved that job and would do it again in a heartbeat. It was for a midsized educational nonprofit, and I was one of the highest paid workers there already (excluding the C suite). We got so much shit done every day, and I learned and grew so much. Amazing coworkers too. My next job paid $100k and had me working way way less, barely utilizing my skills. It was a bigger company that was very poorly managed. I spent more time there arguing about Jira points than actually developing anything. My skills and mental health deteoriated. It wasn't worth it. Seems like Lichess hit that sweet spot of paying a livable wage (in a country where social services are actually a thing) while providing meaningful work on a passion project. Most developers aren't so lucky!

why are the developers' salaries so low? $60k a year??

freeCandy 3y ago

That is not a low salary for France, which is where the devs are.

datpiff 3y ago

https://www.levels.fyi/t/software-engineer/locations/france https://www.levels.fyi/t/software-engineer/locations/france

0xDEF 3y ago
That site inflates salaries because it oversamples devs who work remotely for American companies. For example the site claims Ukrainian devs make $57k a year.

Tmpod 3y ago

That's a very high salary in a lot of places, perhaps the developers don't feel the need to get 100k+/year...? .-.

spiderice 3y ago
That’s.. one way to look at it. Should read “perhaps the company doesn’t feel the need to give developers 100k+/year”.
- johannes1234321 3y ago
  Well, "the company" in that case is the "main programmer" being paid. And then one has to consider value of social security provided when comparing with other countries. Health insurance, retirement funds, ...
- lukhas 3y ago
  Lichess is a non-profit with hundreds of volunteers, several part-time paid contributors/moderators and 2 full-time devs, not a company.

capableweb 3y ago

In most places in the world, that's nowhere near a low salary for a developer.

solardev 3y ago

That's how much I was paid as a dev in Chicago. I loved that job and would do it again in a heartbeat. It was for a midsized educational nonprofit, and I was one of the highest paid workers there already (excluding the C suite). We got so much shit done every day, and I learned and grew so much. Amazing coworkers too. My next job paid $100k and had me working way way less, barely utilizing my skills. It was a bigger company that was very poorly managed. I spent more time there arguing about Jira points than actually developing anything. My skills and mental health deteoriated. It wasn't worth it. Seems like Lichess hit that sweet spot of paying a livable wage (in a country where social services are actually a thing) while providing meaningful work on a passion project. Most developers aren't so lucky!