5 ms·

Where are SWEs working for 60? I want to hire some. In my fair city you're lucky to find talent under $200/hr.

by starbase 3y ago

userinanother 3y ago
Europe?
- starbase 3y ago
  US west coast
niij 3y ago
$200/hr is $416,000/yr. The world is bigger than Silicon Valley, but even there that's a huge salary.
- bitwize 3y ago
  That goes to the comtracting agency. The individual engineer might see a quarter of that if they're lucky.
  - true_religion 3y ago
    There are many staffing agencies that only take 20-30% extra per head.
- kelipso 3y ago
  It translates to probably around $170k pre-tax income, definitely less than $200k, after overhead if you're an employee working for a contracting company. Actually that's for govt contracting companies with mandated limits of how much profit they can make, so normal contracting companies are likely worse.
axlee 3y ago
I'd like to know which country/region has a low average of >$400K/y for a SWE so that you'd be "lucky" to find one for less. I know we're well paid, but definitely not that well.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- starbase 3y ago
  It's contract work on the US west coast. Typically 3-12 month projects bringing some obsolete system into the current decade.
- davorak 3y ago
  The rule of thumb I have seen is that you should charge around double the hourly rate when contracting compared to what you would make on salary to account vagaries of contracting. So this would be closer to $200k given that rule of thumb.
standardUser 3y ago
I don't buy that for a second. Are you looking for specific niche skills?
- starbase 3y ago
  Contract SWE gigs on the US west coast. I have a guy at $175, a full stack dev who does fantastic work, but he's booked out a year in advance and it's like pulling teeth to get him to accept more than 5-10 hours a week. "Can I pay you a higher rate to take on project Z?" "Nah man I'm as busy as I want to be. Maybe next year." I'm sure he does the work in half the time stated, which is fine by me.
  - pbourke 3y ago
    You might do well to add contact info to your profile
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
kube-system 3y ago
$200/hr fully loaded cost or $200/hr wage? Because a $60/hr wage isn't really that far away from a $200/hr fully loaded cost in some cases. If you're hiring a non-employee contractor through some other company for $200/hr ... the SWE making $60/hr might just be that same person. Taxes, benefits, and overhead are very expensive.
- jandrewrogers 3y ago
  The overhead costs of highly paid employees in the US are something like 25-50% of the wage. $200/hr gross will pencil out at $1xx/hr received.
  - kube-system 3y ago
    Depends on the company. I have seen people making $40k/yr being billed out between $180-210/hr... about $20/hr for the employee after PTO.
- starbase 3y ago
  It's contract work paid straight to the dev, with a 1099 when tax season rolls around.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - BobaFloutist 3y ago
    Ok so they're paying the rest of the full load.
- boppo1 3y ago
  How do I tell an employer I just want my 'fully loaded' cost in cash?
  - starbase 3y ago
    Become a contractor. If you go this route, be aware an additional ~1/8 your income will be confiscated as taxes. Worth it for the flexibility, IMO.
true_religion 3y ago
$60 an hour, or around $120,000 is the average rate for software developers currently in DC. There's plenty of places that employ developers for less too. $200 an hour is FAANG rates, at least, but there's an entire economy outside of that. For example, I know a guy who does custom software development for a sawmill in rural Maryland. They don't pay $500k (I think they pay $180k), but he seems pretty happy with his McMansion and 4 kids in private schools. So long as your housing costs aren't in the $1 million range, you can have a lot of disposable income with less money.
VoodooJuJu 3y ago
You can hire SWE's at the no-bullshit rate of $60/hr as soon as you ditch your own bullshit: the take-home exams, the 10 interview rounds, and the brain teasers.
lovetocode 3y ago
I am available for part-time work at $60/hr
deprecative 3y ago
Most of the country? I was happy to cross the $60 barrier after a decade of experience and job hopping a few years back and now all of the jobs are in the high $40s now. I got laid off and I can see why now. These companies wanted to save $20 an hour at least per developer per team and they can.
hirvi74 3y ago
Hell, I make much less than that with 7 years of experience. I work for my state's government, and that is the reason why.

Where are SWEs working for 60? I want to hire some. In my fair city you're lucky to find talent under $200/hr.

userinanother 3y ago

Europe?

starbase 3y ago
US west coast

niij 3y ago

$200/hr is $416,000/yr. The world is bigger than Silicon Valley, but even there that's a huge salary.

bitwize 3y ago
That goes to the comtracting agency. The individual engineer might see a quarter of that if they're lucky.
- true_religion 3y ago
  There are many staffing agencies that only take 20-30% extra per head.
kelipso 3y ago
It translates to probably around $170k pre-tax income, definitely less than $200k, after overhead if you're an employee working for a contracting company. Actually that's for govt contracting companies with mandated limits of how much profit they can make, so normal contracting companies are likely worse.

axlee 3y ago

I'd like to know which country/region has a low average of >$400K/y for a SWE so that you'd be "lucky" to find one for less. I know we're well paid, but definitely not that well.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
starbase 3y ago
It's contract work on the US west coast. Typically 3-12 month projects bringing some obsolete system into the current decade.
davorak 3y ago
The rule of thumb I have seen is that you should charge around double the hourly rate when contracting compared to what you would make on salary to account vagaries of contracting. So this would be closer to $200k given that rule of thumb.

standardUser 3y ago

I don't buy that for a second. Are you looking for specific niche skills?

starbase 3y ago
Contract SWE gigs on the US west coast. I have a guy at $175, a full stack dev who does fantastic work, but he's booked out a year in advance and it's like pulling teeth to get him to accept more than 5-10 hours a week. "Can I pay you a higher rate to take on project Z?" "Nah man I'm as busy as I want to be. Maybe next year." I'm sure he does the work in half the time stated, which is fine by me.
- pbourke 3y ago
  You might do well to add contact info to your profile
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

kube-system 3y ago

$200/hr fully loaded cost or $200/hr wage? Because a $60/hr wage isn't really that far away from a $200/hr fully loaded cost in some cases. If you're hiring a non-employee contractor through some other company for $200/hr ... the SWE making $60/hr might just be that same person. Taxes, benefits, and overhead are very expensive.

jandrewrogers 3y ago
The overhead costs of highly paid employees in the US are something like 25-50% of the wage. $200/hr gross will pencil out at $1xx/hr received.
- kube-system 3y ago
  Depends on the company. I have seen people making $40k/yr being billed out between $180-210/hr... about $20/hr for the employee after PTO.
starbase 3y ago
It's contract work paid straight to the dev, with a 1099 when tax season rolls around.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- BobaFloutist 3y ago
  Ok so they're paying the rest of the full load.
boppo1 3y ago
How do I tell an employer I just want my 'fully loaded' cost in cash?
- starbase 3y ago
  Become a contractor. If you go this route, be aware an additional ~1/8 your income will be confiscated as taxes. Worth it for the flexibility, IMO.

true_religion 3y ago

$60 an hour, or around $120,000 is the average rate for software developers currently in DC. There's plenty of places that employ developers for less too. $200 an hour is FAANG rates, at least, but there's an entire economy outside of that. For example, I know a guy who does custom software development for a sawmill in rural Maryland. They don't pay $500k (I think they pay $180k), but he seems pretty happy with his McMansion and 4 kids in private schools. So long as your housing costs aren't in the $1 million range, you can have a lot of disposable income with less money.

VoodooJuJu 3y ago

You can hire SWE's at the no-bullshit rate of $60/hr as soon as you ditch your own bullshit: the take-home exams, the 10 interview rounds, and the brain teasers.

lovetocode 3y ago

I am available for part-time work at $60/hr

deprecative 3y ago

Most of the country? I was happy to cross the $60 barrier after a decade of experience and job hopping a few years back and now all of the jobs are in the high $40s now. I got laid off and I can see why now. These companies wanted to save $20 an hour at least per developer per team and they can.

hirvi74 3y ago

Hell, I make much less than that with 7 years of experience. I work for my state's government, and that is the reason why.