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I was in your shoes 10 years ago. Even worse, I was in Ludhiana (Punjab) where I couldn't even find another web developer. Getting out of such nightmare in Ind

I was in your shoes 10 years ago. Even worse, I was in Ludhiana (Punjab) where I couldn't even find another web developer. Getting out of such nightmare in India is a lot easier India than developed countries. You just need to make more money than salary of your job to get out it; which is about $100 at this point for you. In Silicon Valley and NYC, developers need to make $5,000 to pay bills. $500 is considered a decent salary for a first job in India; here are few ways to make $500 / month. 1) Freelancing: You can find better gigs on job boards like http://jobs.wordpress.net http://jobs.wordpress.net and https://groups.drupal.org/jobs https://groups.drupal.org/jobs I run a startup (http://www.ranksignals.com http://www.ranksignals.com), we could hire you for a freelance job if you are interested. My contact info is on my profile. 2) Blogging: Start a blog and promote it, you need about 5,000+ page views per day to make $500 a month. 3) Sell small plugins & themes on ThemeForest and CodeCanyon. You can make a lot more than $500, there are developers grossing over $100,000 per month. If you want to get a full time job, don't work at a body shop. Work at a product or ecommerce startup, they offer higher pay and better experience. Companies like FlipKart are offering 10 lacs/year salary to new developers.

akgerber 13y ago
You definitely don't need $5000/mo. to pay bills in NYC, except maybe if you're trying to raise a family on your salary alone in a fancy neighborhood. I live very well on $2000/mo., and could easily cut that without excessive sacrifice by moving to a less happening neighborhood with a bit longer commute than my current 35 minutes (say: parts of Jersey City; Sunset Park or Ditmas Park, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Inwood, Manhattan; Riverdale, Bronx; Stapleton, Staten Island) and cooking more of my own food.
- RealGeek 13y ago
  If your salary is $5,000; you get about $3,000 to $3,500 in pocket after taxes, health insurance, social security and other deductions. I live quite far from NYC in White Plains, rent for 1 bedroom apartment here is $2400. PS. I am sure there are people surviving for $500 a month in NYC, but that is not the lifestyle most developers desire when they have job offers for $80,000 to $120,000. In fact, most developers I've met say they want to make $10,000 per month to quit their job.
  - dbpatterson 13y ago
    You can definitely find a 1BR apartment in brooklyn for <$2000/month. And a two bedroom for not much more, if you look.
  - elliottcarlson 13y ago
    I live in Staten Island and rent for a 1 bedroom is $800 in a nice neighborhood and new house - you could get a 1 bedroom in NYC for $2400.
    - mendelk 13y ago
      si != nyc ;) Jokes aside, I'm in a Crown Heights 1br for < $,1200
      - error54 13y ago
        Hey I'm in Crown Heights too! 1br for < $1625
        mendelk 13y ago
        Yes, CH varies quite a bit, and you can find a 1br for > $2200 tbh.
  - mgkimsal 13y ago
    maybe you should room with akgerber...
  - troyk 13y ago
    No doubt, I'm sure the IRS would love to know how he lives in NYC on $2k gross...
    - comicjk 13y ago
      $2k/month is $24,000/year, at which income the IRS does not take nearly as much. According to the IRS calculator, he would be paying $1,628 in income tax. Add in payroll tax and that's $3308 total. So his after-tax income is not far off from $2k at $1724/month. Assuming he has roommates, his rent and other fixed costs will be less than $1k, so he will be ok, if rather Bohemian.
- ilaksh 13y ago
  Its quite difficult to live "very well" in NYC on $2000/month. It was several years ago when I lived there, worse now. Where exactly in NYC do you live? In Staten Island, which is pretty far from Manhattan, it was more than $800 for a decent 1 bedroom apartment in 2001. The was just a normal apartment, not a big one or anything. So that leaves around $1000 for everything else and any savings.. which means I think you are exaggerating when you say you live very well.
  - akgerber 13y ago
    I have a roommate, which is pretty essential to affordable living in a place with expensive real estate. I live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, which is a very different neighborhood from what it was in 2001. I eat out a lot, travel reasonably often, ride bikes on the regular, attend events regularly, and so on— it's certainly possible to spend more on lifestyle, but I don't think it would make me much happier. Tech job benefits certainly help keep expenses reasonable, too.
rudy750 13y ago
I was just looking at CodeCanyon. Have you done it? can you give me a little more detail on how it works?
- RealGeek 13y ago
  Browse through the listings to get an idea of what is selling. http://codecanyon.net/page/top_sellers http://codecanyon.net/page/top_sellers They have quality standards that you must meet to get approved. Browse through http://support.envato.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/List/Index/78/authoring-requirements http://support.envato.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/List/Inde... to find out more. http://codecanyon.net/make_money/become_an_author http://codecanyon.net/make_money/become_an_author
  - rudy750 13y ago
    I just signed up. Do you just upload random things that you think will sell? or is there somewhere I can see what people want?
  - ssiddharth 13y ago
    For the guy/lady below: Hey there! I work at Envato and am involved in the day to day operations of the marketplaces, including CodeCanyon. Please feel free to email me any questions at sid at envato dot com
    - simias 13y ago
      FYI: if HN prevents you from directly replying to a comment you can click on "link" to access a reply page directly. That's actually what I just did to reply to your comment. I'm still not completely sure why HN does that to be honest, especially since the heuristic appears to be pretty random.
      - ssiddharth 13y ago
        Wow, definitely didn't notice this earlier. Thanks!
gkcgautam 13y ago
Yes, selling plugins and themes is quite profitable and learning experience. I used to sell OpenCart themes while i was in college and used to make over $400 per month with only a couple of days of work.
harichinnan 13y ago
Another thing to consider is moving South. Go to Bangalore or Chennai. I was making like $1500 per month for a .NET gig in Chennai in 2007 at a body shop. Nothing fancy. Just some ASP.NET stuff. $100 is way too low. In Kochi, Kerala, even day laborers get Rs 600 a day. That'll be at least $200 per month.

akgerber 13y ago

You definitely don't need $5000/mo. to pay bills in NYC, except maybe if you're trying to raise a family on your salary alone in a fancy neighborhood. I live very well on $2000/mo., and could easily cut that without excessive sacrifice by moving to a less happening neighborhood with a bit longer commute than my current 35 minutes (say: parts of Jersey City; Sunset Park or Ditmas Park, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Inwood, Manhattan; Riverdale, Bronx; Stapleton, Staten Island) and cooking more of my own food.

RealGeek 13y ago
If your salary is $5,000; you get about $3,000 to $3,500 in pocket after taxes, health insurance, social security and other deductions. I live quite far from NYC in White Plains, rent for 1 bedroom apartment here is $2400. PS. I am sure there are people surviving for $500 a month in NYC, but that is not the lifestyle most developers desire when they have job offers for $80,000 to $120,000. In fact, most developers I've met say they want to make $10,000 per month to quit their job.
- dbpatterson 13y ago
  You can definitely find a 1BR apartment in brooklyn for <$2000/month. And a two bedroom for not much more, if you look.
- elliottcarlson 13y ago
  I live in Staten Island and rent for a 1 bedroom is $800 in a nice neighborhood and new house - you could get a 1 bedroom in NYC for $2400.
  - mendelk 13y ago
    si != nyc ;) Jokes aside, I'm in a Crown Heights 1br for < $,1200
    - error54 13y ago
      Hey I'm in Crown Heights too! 1br for < $1625
      - mendelk 13y ago
        Yes, CH varies quite a bit, and you can find a 1br for > $2200 tbh.
- mgkimsal 13y ago
  maybe you should room with akgerber...
- troyk 13y ago
  No doubt, I'm sure the IRS would love to know how he lives in NYC on $2k gross...
  - comicjk 13y ago
    $2k/month is $24,000/year, at which income the IRS does not take nearly as much. According to the IRS calculator, he would be paying $1,628 in income tax. Add in payroll tax and that's $3308 total. So his after-tax income is not far off from $2k at $1724/month. Assuming he has roommates, his rent and other fixed costs will be less than $1k, so he will be ok, if rather Bohemian.
ilaksh 13y ago
Its quite difficult to live "very well" in NYC on $2000/month. It was several years ago when I lived there, worse now. Where exactly in NYC do you live? In Staten Island, which is pretty far from Manhattan, it was more than $800 for a decent 1 bedroom apartment in 2001. The was just a normal apartment, not a big one or anything. So that leaves around $1000 for everything else and any savings.. which means I think you are exaggerating when you say you live very well.
- akgerber 13y ago
  I have a roommate, which is pretty essential to affordable living in a place with expensive real estate. I live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, which is a very different neighborhood from what it was in 2001. I eat out a lot, travel reasonably often, ride bikes on the regular, attend events regularly, and so on— it's certainly possible to spend more on lifestyle, but I don't think it would make me much happier. Tech job benefits certainly help keep expenses reasonable, too.

rudy750 13y ago

I was just looking at CodeCanyon. Have you done it? can you give me a little more detail on how it works?

RealGeek 13y ago
Browse through the listings to get an idea of what is selling. http://codecanyon.net/page/top_sellers http://codecanyon.net/page/top_sellers They have quality standards that you must meet to get approved. Browse through http://support.envato.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/List/Index/78/authoring-requirements http://support.envato.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/List/Inde... to find out more. http://codecanyon.net/make_money/become_an_author http://codecanyon.net/make_money/become_an_author
- rudy750 13y ago
  I just signed up. Do you just upload random things that you think will sell? or is there somewhere I can see what people want?
- ssiddharth 13y ago
  For the guy/lady below: Hey there! I work at Envato and am involved in the day to day operations of the marketplaces, including CodeCanyon. Please feel free to email me any questions at sid at envato dot com
  - simias 13y ago
    FYI: if HN prevents you from directly replying to a comment you can click on "link" to access a reply page directly. That's actually what I just did to reply to your comment. I'm still not completely sure why HN does that to be honest, especially since the heuristic appears to be pretty random.
    - ssiddharth 13y ago
      Wow, definitely didn't notice this earlier. Thanks!

gkcgautam 13y ago

Yes, selling plugins and themes is quite profitable and learning experience. I used to sell OpenCart themes while i was in college and used to make over $400 per month with only a couple of days of work.

harichinnan 13y ago

Another thing to consider is moving South. Go to Bangalore or Chennai. I was making like $1500 per month for a .NET gig in Chennai in 2007 at a body shop. Nothing fancy. Just some ASP.NET stuff. $100 is way too low. In Kochi, Kerala, even day laborers get Rs 600 a day. That'll be at least $200 per month.