4 ms·

With due respect, shouldn't a developer with >15 years of experience be making in the high 6 figures? (>$150k) Is it really hard to live on that, even with a f

With due respect, shouldn't a developer with >15 years of experience be making in the high 6 figures? (>$150k) Is it really hard to live on that, even with a family?

sologoub 12y ago
That number is less common than you think, but even if it were the median, you'd still have half of people below that. Areas where that kind of salary is most common are extremely expensive. When you factor in all family expenses and commute (unless you get ridiculously lucky or are ok with really cramped quarters), you end up with bills a lot higher than a single person. For kids, there is healthcare, school related stuff, toys, the right good and so on. It's a lot tougher than you might think. Psychology also kicks in here - when you've been busting your ass for 15 years to make a good living, you expect to be able to afford certain things. Unfortunately, prices of luxury goods have far outpaced consumer goods, so you end up feelings lot less "wealthy" than you think you should.
quaffapint 12y ago
Just to add on to what sologoub stated...When I started IT many moons ago, I had a nice linear progressions of jobs and pay. We moved from an apartment to small house to slightly bigger rural area house. My job felt steady and I liked that with a young family. When I was ready to move onto the next position 2007 happened. Now any move I make in the field would likely end up being a step down or lateral move in pay, based on the many recruiters and their position offerings I speak with. It's just the nature of the current economy. I make good money, but the cost of living has now outpaced what good money means and my pay has stagnanted if not gone down with health premium costs.
- morgante 12y ago
  > When I started IT many moons ago I can't help but think that referring to technology as "IT" might be part of the problem. Nobody I know who's doing technical product development calls it IT. In my mind, that term connotes working as a glorified support specialist in a large corporation.
  - collyw 12y ago
    I am similar age rage. That was what it was called back then. What is it now?
    - morgante 12y ago
      > I am similar age rage. That was what it was called back then. What is it now? Technology? Development? Engineering? Depends on the company, but generally tech-driven companies don't have developers working in an "IT" department.
      - collyw 12y ago
        Technology? You do know what the 'T' in 'IT' stands for don't you?
        morgante 12y ago
        > Technology? You do know what the 'T' in 'IT' stands for don't you? Yes...
  - quaffapint 12y ago
    Sorry - I should remember the audience. My wife always just says I do IT when people ask, so it's kind of ingrained in my head. I'm a developer (or whatever other term you want to use for that). I've worked from small teams (which are the best) to large corps.
ryandrake 12y ago
Only at a tiny few companies, in a handful of (high cost-of-living) cities offer salaries that high, and only for a small number of roles. Sure, tech workers currently have it slightly better than most, in this down economy, but that's not saying much. Also, years of experience doesn't matter after a certain point. Tech, programming, etc. salaries don't increase linearly with experience forever. After some time (5 years or so), your salary will stop increasing, even moving from company to company, and when that happens, the skyrocketing cost of health care, housing, etc., which do increase year after year, will mean your standard of living will decrease over time.
GFischer 12y ago
Where he works, IT salaries seem to be in the 80k to 100k range. http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Bank-of-America-Salaries-E8874.htm http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Bank-of-America-Salaries-E88...

With due respect, shouldn't a developer with >15 years of experience be making in the high 6 figures? (>$150k) Is it really hard to live on that, even with a family?

sologoub 12y ago

That number is less common than you think, but even if it were the median, you'd still have half of people below that. Areas where that kind of salary is most common are extremely expensive. When you factor in all family expenses and commute (unless you get ridiculously lucky or are ok with really cramped quarters), you end up with bills a lot higher than a single person. For kids, there is healthcare, school related stuff, toys, the right good and so on. It's a lot tougher than you might think. Psychology also kicks in here - when you've been busting your ass for 15 years to make a good living, you expect to be able to afford certain things. Unfortunately, prices of luxury goods have far outpaced consumer goods, so you end up feelings lot less "wealthy" than you think you should.

quaffapint 12y ago

Just to add on to what sologoub stated...When I started IT many moons ago, I had a nice linear progressions of jobs and pay. We moved from an apartment to small house to slightly bigger rural area house. My job felt steady and I liked that with a young family. When I was ready to move onto the next position 2007 happened. Now any move I make in the field would likely end up being a step down or lateral move in pay, based on the many recruiters and their position offerings I speak with. It's just the nature of the current economy. I make good money, but the cost of living has now outpaced what good money means and my pay has stagnanted if not gone down with health premium costs.

morgante 12y ago
> When I started IT many moons ago I can't help but think that referring to technology as "IT" might be part of the problem. Nobody I know who's doing technical product development calls it IT. In my mind, that term connotes working as a glorified support specialist in a large corporation.
- collyw 12y ago
  I am similar age rage. That was what it was called back then. What is it now?
  - morgante 12y ago
    > I am similar age rage. That was what it was called back then. What is it now? Technology? Development? Engineering? Depends on the company, but generally tech-driven companies don't have developers working in an "IT" department.
    - collyw 12y ago
      Technology? You do know what the 'T' in 'IT' stands for don't you?
      - morgante 12y ago
        > Technology? You do know what the 'T' in 'IT' stands for don't you? Yes...
- quaffapint 12y ago
  Sorry - I should remember the audience. My wife always just says I do IT when people ask, so it's kind of ingrained in my head. I'm a developer (or whatever other term you want to use for that). I've worked from small teams (which are the best) to large corps.

ryandrake 12y ago

Only at a tiny few companies, in a handful of (high cost-of-living) cities offer salaries that high, and only for a small number of roles. Sure, tech workers currently have it slightly better than most, in this down economy, but that's not saying much. Also, years of experience doesn't matter after a certain point. Tech, programming, etc. salaries don't increase linearly with experience forever. After some time (5 years or so), your salary will stop increasing, even moving from company to company, and when that happens, the skyrocketing cost of health care, housing, etc., which do increase year after year, will mean your standard of living will decrease over time.

GFischer 12y ago

Where he works, IT salaries seem to be in the 80k to 100k range. http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Bank-of-America-Salaries-E8874.htm http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Bank-of-America-Salaries-E88...