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I was an untested front end developer and took a position for around 60k without equity in NYC. Later it got bumped up to 72k still no equity (though I largely

I was an untested front end developer and took a position for around 60k without equity in NYC. Later it got bumped up to 72k still no equity (though I largely feel like equity is a "too good to be true"). I've since become a full stack developer (dev ops to front end, etc.) and increasingly more frustrated with my pay. Have taken on a lot of responsibility and a lot of my choices re. tech stack have made me the de facto person to come to with questions. I interviewed at a big company and they told me that regardless of what happened I should be out there trying to make more (I didn't tell them how much I made, I only said that at a small startup with very little funding, I would be afraid that my compensation might reflect negatively on my abilities and that I didn't feel comfortable disclosing it). Super grateful that they took a chance on me. Really happy that I got a chance to earn my stripes and was trusted enough to dig into and shape the infrastructure, but I've been thinking about jumping ship mostly for money. I feel like I should bring it up, but I have the distinct feeling there isn't any more money (they share the financial info from time to time). I thought I'd just share some anecdotal info from my time on the ground. I put my email in the profile and would love some advice if anyone has some (it's a throwaway account).

lsc 12y ago
>Super grateful that they took a chance on me. Really happy that I got a chance to earn my stripes and was trusted enough to dig into and shape the infrastructure, but I've been thinking about jumping ship mostly for money. I feel like I should bring it up, but I have the distinct feeling there isn't any more money (they share the financial info from time to time). I think this is one of the more useful comments here; companies offering $60K/yr are looking for the untested, the brand new and the long-term unemployed. People that need a chance. I mean, no judgement; those people need jobs, too. And sometimes, sometimes you can find someone really good in one of those categories. There's a huge difference between a not so good and a really good developer, so you can sometimes do well as a company hiring from that pool, but you are shutting yourself off from all the good people that are proven, so it's a lot more work to find good people. fullstacknyc: My advice to you? Ask for more money, in a non-confrontational way. Leave out the "or I leave" bit. Regardless of the answer, spend some time interviewing around. If you can get a 30%+ raise, and you almost certainly can, well, I'd switch jobs, personally. If nothing else, it feels good to know you can.
- fullstacknyc 12y ago
  Thank you very much. I totally agree that these kinds of jobs are needed. I knew I could develop professionally, I just needed someone to let me. Thankfully, I've grown to feel that I'm actually pretty good at this stuff, but as someone who came into the field through the side door, knew it might be hard to convince someone I could be. While for the past year and a half the compensation has been a bit low, the experiences have been worth their weight in gold.
- mo_money_ 12y ago
  For NYC rates? It wouldn't be un-fathomable to get a 100% pay raise, especially after a few years of experience and some sort of solid track record. I was in a similar position about two years ago; was hired by BigCo far below market rates and quickly excelled as one of their best devs on a 200+ contract. Long story short, their corporate policies hampered my career progress, I left after a few years and got a 100% pay increase, better benefits and options from a company who saw the value. Just stay away from many of the other BigCo's as they tend to have a policy of lifetime wage suppression, and was shocked to hear of the relatively common policy of never giving more than ~15% over the new hire's last pay.
  - lsc 12y ago
    is telling your employer what you got paid at your last job a NYC thing? It's not something asked by reputable companies in California.

lsc 12y ago

>Super grateful that they took a chance on me. Really happy that I got a chance to earn my stripes and was trusted enough to dig into and shape the infrastructure, but I've been thinking about jumping ship mostly for money. I feel like I should bring it up, but I have the distinct feeling there isn't any more money (they share the financial info from time to time). I think this is one of the more useful comments here; companies offering $60K/yr are looking for the untested, the brand new and the long-term unemployed. People that need a chance. I mean, no judgement; those people need jobs, too. And sometimes, sometimes you can find someone really good in one of those categories. There's a huge difference between a not so good and a really good developer, so you can sometimes do well as a company hiring from that pool, but you are shutting yourself off from all the good people that are proven, so it's a lot more work to find good people. fullstacknyc: My advice to you? Ask for more money, in a non-confrontational way. Leave out the "or I leave" bit. Regardless of the answer, spend some time interviewing around. If you can get a 30%+ raise, and you almost certainly can, well, I'd switch jobs, personally. If nothing else, it feels good to know you can.

fullstacknyc 12y ago
Thank you very much. I totally agree that these kinds of jobs are needed. I knew I could develop professionally, I just needed someone to let me. Thankfully, I've grown to feel that I'm actually pretty good at this stuff, but as someone who came into the field through the side door, knew it might be hard to convince someone I could be. While for the past year and a half the compensation has been a bit low, the experiences have been worth their weight in gold.
mo_money_ 12y ago
For NYC rates? It wouldn't be un-fathomable to get a 100% pay raise, especially after a few years of experience and some sort of solid track record. I was in a similar position about two years ago; was hired by BigCo far below market rates and quickly excelled as one of their best devs on a 200+ contract. Long story short, their corporate policies hampered my career progress, I left after a few years and got a 100% pay increase, better benefits and options from a company who saw the value. Just stay away from many of the other BigCo's as they tend to have a policy of lifetime wage suppression, and was shocked to hear of the relatively common policy of never giving more than ~15% over the new hire's last pay.
- lsc 12y ago
  is telling your employer what you got paid at your last job a NYC thing? It's not something asked by reputable companies in California.