Patrick (patio11) didn't post it, so I will. A great post from him: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ http://www.kalzumeus.c

Patrick (patio11) didn't post it, so I will. A great post from him: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pro... I will provide a slightly different option. If you know what the salary range is (not guess... know), you want to work for a salary, and you know that you have a strong value proposition, just name a number over their range. If they want you, they will negotiate down to the top of their range. If they just want a warm body, then they will just walk away... and you both will better off for it. Without having more information about your context, this simplified advice might be a half-decent answer to your question. Let me add that if you read the "don't call yourself a programmer" article and just bob your head non-stop, then maybe you shouldn't be in a salaried position. You can consult and make the same amount of money in much less time with (imho) much more stability and flexibility. Any objection that you can provide for his option can be addressed fairly handily -- you just have to decide that you want to do it. > I would argue maybe being overpaid compared to the value you bring is dangerous as well, since eventually you may be let go because of this later on. If you are really good at what you do, this won't matter. If you are decent at what you do, and you have social capital and/or are willing to build social capital, this won't matter. You will soon find that there is a salary level above which you care less about the money and more about the work/people/place that the offer entails. There is a lot of flexibility in how you choose what to optimize for. Many programmers do not realize this.