6 ms·

My first job as a programmer in 2011, the boss was paying me US$10 an hour to code in Visual Basic 6. He gave me a $2 raise ($12) after 6 months of proving that

My first job as a programmer in 2011, the boss was paying me US$10 an hour to code in Visual Basic 6. He gave me a $2 raise ($12) after 6 months of proving that I was a good coder. A year later, I ended up having to get a new job because I had debt that I had to pay off and didn't want to take 10 years to do it. Eventually got a job working a web developer for $16-$18/hr. The advice I have: If you have a college degree or at least 5 years experience in programming, know that you more valuable than you think you are. Also: The reality is, you are replaceable. Keep moving on til you are loving what you do and doing what you love .. and getting paid to do it.

carrotleads 11y ago
it baffles me how devs can work for those rates... no wonder I still see Ads for C++ contracts in Melbourne for $50/hr for a mid-senior level job... clearly there are people who work at those rates... the biggest thing holding dev salaries back is cause many devs love what they do..
- shoo 11y ago
  I guess it depends where you're living, and what opportunities you are aware of - or are available to you - and what your next best alternative is. If you really need the money and don't have another option then working for a very modest quantity of money sure seems like a much better deal than working for none at all.
  - k__ 11y ago
    Also the unawareness happens in the other direction too. I know a bunch of freelancers who get paid a ridiculous amount of money for simple web-dev stuff, just because the companies they work for don't know anything about this and are simply happy to have found a dev.
  - carrotleads 11y ago
    That may well be the case but a dev should not trade his/her time at similar rates to other skills that didn't take much time/effort to learn.. dev skill isn't a common one, it takes a special kind of mindset to be a half decent dev...
- ionised 11y ago
  Developer roles in the UK pay very poorly for the most part. We don't seem to be valued much at all.
- J_Darnley 11y ago
  Oh I'm sorry that we can't all live in the programmers' utopia that you apparently inhabit where the pay is a thousand dollars per keystroke. Be thankful you have a fucking job! I would work for $10, not per hour just ten dollars, because it would be more than the zero I earn right now.
  - carrotleads 11y ago
    I understand it is a relative... but the rates should be similar to what is earnt by other professionals.. in this case the rates seemed to be at burger flipping ones for the region.. basically I feel lots of devs are underselling themselves..
- omouse 11y ago
  because we're constantly told that we're lucky to be working on something cool that we usually love to do. we're lucky to have air-conditioned offices and internet access all day.
omouse 11y ago
This is why I advocate for even the most junior programmers to earn more cash. Even a junior programmer's code can save hundreds of hours of labour and increase profit.
- kzisme 11y ago
  Realistically, how much do junior/entry level position developers make? I'm a senior and graduating in the Spring.
  - mod 11y ago
    Varies wildly with where you're located, how employable you are, what kind of job you seek, etc. 35-80k
    - kzisme 11y ago
      For reference, currently located in the mid-west, but considering moving as well.
      - mkaziz 11y ago
        I got offered 60k-65k as a web dev at three different companies in Chicagoland. 2 were C# consulting shops, a third was an android/ios dev shop. This was 2 years ago now.
        omouse 11y ago
        I'm sure the salary range is still around that point; there's definitely a salary barrier that is hard to climb over. In Canada for example if you make past 80k you must be a rockstar and a senior dev. The value generated to compensation ratio is out of whack except at a few top tier companies.
      - organsnyder 11y ago
        I've been told by a well-informed source that the median salary for a developer in my town (Grand Rapids, MI) is around $82k. We have a huge shortage of talent here—though, unfortunately, many shops seem to be only willing to consider senior devs.

carrotleads 11y ago

it baffles me how devs can work for those rates... no wonder I still see Ads for C++ contracts in Melbourne for $50/hr for a mid-senior level job... clearly there are people who work at those rates... the biggest thing holding dev salaries back is cause many devs love what they do..

shoo 11y ago
I guess it depends where you're living, and what opportunities you are aware of - or are available to you - and what your next best alternative is. If you really need the money and don't have another option then working for a very modest quantity of money sure seems like a much better deal than working for none at all.
- k__ 11y ago
  Also the unawareness happens in the other direction too. I know a bunch of freelancers who get paid a ridiculous amount of money for simple web-dev stuff, just because the companies they work for don't know anything about this and are simply happy to have found a dev.
- carrotleads 11y ago
  That may well be the case but a dev should not trade his/her time at similar rates to other skills that didn't take much time/effort to learn.. dev skill isn't a common one, it takes a special kind of mindset to be a half decent dev...
ionised 11y ago
Developer roles in the UK pay very poorly for the most part. We don't seem to be valued much at all.
J_Darnley 11y ago
Oh I'm sorry that we can't all live in the programmers' utopia that you apparently inhabit where the pay is a thousand dollars per keystroke. Be thankful you have a fucking job! I would work for $10, not per hour just ten dollars, because it would be more than the zero I earn right now.
- carrotleads 11y ago
  I understand it is a relative... but the rates should be similar to what is earnt by other professionals.. in this case the rates seemed to be at burger flipping ones for the region.. basically I feel lots of devs are underselling themselves..
omouse 11y ago
because we're constantly told that we're lucky to be working on something cool that we usually love to do. we're lucky to have air-conditioned offices and internet access all day.

omouse 11y ago

This is why I advocate for even the most junior programmers to earn more cash. Even a junior programmer's code can save hundreds of hours of labour and increase profit.

kzisme 11y ago
Realistically, how much do junior/entry level position developers make? I'm a senior and graduating in the Spring.
- mod 11y ago
  Varies wildly with where you're located, how employable you are, what kind of job you seek, etc. 35-80k
  - kzisme 11y ago
    For reference, currently located in the mid-west, but considering moving as well.
    - mkaziz 11y ago
      I got offered 60k-65k as a web dev at three different companies in Chicagoland. 2 were C# consulting shops, a third was an android/ios dev shop. This was 2 years ago now.
      - omouse 11y ago
        I'm sure the salary range is still around that point; there's definitely a salary barrier that is hard to climb over. In Canada for example if you make past 80k you must be a rockstar and a senior dev. The value generated to compensation ratio is out of whack except at a few top tier companies.
    - organsnyder 11y ago
      I've been told by a well-informed source that the median salary for a developer in my town (Grand Rapids, MI) is around $82k. We have a huge shortage of talent here—though, unfortunately, many shops seem to be only willing to consider senior devs.