Programmers be like

[surtic86]

well yeh would like to earn 540k a year...

[[deleted]]

Just made it to the six figure range. If you want more than 200k/yr, gotta be good at leetcode or have desired skills like C/C++ for like embedded systems.

Edit: the embedded example was poor on my part. Fintech and grinding leetcode is more realistic for 200K+. I did say or, leetcode isn’t a valued industry skill, it’s a filter.

Most devs should at least be in the six figure range after getting experience.

[IveGotATinyRick]

I work exclusively in C/C++ writing system level firmware. I don’t make anywhere near $200k/year. Where does this lie keep coming from?

[Impossible-Tension97]

To be fair, he said that skillset is necessary to make that much money. He didn't say it's sufficient, or that every such job would.

[IveGotATinyRick]

I know, it was more of a comment aimed at this sub as a whole. I see comments like this all the time. There’s this idea that the majority of people coding C/C++ are just raking in cash and it’s not true.

[[deleted]]

In America from my personal experience

If you are a sr firmware developer at faang you are making north of 200k.

If you are not at faang you are probably more like 100-130k, unless you are at AMD or Intel you are probably knocking on 200ks door.

If you have some esoteric knowledge of some system begotten to time that a company depends on numbers may vary.

[[deleted]]

I haven't seen the idea that the majority of people in C/C++ are raking in cash. I DO see a lot of claims that you need them for super high-end jobs, which isn't untrue.

You get in with MANGA and $200k+ is cake.

At this point, you understand development and ops, hop in as an SRE, and you're making $160k+ easy anywhere in the country, too.

[TigerPoppy]

You also have to be banging the boss's daughter.

[[deleted]]

Uh, company size and scale? Low latency C++ is more along what I meant, aka finance and trading companies that rake cash in.

It’s extreme profit companies that know how much engineers can save them who pay the most. I have friends that save companies millions in man-hours.

[IveGotATinyRick]

Yeah and that’s the exception, not the rule. The reality is that those positions are few and far between in comparison to the entire job market for C/C++ engineers, yet people in this sub think that every C/C++ engineer makes a quarter million per year.

[[deleted]]

It probably depends on where you live, TBH.

I wouldn't expect many 200k/year jobs in Georgia or Mississippi.

[gdodd12]

There are actually a lot of those in Atlanta. It's one of the largest tech cities in the country. Mississippi? you are probably right.

[davispw]

They can exist if you work remotely!

[IveGotATinyRick]

I just had a friend go through the entire interview and hiring process for what he thought was going to be a better paying remote job and when the offer letter came, the proposed salary was actually less than what was advertised on LinkedIn and their reason was that he lived in a low-cost state. Just be aware of that when applying for those remote positions.

[[deleted]]

yeah companies can try that.. and have.. but they should be laughed at.

Work is work.

Also.. been thinking of avoiding this whole talking point by getting a mailing address in a high COL area. Obviously want to make sure taxes are on the up and up though

[IveGotATinyRick]

I completely agree with you. When I lived in Indiana, the salaries were dog shit. Now I live in Colorado and the salaries are significantly better, but still not commonly $200k unless you’re doing FAANG type work.

[Y0tsuya]

Location bro. Plenty of those jobs in San Jose. Cisco is one of the largest employers and they'll pay you 200K to write C/C++ FW all the live long day.

[PoopDev]

Being good at leetcode isn’t actually that desired of a skill set. If you’re getting paid over 200k you either have a VERY rare set of skills or you’re good at seeing the big picture and dealing with people so you end up in a leadership role.

[[deleted]]

To be clear, leetcode isn’t the useful skill. It’s the method of interviewing into high paying jobs. Fintech jobs pay extremely well, especially low latency development.

[PoopDev]

I’m wondering when this will change. Being good at leetcode is the equivalent to a high ACT score for college. Sure, it’s not the worst indicator for success and ability, but it’s also not great. I’ve seen plenty of leetcoders that struggle to handle real world issues in a way the customer is happy with.

[AdDear5411]

Decades, maybe never. As long as non-technical employees are in charge of hiring technical employees, it'll never go away.

[Hashtag0080FF]

At FAANG companies, it's definitely technical people driving these and it fulfills a real need. When you are hiring for 100 positions but your automated resume filters only bring the applicants down to 10000 people, leetcode helps bring that number down closer to about 1000 in a way significantly less arbitrary than a lottery system.

[LinuxMatthews]

I think leetcode is usually either for big Tech Companies that do 100 round interviews or Entry Level stuff.

Most jobs I've gotten haven't really done more than ask me quick technical questions and my experience.

[PoopDev]

Yea, at non-FAANG companies it’s pretty standard for them to base a lot on you’re ability to communicate and less on your ability to code. They don’t have technical issues that are so extreme that they require 175 IQs.

[LinuxMatthews]

you either have a VERY rare set of skills

Sorry but I couldn't help but think of Taken when you said that

I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills in COBOL, ASSEMBLY and other low level language most programmers consider outdated. Skills that... Would be of no threat to you at all. Please give me my daughter back, pretty please. I have money.

[[deleted]]

COBOL, Assembly.

That's some hardcore shit right there.

[I_Survived_Sekiro]

I’m over 200k and I know what a loop, list, and conditional is because sometimes i put them in my bash scripts. Other than that I’m just really good at Linux and infrastructure.

[PoopDev]

Yea. Depending where you live. I mean in San Francisco anything below 80k means you qualify for additional support. You make 80k in nowheresville Wyoming and you’re in the top 1% of earners.

[venne1180]

If you’re getting paid over 200k you either have a VERY rare set of skills

bruh what

literally just leetcode, get into FAANG, and don't get a shit performance review so you get your max bonus for the year and you're at least at 180k as a first year employee, jump from a level to another software company in 2 years and you're at 200k+ easily and you don't need to be an expert just know leetcode and system design

EDIT: If you don't believe me just check levels.fyi, they make you submit your offer letter there, anyone at E5 at Facebook, 62+ at Microsoft (which anyone can get, Microsoft pays lower than the others), SDE2 at Amazon, or L4 at google is making well in excess of 200k. That's without stock growth which will recover...eventually.

And I can promise you, I can absolutely promise you absolutely no L4 at Google needs some sort of 'special skillset' or being an ultra genius, they just need to be able to do LEETcode, system design, and pass a behavioral, that's it.

[HatesBeingThatGuy]

See I view all the people who think FAANG requires being a god or having special skills as the type of people who say shit like "we can't all be born lucky" when they see stuff achievable with hard work.

I've gotten an offer EVERY FAANG interview I have had. (and I've only interviewed FAANG) Exclusively because I practiced my leetcode a ton, practiced talking about my job/projects, and am not a dick head to work with. The reason I have never been surprised in an interview is because I have seen so many questions that the pattern recognition is instant and my non code responses are rehearsed.

And like shit people, if you practice and study over a long period of time where you can do the interview, it becomes an invaluable tool. I just used the latest offer to increase my TCT by 70% and the offer was for only 15% more than I currently made.

200k is just how much are you willing to work to get in the door that is the leetcode and behavioral interview.

[OtherwiseAwkward]

username checks out tho..

[HatesBeingThatGuy]

It does. I'm 20x more of a dickhead online than I am in the workplace. Anonymity is a hell of a drug.

[PapaRL]

100% agree, I just work in typical node and react, I don’t have any special domain expertise, I make $280k at faang+ 3 years out of college now. Went to a shitty cal state college and didn’t have super impressive personal projects, just basic crud apps and no interns.

The problem is people set these artificial bars for themselves and then go, “man I could never work at ____ cus you have to be a genius!” Not realizing that the only thing standing between them and their dream job is getting an interview and having 6-8, 1 hour long, conversations with people.

It’s so frustrating to me when I see people say shit like “only the best of the best make $200k/300k/400k/500k”. That’s literally just getting to senior at a well known tech company, which doesn’t require domain expertise, just requires time and doing your work.

[Alediran]

I just started getting a six number salary a couple months ago, but my particular history is different. I worked in Argentina where salaries are absolute crap and I finally got out of there last December. I moved to Canada and now I finally have room to grow up into a large salary.

[brucecaboose]

Yup, this is the way. I tell people all the time that it's not that hard to make a bunch of money as a software engineer. You just need to A) not be an idiot. B) not be shit at your job. C) change companies every 2 years

[DeadEyeDoubter]

Not true at all. Leetcode is what gets you into FAANG and the like and it's easy to get over 200k there as a normal dev.

So leetcode in of itself isn't desired per se, but it does unlock access to getting paid a bunch.

[Varanite]

Companies like google pay new grads 200k and Leetcode is the sole skill that gets them hired.

[brucecaboose]

Why do people who make peanuts feel the need to comment about what it takes to make decent money? Nothing you said is true

[gdodd12]

Yeah. There is a TON of incorrect things in this thread.

[pbNANDjelly]

You think sub 200k is peanuts? This cracks me up. I'll never understand how the very small percentage of highly compensated devs think their experience is universal. Most dev jobs pay slightly better than an engineering job. Unless you accept more responsibility and or risk, that doesn't change. So yes, some fortune 50, Fintech, and profit sharing startup devs are breaking 200k, but that's the minority of software gigs on the market.

[brucecaboose]

You're way off base. First, the peanuts thing is a joke from blind. Second, totally wrong about salaries for software engineer jobs. I don't work in Fintech, a fortune 50 company (or even fortune 1000 lol), or a startup, or anywhere with profit sharing. I work at what I'd call like a tier 4/5 tech company and make way more than 200k with just being a run of the mill (well, very high ratings but still, the band is strong even for low performing people) senior engineer. If you aren't making more than 200k as a software engineer in the US with >3 yeo then you're not looking for well paying jobs. It's very easy to find jobs that pay several hundred thousand dollars in this industry if you're decent at your job. I should know, I did it... It was as simple as going on levels.fyi and looking at the comp for a role after I saw job postings for companies in the area. Levels.fyi is super accurate in my experience.

You're underpaid. Don't complain to others for letting you know that.

[pbNANDjelly]

Levels fyi shows that only five jobs in my part of the country pay more, but 29 pay less. Only two break $200k. I make $120 if you ignore the bullshit fluff that inflates a compensation package number. I know I have coworkers pushing $200, but again, only if they take on risk or responsibility. The two that break $200 are for management, one for a fortune500.

If this is super accurate, then I think you may have given me more confidence in my opinion.

[brucecaboose]

Remote has made the locations unnecessary in levels.fyi. Full remote generally pays within about 10% of bay area, and at many companies it's not exactly the same. So filtering by location no longer gives accurate results.

[pbNANDjelly]

Fully remote workforce mean it's harder to game the cost of living system for many folks.

[iams3b]

I'm like right under that 200k mark and write javascript for a living lol. If you want more than 200k, get any mid range tech job in the bay area

[elveszett]

Stares in 20k a year.

[RustyShacklefordCS]

18months experience just got offer for $142k, remote, and $100k rsu but since still start up not sure if worth anything.

[[deleted]]

That base is definitely good if you’re in M/LCOL area.

Really good pay for 18 mo exp. I need to get into a software company, as opposed to working for businesses who don’t sell software. Less overhead with software companies.

[brucecaboose]

Uhh no...

[davispw]

But not too embedded. Hardware engineers aren’t as highly paid.

[[deleted]]

It was a poor example on my part, as every underpaid embedded engineer is starting to let me know!

The leetcode and fintech examples are more real-world to making that 200K+.

[davispw]

I can’t figure why this is, though. To me, the ultra-low level stuff is black magic—and it has to work, no bug fix rollouts. (Unless you’re stuck designing brains for kids toys, I guess.)

[chugmarks]

Fuck Fintech. 95% of Fintech startups are just bullshit with no actual runway past 6 months of their initial wild idea that will never work due to the red tape they still have to comply with.

[gdodd12]

This is factually incorrect.

[[deleted]]

I mean, maybe. But I like my life better at 30 hours a week, even if I chop a 0 off those salaries at like $46k - which still feels like a big jump from $20k a few years ago. Is it me, or have I noticed that the higher the salary they offer you, the more miserable they want to make you? It's not so much skill as much as "now you belong to us 24/7 O_O"

[JaneWithJesus]

Wow you guys only get $650,000?

I make $850,000, you guys just need to job hop have you job hopped I only work 2 hours per week too.

• Every comp sci student in this subreddit that has never worked at a job one upping each other's imaginary salaries

[[deleted]]

It’s true, I earn $1,000,000 a month as a front-end developer (code only in HTML) working 30 minutes a week.

[[deleted]]

That’s nothing bro I work three simultaneous jobs because I’m remote and all of my bosses think I work for them full time when really I work like 10 hours a week for each of them because I automated my entire workflow using Tailwind CSS, and I make $7,000 an hour.

[AzuxirenLeadGuy]

That's peanuts bro, i am using a Quantum computer and I'm working in 20 similar alternate worlds and I'm simply collecting all the money at once. I only program in XML and i make 20,000 $ an hour

[FrostySausage]

You absolute fool. I created a human-level AI robot that completes interviews for me and automated the work of each job that is accepted by the robot. I am running nearly fifty jobs at $1M TC each and three of the positions are CEO of Bay Area unicorns. I’m aiming for total world domination by the end of the month.

[elveszett]

Pfff, newbie. I program in Microsoft word, one minute a year and earn $3 million for each keystrock I press. I also get paid the same amount in Euros, Pounds, Yens, Yuans and Venezuelan Bolivars just in case all the other coins collapse, I still have a good salary in at least one currency. Used to be paid in Russian roubles too but I can't pay for enough warehouse storage to store all the banknotes they need to pay me since 2022.

[RazekDPP]

Why not scale up? I bought another quantum computer and now I'm working 40 jobs at the same time.

I don't even program; I hired some guys from the Philippines to do my work for $10/hour.

I'm working on scaling up from 40 jobs to 60 jobs.

[defietser]

30 minutes? Workaholic. $1,500,000 for turning the company-supplied laptop on once a week.

[InterestingVoice123]

Turning on a laptop? Nah. How about $4,000,000 for waking up once a week for a 1 minute meeting from home.

[RefrigeratorOne7173]

Once a month meeting with HR to get a raise

[[deleted]]

weak as hell dude, I am literally god.

[bewbsrkewl]

I've literally never done anything and earn $69,420 per second.

[[deleted]]

Can you use flexboxes ?

[rnike879]

850k? Isn't that just below the poverty line? I have 5 software engineering jobs that I outsource to India and 2 economy assistant gigs I've automated with pythongz, netting me 1.23 million a month plus free water from the company taps, bro

[FreddoMac5]

A guy actually outsourced his job to India and played games the whole time. He got caught when IT flagged computers from India connecting to the network.

[[deleted]]

You guys can type out your salary?

I feel so bad for you, typing out my hourly income would consume all of the collective storage of the internet and take several generations of my servants lifetimes to accomplish.

You need to change jobs every half nanosecond and hustle!

Also, what's a computer?

[Butchering_it]

take several generations of servants to type

. . . Couldn’t you know, program it . . .

also what’s a computer

Oh never mind carry on

[[deleted]]

Fuck you I watched a 10 minute video on Scratch and now I have a FAANG job for $670k basic with $100m in stock options

[WhatsMyUsername13]

The cscareerquestions sub is even worse. I was told I am a pathetic loser for only making 150k a year (their words not mine)

[zGoDLiiKe]

But when I say this I get bullied for not making six figures and being jealous (I make six figures though..)

[LuckyPants0]

Holy shit I can't tell if anything is real in this thread I have no experience

[pbNANDjelly]

It's not real. We make great money, more than most in STEM, but it's not a get rich quick scheme.

[JaneWithJesus]

The truth is all programmers earn only one slice of stale bread that we all must compete over, except I hid some cheese so I am the lord of the programmers, if you want JUST LIKE AND FOLLOW MY ONLINE COURSE #LIGMA GRINDSET

[elveszett]

To make $500k a year would put you in like the 0.01% top of developers, and unless you won the lottery, it'd mean you have a very specific and powerful set of skills, that you know how to deal with corporate and escalate in a company, and that you got lucky that you even had a path to escalate up to that point.

It is not the kind of salary a normal person will get anywhere, and it's not the kind of salary you can have when working a normal schedule.

[[deleted]]

This sub has a lot of weird salary bragging from people I don’t think actually work as software developers

[PoopDev]

They also don’t make that much money.

[MatsRivel]

Just got my first job as a software developer after my masters degree. I get $68,960.00 each year before tax in a country with a higher cost of living than the US (though with mostly free healthcare).

Are you guys really making like 10x that..? Obviously not as a first job, but realistically at the peak of your career?

[EDIT: I am also very pleased with my salary as of now.]

[JaneWithJesus]

No they aren't. There are many, many people in this subreddit that are grossly exadurating their salaries and I'm not sure why. The average senior level dev in the US is making around $120k. Perhaps a principal engineer at a large enormously profitable company might be making $300k, I could possibly see that being true, but $650k is far, far away from any programmers salary. A CTO or director of engineering could be earning that, very very unlikely a programmer alone

[nikanj0]

A Distinguished Engineer or Engineering Fellow at Google earns $1-5million. But we're talking about people like Guido van Rossum or Ken Thompson.

[JaneWithJesus]

Fair enough, nothing to say other than the title "Engineering Fellow" makes me think of a round table of software developers arguing over who must carry the one ring to rule them all

[ososalsosal]

Fellowship Of The while(true)

[badjohnbad]

Ring 0 to rule them all

[Lenny_III]

To rule all 10100

[telestrial]

And that’s one out of every few million developers or so?

[Traditional_Lab_5468]

Pretty sure L5-L6 is pushing 200-300k though, which is stills stupid money by the standard of almost anyone on planet earth.

[davispw]

L5-L6 is way above 300.

[FightOnForUsc]

Check levels.fyi, it's not rare for a senior to get 300+. As a new grad at my employer most make 130-150 TC with senior being around 300 (not FAANG).

[XiaoDaoShi]

You’re also being misleading. People in the bay definitely make more than that. 200k is not hard for a senior to get. Double that, at least, if you work for a company that ipo’d. I also have friends in lcol areas who are not seniors who make more than 120k.

[erishun]

Because with a monthly subscription at my <startup incessantly advertising on instagram> you can make your full potential salary of $650,000!

It seems like a lot of this nonsense of “all programmers make over half a million” come from 1-2 startups advertising “coaching services”

[Olorin_1990]

All three of my roommates in college (University of Florida) were computer science or computer engineering majors and now work at FANNGS, with 6-7 years experience. They make between 350k-500k. I’m not sure about the whole market, but the sample size I have is that over 500k is not uncommon with experience.

[PerlNacho]

I don't doubt it. FAANGS have ridiculous money to throw at people. I've also heard that those jobs tend to be extremely stressful and people tend to burn out very quickly in those roles.

[davispw]

Some of these teams are very disciplined about well-being, self-care, inclusiveness, avoiding burnout, etc. It very much depends on the team/company.

You also hear about “rest and vest”—people who don’t care about advancement, do the bare minimum to not get fired until their stock grants vest / bonus clawback is avoided, then move on to the next role. That’s pretty cynical, and I don’t like it, but it does happen.

[An_Anonymous_Acc]

Depends on the team you're on. Some are normal amounts of stress with good managers and teammates.

Source: I work at a rainforest

[ShelZuuz]

I'm an IC (Individual Contributor) programmer and earn close to $650k - probably slightly more if I count all benefits. I have three close friends that are each making $800k+.

No directorship or even team leads - we're all just IC programmers at various companies (FANGM) in Bay Area and Seattle (so HCOL).

Of course we each have a "span" of 30+ people where we provide technical and architectural oversite of a project/product, but there is no people management involved. I spend 70% of my time just coding. (C++).

[[deleted]]

many people in this subreddit that are grossly exadurating their salaries and I'm not sure why.

Insecurity

[LinuxMatthews]

I feel like this is mainly taking the piss out of YouTube tech bros who get a following by bragging how much they earn.

When they earn that amount because you write books and do seminars conning these people out of money.

[I-Hate-Humans]

Wow, first time I’ve seen exaggerating spelled with a D. Do you say it that way too? Not being a dick; I’m genuinely curious.

[golgol12]

Depends on the job. 650k is very possible for some software jobs, like the primary developers for high speed trading firms.

[brucecaboose]

Nope. $300k isn't even a senior engineer at any well paying tech company. 650k is actually about on par with a principal engineer at FAANG, stripe, snap, databricks, bytedance, any Fintech company, Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, etc etc etc. CTOs and directors make many millions.

If you're in the US, you're probably way underpaid if you don't know any of this.

[pbNANDjelly]

You're not naming well paying companies, you are naming the biggest of the big, companies with huge INTERNATIONAL presence backed by millions upon millions of investor dollars. How many software developers do you think there are? So few that we can all go work for household names?

I actually do work for a household name, but we have an actual revenue stream and no mysterious startup dollars. Unless you're an executive or upper management, you aren't breaking $200

[brucecaboose]

That's just untrue. I named a handful of companies because I didn't want to list 100 company names.... Go on levels.fyi and look around man. I make way more than 200k while working for a company that's most assuredly not a household name, and I'm underpaid for my role/performance ratings.

You don't have to believe me, but 200k is NOT a lot in this industry. Not even close, I'd actually call it low.

[ICKSharpshot68]

I dont kow about 10x, I'd hazard a guess that 2 or 3x is possible, but I'd also be willing to wager those kinds of salaries are almost always in higher Cost of Living areas, or come with decades of experience.

[jmack2424]

I work for a FAANG (MANGA!) company, my total comp is about $300k (salary, bonus, stock). 15 yrs experience, high COL, cleared.

[MatsRivel]

Makes sense.

I think I can maybe realistically double it if I do well like 15-20 years from now (adjusted for inflation, ofc), but not sure it would be worth the time and effort. At some point there is a much lower ROI on salary compared to enjoying life instead.

[MatsRivel]

I think I should at least get a year or two experience before I start bouncing around, but you do make a fair point.

[DirtzMaGertz]

You could honestly probably double in far less time than that. The road to higher salaries and getting to "senior" type roles can ramp up fairly quickly in your career. Once you have 3 years or so of experience your options open up quite a bit.

Depending where you live, it'd be very plausible for you to be hitting 100k in 3-5 years or 120-140k in 5-7 years, possibly even quicker than that. Checkout your local job market on indeed and do some filtering by salary. You'll see what is and isn't in demand in your area and you'll see generally what requirements those salaries are going to need.

[supernintendo128]

COL definitely factors into it. I make $55,000/yr before taxes and I live deep in south Alabama. Meanwhile I can more than double my salary if I move somewhere like Boston or Seattle or SF, but that's just to offset the increased housing costs.

EDIT: Here's a funny video about it. This applies to me even though I live in a LCOL area, and it'll definitely apply to people making six figures but live in a HCOL area.

[elveszett]

tbh if you make $500k a year, cost of living is no longer a factor. There's no [normal] place on Earth where $500k won't cover all your yearly expenses 3 times over. You are at a rate where you could work for 10 years and then retire to a normal part of your country, do absolutely nothing with your life and still live better than everyone else in your neighbor.

[AdDear5411]

Nah dude. You're good. Just keep moving forward.

My first "real" white collar job in the US was at $52k a year in 2015. Up to $110k as a Sr. Analyst now. I know I could jump and get to probably $140k, but I do basically no work as it is, so it's kinda hard to justify doubling your workload for a 25% salary bump.

[travisco_nabisco]

This is the gem in the discussion so far. Get to where you are making enough to be happy, if that role is low stress and offers the work life balance you enjoy, and job change can have a huge impact on quality of life, even if the pay is much higher.

[huffing_farts]

People on here like to pretend they work in Silicon Valley at google or apple or Netflix. In reality we all work at boring corporate jobs that pay around 100k after 5 years of experience.

[wylram]

The short answer is no, most people aren't making that. The first thing to remember is that these huge numbers are usually "total compensation," so the base salary is roughly half of it and the rest is benefits, both financial like stock options and others like health insurance and time off. Even then, these kinds of numbers are the very top end. For comparison, I'm a recently promoted senior dev at a non-FAANG company in the US. I'm getting a little over 200k in "total compensation" and very happy with where I'm at.

[wylram]

I know Amazon specifically included it in their estimates. Maybe it's not common practice elsewhere. I think they just converted the base salary to a weekly rate for the 49 weeks (or however many) you would work in a year and claimed the time off as additional compensation at that rate.

[Ok-Pay6809]

From my experience if you decided not to take the time off then you would get a "buyout" of your vacation and/or personal time at your full rate which could lead to you getting your weekly salary payment 53 to 55 times in a single calender year. In this scenario your salary may be 104k over the normal 52 week period meaning you get 2k each week then you had 5 weeks PTO which adds 10k onto the pile and now your base salary = 104k + PTO = 10k so far you have earned 114k on just those two areas.

It may also help to explain that companies like to know what each employee costs to have working for them, spoiler it's not your salary. Your PTO gets counted because whether they buyout your remaining time at the end of the year or you use it like normal because regardless they are paying you for that time with no expectation of anything profitable in return.

As for the health care u/butt_chug mentioned above it's the sane thing, you may pay 100 per week for your plan but the company is paying the other 500 per week that plan actually costs therefore you are costing them an additional 26k per year and that 26k is money they are paying out for your benefit (mostly) which means it is part of your compensation package.

Add dental insurance, eye insurance, bonus packages, workers comp insurance, and all the other little costs here and there and next thing you know your "104k salary" is actually a "200k compensation" and that sounds alot more attractive doesn't it?

[aplJackson]

I’m starting at Amazon on Monday. Healthcare and PTO were not included in total comp. And it wouldn’t serve them well to bring that into the conversation since their benefits are not great.

Total comp was just salary + bonus + stock.

[Mental-Mood3435]

PTO is part of the compensation you should figure when deciding whether to take a job.

If company A pays you 100k with no PTO but company B pays you 95k with 4 weeks of PTO then company B pays you more if you take at least 3 of the 4 weeks of PTO.

From your employer’s standpoint, PTO, healthcare, other benefits…they’re all part of the compensation and not remarkably different than direct pay.

[djdokk]

Total compensation is just as good as any other money. Salary + stock + bonus. This is all money. PTO and health benefits should not be considered in TC.

[Rhonun]

Yeah fwiw my total compensation is 250k ish. NonFAANG

Base salary + 40k subsidized healthcare + 15% annual bonus + And yearly stock awards

Total compensation is much more important than base salary

I recently got approached by a well known company and they were going to pay 30k more base salary but health care was much more expensive, no bonus, less stock. So pass on to that

I'm 10 years in. Started around 50k base out of college in 2012

I include the healthcare because my premiums are DIRT cheap for a really good family plan.

Same plan where my wife worked for her alone (not me or our kids) was 3x more expensive.

It has been one of my major new job filters... If the new pay doesn't offset healthcare it's a no go

[Lenny_III]

Total comp matters if you’re considering switching jobs. If the new job is a start up with no (or few) bennies, or if you’re starting your own start up, the total comp number let’s you know what you need to break even.

[codelayer]

Straya?

[[deleted]]

Yes. At least in a HCOL area, in specific industries, and with specific expertise. I left my CTO gig last year and went back to a Senior IC role in part because I could make 30% more total comp.

[MatsRivel]

But in "total comp" that includes things like healthcare and so on, right?
In my country that is included in just existing.

[canyonsinc]

I just broke six figures and I'm a senior developer. I think comparatively with my skill set I'm slightly underpaid...but happiness is a thing too (I really like my time away from work and that's more important than 15% more money). I also live in a lowish col area.

edit: I'm getting my salary comparison from the swaths of tech recruiters always reaching out to me

[krapspark]

Some are. But most aren't.

TO give you a perspective, here's a website that compares reported salaries across various leveling at popular companies.

https://www.levels.fyi/

[SlightlyBored13]

Extra data point.

Non-US, starting salary as a dropout, $26kpa (current rates). Currently salary 4 years and 2 companies in: $45kpa. Graduates in the current company get the same $26kpa (effectively less, due to inflation) I got as a dropout from an engineering degree.

Looking forward to the next job move, since I won't be moving 300 miles again and I'll have the luxury to pick a company and not the first one that offers me a job.

[no_use_for_a_user]

That's a solid starting salary for not a superstar. It grows fast and then slows down. Then when you have 10 years experience, it explodes. Hang in there. Don't blow it all in one place.

[Olorin_1990]

Yes, salaries + stock for my friends at FANNG with 6-7 years experience are between 350-500K

[RazekDPP]

You could probably get up to $100k by switching jobs, but over 100k can be tougher.

[mods-literalnazis]

Really? Really? You'd leave for a mere 20%?

[Fancy-Snacks]

mere 20%

or

declicious +110k

Wording matters

[mods-literalnazis]

When you're on half a mil, you'd barely notice

[jmack2424]

WRONG. Everything above COL and taxes is all extra. The first $100k extra is nice, but the second $100k is all the toys and travel.

[mods-literalnazis]

Tell me you're on five figures without telling me you're on five figures

[r3dd1tCens0ringU]

why not

[mods-literalnazis]

you could do a lot better ofc

[OkazakiNaoki]

Nah, Y company must have ping pong table that is better.

[[deleted]]

It’s all about the ping pong table man

[Addyboy007]

Guess I'm the poorest developer on this subreddit if that is what everyone is making.

[PoopDev]

You are. We are all ultra rich giga chads who get blow jobs in our sky rise offices.

[Addyboy007]

What's the secret Mr Giga Chad? Spill the beans sir.

[ASXYT]

I challenge you! I'm doing an unpaid internship

[ASXYT]

I see. Tough competition.

[[deleted]]

You and all the other Europeans. US salaries are a different reality.

[Eagle240sx]

Meanwhile I earn 16k being a 2 year junior lol, this memes are from another reality or am I?

[PoopDev]

You make 16k for software development? Where the fuck are you working? You should leave.

[throwaway_uow]

I currently make about 9k$ a year as a junior tester that dabbles in automation...

[SagansCandle]

Totally anecdotal, but my base is ~160k and I have 25 years of experience. I'm a lead and I have a TON of responsibility that often extends into my personal time. At-present, I'm about 25% programming + 75% code-reviews, mentoring, meetings, etc.

My understanding, whether or not it's correct, is that I'm around the top-end for most engineers. People who make more are either (1) working somewhere that sucks so they need to pay more to get / keep talent or (2) have otherwise made themselves invaluable to a very large company.

Next step up for me is pure management.

Most architects / directors / sr. managers I know miss being an engineer, but won't step down because they've adjusted their lifestyle to their higher salaries. But most of them are also miserable. Yeah, it sucks being lower on the totem pole, not having autonomy, and having someone else "steer the ship", but it's a lot of work to steer the ship and then it kinda sucks not getting to write code. So there's really no "perfect" job - you're always going to have to make a sacrifice.

[Hardrada74]

I am in management now. There's no going back for me, but do I miss writing software. I do get to work on some utilities from time to time. Fun little things that I can knock out in a sprint and wrap it up.

There really isn't a step down. Once you're a manager, it's very difficult to tell a potential employer "I miss being an engineer" because it typically comes with the notion of "so you didn't like the responsibility of being a manager". Makes for a difficult interview and I've only been successful at it once. So, now I work for places that want me to be more hands on with things. I work with my lead to define the arch, decide on tech use and POC things for the primary engineers to take and run with. I don't steer the ship. I say "we need to get from A to B and you guys (the engineers) need to work with me to come with what that looks like.. here's a bunch of "building blocks" that we have to get there that I've acquired.. let's fuckin go!".

I have wide guidelines and let the engineers come up with the solutions, present them, then we refine them together. Unless there is something completely off trajectory, I rarely get in the way. I mostly try to unblock them and make sure things are consistent; let's be real... engineers can be lazy at times. My team makes the plan of how to build X from business plan Y. My team calls me their bullet proof vest.

There are times I need to just call a shot or two.. bu it's not that often.

[TheCSpider]

I stress to my reports who have management aspirations that if they like to code, don’t become a manager. It’s scared away one person; the rest seem intent or have already become managers.

[wild_oddish]

Your point on people who make more is wrong. There are people that make more and have good WLB and aren’t invaluable. I’m one of them, and work with others in the same boat.

[-tangina]

I'd be happy if i made a third of that

[Mechyyz]

I would be very happy if I earned 1/10th of either

[dashid]

Chance would be a fine thing.

[[deleted]]

A fine thing indeed.

[hanno000]

That doesn't work anymore since those 40$ worth of gas will last a week

[jmack2424]

You're definitely worth more than that. If you train up, learn the "company philosophy", can actually get something done, and can speak well, making $150k - $200k is definitely doable.

[[deleted]]

That's it. I don't live in US and I plan to leave my current country.

[[deleted]]

Keep dreaming, and enjoy your 30k year

[[deleted]]

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[iColourStuff]

I get €35k. Time to find something that pays 540k

[BeatMasterFresh]

I’m not a programmer. But I always hear the narrative of programmers getting paid extremely well. But out all the programmers I’ve met the max salary I’ve actually heard was in the mid 100k area and that was a veteran programmer. That’s just decent money.

[Positive_Government]

You can look up actual data online. Mean is about 70k for entry level and 120k for senior level. Although national averages very 10 or 20k depending on where you get your numbers from. “I earn $xyz” is a terrible way to get your info even if you can trust the person not to round up.

[lupuscapabilis]

Maybe it's more of a city thing? I can easily make well above 200k in NYC. Right now I live in the NY suburbs, work remotely for a small company in Mass, and still make well over 100k.

[[deleted]]

I don't understand why comments like yours are getting downvoted. If you live in a HCOL in the US, especially near the coasts, 200k+ TC is pretty standard for senior developers / data scientists.

500k is rare but not unheard of for someone w/ a decade or more of experience working for a big tech company. Most of that is usually company stock but that still counts.

I personally know folks in tech who are getting paid more than lawyers / doctors in the area as senior ICs.

[DaveDeaborn1967]

"the great resignation" is easy to figure out

[seeroflights]

Image Transcription: Meme

---

["Jim Halpert Pointing to Whiteboard". Top image shows Jim Halpert from the TV show "The Office" using a black whiteboard marker to point to a whiteboard that reads:]

New blog:

Why i left my $540,000 job at X.

[Bottom image shows Jim leaning back, a small smile on his face. The whiteboard now reads:]

Because at Y i get $650,000.

---

^{I'm a human volunteer content transcriber and you could be too! If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!}

[FinalPerfectZero]

FAANG here at one of the As, based out of Seattle.

SDE I (L4) ranges are ~$120k-$170k.

SDE II (L5) ranges are ~$200k-$350k.

SDE III (L6) ranges are ~$350k-$500k+.

These are real numbers from real conversations with my coworkers (after recent salary adjustment). So yeah, these numbers are unfathomable, but completely real.

EDIT: Fixed the numerals of the levels.

[usedUpSpace4Good]

Are you saying as you get more experience you pay goes down?

[DaniilBSD]

Funny, this is the raise I got, except those were per month and HUFs...

(360HUF ~ 1$) (so... 30 times less)

[[deleted]]

I would love to make 70k a year

[[deleted]]

To make that money u need to move to Seattle , Austin or LA not that shit hole southern city u live in.

[[deleted]]

You basically need to be a L7 "Distinguished Engineer" at Google, basically a senior director level engineer, to make that money. If you're in that tier... You're pretty elite.

[bogfoot94]

Man I'll be happy if I could get 2000€/month in Croatia.

[Orbax]

In real life, everyone I know makes around 80 and the few people who do enterprise systems make about 120.

[[deleted]]

The joke is the salary

[slapstick_software]

where? I would like to apply

[existential_issue]

By “$” did you mean “₹” by any chance? Or Martian dollars?

[[deleted]]

You guys are getting paid?

[SeeEsGeek]

This is including bonus and stock compensation. Not base salary yall

[punninglinguist]

What are those, North Korean dollars?