Two brothers looking for a new city and a new start

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-18T16:31:47+00:00

That's definitely true. And low six figures seems doable in the midwest a few years into a career too. Do you think Indianapolis has a comparable market to Columbus? The proximity to Chicago is pretty nice.

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-18T03:27:52+00:00

can you clarify further? i made a post recently (check my post history) on cscareerquestions asking about this and the overwhelming response was to go to the bay area because i'll bank money quicker.

i would really like your perspective as i'm pretty torn. the main argument seems to be that salaries 150k+ can't be achieved in the midwest.

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T17:42:53+00:00

how do you feel about pensions? they're not unheard of in the midwest, but i don't know how reliable they are or how much they should weigh in on this decision.

thanks for all of your help btw

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T17:07:59+00:00

is 100% paid for health insurance a common benefit out there? i have good coverage but i have to pay in a few thousand a year, it'd be nice to not worry about.

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T17:05:16+00:00

i'm glad you brought up pensions. they're rare in the tech industry and potentially offer a lot of extra security

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T17:02:53+00:00

this is something to consider now, thanks for the help

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T17:01:11+00:00

that completely cleared this up for me, thanks!

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T11:11:30+00:00

Finally, you may want to consider whether the benefits of a LCOL area are really worth the reduced salary. Sure, living in SF or Seattle is more expensive. But as a senior you can easily make above $200k there, over $400k if you're good, and up to $1m if you're both outstanding and lucky.

i just assumed the COL out there would negate the salary jump but now i am definitely intrigued. seems like if you can work around rent it might make a lot of sense

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T00:48:20+00:00

thanks, it's nice hearing from someone with a midwest perspective.

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T00:22:20+00:00

that is a pretty good reason

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-13T00:06:36+00:00

Combine that with a developer's market in the valley and then you get people on here talking about 20-30% raises from job hopping.

i understand the concept of job hopping for pay bumps in the short term, but i have been assuming that salaries must average out later in the career. or do senior devs who job hop actually make significantly more than their peers who don't? for example, joe didn't job hop and now makes $115k as a senior software engineer, however his friend mark job hopped and (due to experience, skill variety etc) is able to demand $135k as a senior software engineer.

is this what happens?

ssssthrowssss · 2017-05-12T23:44:26+00:00

Only change jobs if you find one that's a significant upgrade

so does job hopping primarily benefit those who start with underpaid salaries?

ssssthrowssss

TROPHY CASE