Hacker News Reader

Comment by bengl3rt | Hacker News Reader

Also, $115k for a senior engineer? Really great "entry level" (i.e. recently graduated but mostly self taught with lots of internships under belt) is going for $110k... most of the "seniors" I know are running $200k plus.

View on HN

It's funny how every single time there are discussions of salary on HN, there will be wild differences in opinion. You're saying an entry level engineer is getting $110k while some comments later are saying $115k seems high for a senior engineer.

I never know where the truth lies…

The truth is you gotta get better at negotiating—that goes for everyone.

It depends on location, in Arizona, 115k for senior is looked at as good, in the Bay Area its crap

In Sweden, it would be viewed as in the realm of fantasy. I don't know anyone who makes that much.

I think its a bit lower then that if you want to work at a start-up. We're paying Mid-Senior level from $120-150 (Full Stack). I vet hundreds of resumes a month, and we're pretty average / ahead of the game.

My kid brother just graduated CS from Berkeley and got offers ranging from 70-85, plus equity, benefits etc. Still high, but not quite $110k...

Er... "just graduated" and "Senior Developer with 8 years experience" are different tiers.

What defines "really great"? I'm a student graduating in two years and $110k is almost twice as high as the average CS/SE undergrad starting salary from my midwest University.

I'm not sure what defines "really great," but if you interview at half a dozen bay area companies you should get at least one offer like that.

> (...) most of the "seniors" I know are running $200k plus.

Guess asking half the market rate was a serious blunder. Makes OP seem unfamiliar with current salaries of senior-level devs -- and so HR drones assumed he doesn't have any recent senior-level experience.

I'd love to know where seniors command a market rate of $200k+. (Possibly if you figure in benefits, bonuses, etc. - but a salary of $200k+ is still not that easy to get)

Hint: Look at places where 3br houses start at $750K.

I'm right in L.A. Nobody would give you the time of day for $750k, much less a 3 bedroom. :)

I _am_ a sr. dev., and I'm fairly certain I'm not making $200k.

But let's assume I'm not as senior as I like to think I am, and check glassdoor.com instead: http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/los-angeles-senior-softwar...

The absolute top of the senior ladder lists $200k. At one single company, for one job. (And checking the same thing for Mountain View doesn't yield a significant difference)

So I don't think $110k is "half the going rate" :)

You can also look at aggregate U.S. household income statistics. Only 3% of households make $200k+ in total income, even after you count both incomes for married couples, and including investments/bonuses. And, most of those aren't in tech. So you'd have to have a very particular social circle for it to be anywhere near normal for even senior people to make $200k+. Just by aggregate numbers, low 6 figures is fairly common (16% above $100k), but things drop off rapidly above that (6% above $150k, 3% above $200k, 1% above $300k).

Ah wow, I've never made that much. I keep hearing of developers I've worked with going to new companies and making double what I am now. It always astounds how people say what they're being paid, and how I am just no where near it.

The Bay Area is competing with states with no income tax and lower rent (washington, texas, etc). A $90k wage in Seattle, WA can be equivalent to a +$110k wage in San Jose, CA after state income tax, higher rent and more expensive gas.

You tell me who they are, I'll be sending my CV right away. I'm guessing half of the recruiting work is getting in the right networks...

I'm pretty sure it's just the bay area salary and cost of living inflation vs the rest of the US.

Are you meaning they're getting that, or they're costing that?

For a $70/hour contract (~$140k/year), it actually costs the company north of $90-$100/hour (over $180k/year) when going through a recruiter.

Interesting, are you in NYC or the Bay Area? In our local market, a 7 year ruby developer would command on the order of $75k.

Please note that given a salary of less than about 80K, you are entitled to overtime pay. See the law here: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=lab... (section 515.5), with 2011 and 2012 numbers here: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr/ComputerSoftware.pdf

EDIT: Forgot to mention, this is California law, so it only applies here in California.

EDIT EDIT: I'm a programmer, not a lawyer. Do your own research and talk to your own lawyer before doing anything drastic, please.

What is your local market?

Orange County, CA

Salaries in the LA basin and San Diego have been in a ghetto since forever, it's really well known. The theory is that there's a lot of surfers that will take a big salary hit to live near the So.Cal. beaches, so it has a permanent depressing effect on salaries. Maybe that's the reason, maybe not, but the fact is that people in LA with skills can instantly double their salary by moving to the Bay.

Given the cost of living in the area, 70k for a senior developer is a nightmare for everyone, but the fact is there's no shortage of people willing to make the trade so it works for you guys and that is fine. There's a bit of a blowback though, because of the low salaries and beliefs they are normal, it's not the best place to start a company doing anything cutting edge that requires the top tier of talent, and that's why all the really cool stuff is still in the Bay and will probably always be there.

Credible citation needed.

A few data points:

I was told by someone with lots of experience that I worked with for a few years that I should expect $110k when I graduate.

Someone I know just left $200k at a multinational megacorp for the same at a 50-person company.

A team of co-founders I know was acquhired by a different multinational megacorp, and they now make $350k-$500k before bonuses, although they've moved up from pure engineering to running teams and managing other developers.

So $200k is the lowest salary I've heard for people I consider "senior".

Reply on news.ycombinator.com