To expand on this a bit: I was on ~$80k/year in 2002. If I had even had 10% raises each year I would be on ~$250k/year.
Instead I'm just under $200k. Not bad by any means but I wouldn't call sub-10% annual raises as lofty career ambitions.
Instead I'm just under $200k. Not bad by any means but I wouldn't call sub-10% annual raises as lofty career ambitions.
My experience is that developers don't increase their value as fast as they increase their pay.
It is interesting the thought about moving to management - I often see that developers have to become project managers or managers of some sort as they get older.