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Ask HN: Does really every software engineer in the US earn ~100000?

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Re: Ask HN: Does really every software engineer in the US earn ~100000?

#11

Post by vonseel »

eaenki wrote: post #5

In Zurich, Geneva, Oslo and Rejkavik, you can also get a job that pays that much at a software/financial company/startup (and healthcare it's much cheaper/included in taxes). In the US, that kind of salary it's common only in the Silicon Valley and NY.

How hard is it to do this if I only speak English?

I have family in Norway and attended part of a Master's program in Switzerland, but left because the job prospects in Zurich did not look good without German fluency. This was not in technology, though.

Re: Ask HN: Does really every software engineer in the US earn ~100000?

#12

Post by seabird »

Location is the biggest factor in the US. Living in a large city can often require your salary to double for it to be livable. It also really depends on what software you're working on. Embedded developers are generally "in the trenches" with all the mechanical and electrical engineers, the latter of which has a salary that usually caps out at around $80k; consequently, this is usually where embedded devs end up, too. Legacy stuff (COBOL, MUMPS, mainframe programming, etc.) usually seems to end up around $80k-$100k, but it doesn't seem to go much further past that. Modern CRUD and web dev is where you see people going well past the $100k mark. Tack on a management responsibilities for a solid increase, but this is highly dependent on where you're working. All of this is pretty rough, can't accommodate for location, the particular employer, etc. and gauged from people I know working in those fields, so your mileage may vary.

Re: Ask HN: Does really every software engineer in the US earn ~100000?

#13

Post by victords »

eaenki wrote: post #5

In Zurich, Geneva, Oslo and Rejkavik, you can also get a job that pays that much at a software/financial company/startup (and healthcare it's much cheaper/included in taxes). In the US, that kind of salary it's common only in the Silicon Valley and NY.

Reykjavik, really?

How come a city in a country of 300,000 people pay as much as $100k USD for a SWE?

Do you have any data to back it up? I did a quick look at Glassdoor and it's far from that.

Re: Ask HN: Does really every software engineer in the US earn ~100000?

#14

Post by trynafindaradio »

50-60 hr workweeks aren't uncommon, especially including oncall stuff.

As a new grad in the US(If you live in a lower cost of living area, things are probably more spread out so you probably need a car since the public transportation is usually limited in those cities and everything is 10miles away from each other. That's several thousand dollars plus insurance and maintenance.

Besides the costs of living, keep in mind that many people are paying off student loans into their 30s and 40s. A salary looks a lot smaller when you're 150k in debt.

When I was still in college, my health insurance out of pocket was $350 a month. Now that my company pays for health insurance, I pay $100, and that's as a non-smoker at a healthy weight with little family history of cancer/heart disease, etc. I imagine those that are older/heavier/less lucky with genetics pay more for health insurance. I still have to pay a few hundred dollars as a deductible if I go to the doctor.

I guess I'm just throwing numbers around but my point is, it adds up. Also the peace of mind of not worrying about affording to go to the hospital is a non-zero value.

Re: Ask HN: Does really every software engineer in the US earn ~100000?

#15

Post by alextheparrot »

mrep wrote: post #10

Big public tech companies (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter, Dropbox...) all pay over 100k total compensation for new grads. However, they all are headquartered in the bay area or seattle so cost of living makes those numbers not quite as eye dropping as it seems but still very good. I have worked for these companies since I graduated and have saved about $90,000 in a little over 2 years including…

I’m in a similar boat (Savings, company, and age wise) and have come to realize that kids are where people get really hit with the COL. Two incomes only go so far when you’re paying 2k/kid/month for day care and bought a house at a premium in a good school district. Kids I’ve come to believe are the only change where we’ll really have to start thinking about finances again (Right now our COL is just way lower than our salary).

Re: Ask HN: Does really every software engineer in the US earn ~100000?

#17

Post by arcanus »

eaenki wrote: post #5

In Zurich, Geneva, Oslo and Rejkavik, you can also get a job that pays that much at a software/financial company/startup (and healthcare it's much cheaper/included in taxes). In the US, that kind of salary it's common only in the Silicon Valley and NY.

> In the US, that kind of salary it's common only in the Silicon Valley and NY.

I don't agree with that statement. The title relates to six figure incomes, which are certainly quite common in all the tech hubs: Seattle, Austin, Denver, San Diego, etc.

You certainly have to be in a major city, and ideally one with large software companies.

Re: Ask HN: Does really every software engineer in the US earn ~100000?

#19

Post by mrep »

alextheparrot wrote: post #15
mrep wrote: post #10

Big public tech companies (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter, Dropbox...) all pay over 100k total compensation for new grads. However, they all are headquartered in the bay area or seattle so cost of living makes those numbers not quite as eye dropping as it seems but still very good. I have worked for these companies since I graduated and have saved about $90,000 in a little over 2 years including…

I’m in a similar boat (Savings, company, and age wise) and have come to realize that kids are where people get really hit with the COL. Two incomes only go so far when you’re paying 2k/kid/month for day care and bought a house at a premium in a good school district. Kids I’ve come to believe are the only change where we’ll really have to start thinking about finances again (Right now our COL is just way lower than ou…

Oh totally. I cannot imagine raising kids in the bay area with the insane housing which gets you a tiny house, mediocre schools, and insane commutes. Add on the additional costs of kids and I do not plan to move/live there when I start having kids. Hence, why I hoping I can get into one of the satellite office once I get married.
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