I am in a similar position to you, 24 years old, and am in my first role after the completion of my bachelor's in computer science. I was just promoted this week for a 28% raise within the same company.
Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
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Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#22Yes, these things happen... sometimes, as anything in the universe. I've been promoted to a leading position after renegotiating my contract and it came with a 120% raise. You probably guessed it right - I was heavily underpaid at first. A teammate of mine earned around 60% more than me and our lead over 100%. When I finally found it out I was devastated. It happend for a couple of years. Sounds stupid? Yeah, it was.…
This is why I think that companies should make salaries public. Compensation negotiation is not a skill needed for performance of a job, and hiring managers will have more experience than the candidate.
Be fair and don’t worry about “the truth coming out”
Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#23It's not anything nefarious, just the natural blind spots of human reasoning.
Titles are cheap. Your existing employer will always want to hand you more work, but not more money. If you are handling the work well, then the pain of not having that role filled is only a memory. Your future employer has an acute problem to solve and is already primed to spend money to solve it. The net result is that (current employer) is much more likely to increase your responsibilities/scope/title. While (future employer) will pay you.
There are absolutely employers who will give significant raises to existing employees, but they are rare.
Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#24I've been at this for 15 years and most of my large jumps in salary have been either from job changes or counter offers when I was about to switch jobs. A couple things to keep in mind though:
1. It depends on the company but there is more to compensation than just the salary number. Often promotions will also include changes to bonus amounts (so different levels will have different target bonus %) and equity grants. From the business side it is all "comp" so they can have a different view of total compensation than you do if you are just looking at the salary.
2. If you like your job but feel you are underpaid there is nothing wrong with just asking for a raise. If they want to keep you around then they will usually accommodate you and if they don't want to keep you around then you should start looking for a new job anyway. But you have to ask. For obvious reasons companies want you to think that salary is non-negotiable, but EVERYTHING is negotiable and if they can make it happen IF they want to (or need to).
Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#25I've found that being a bastard in salary negotiations (pushing, not backing down, willing to walk) is the very best way to get promoted, and it should almost always be with a new company. Your existing company knows what you're being paid, and that's hobbling. You need asymmetric leverage. No one needs to know your salary. They should see how you value yourself in the salary negotiation. Take risks. Pays off. You do have to perform, so don't push so hard that you can't do the work. I suppose that goes without saying, but some people forget. I forgot once. Ended up surrounded by PhD statisticians that ate my lunch. Fired 3 months later. Was still paid ridiculously, but was also ego-bruising.
You can practice this with headhunters. Push the numbers. Try double your current number. You'd be surprised some of the numbers you can pull out of them in certain "must have now" situations.
Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was 25 at that time. The tech was obscure, so I didn't have the option to move. If moving was an option, then I would have taken it. Instead I'm in my 30s, burnt out, doing the minimum (sort of), and still a midlevel.
At 25, you have the option to move (that is, change companies) even if you worked on obscure tech. At 25, you can find someone who will take you in that situation (though it may take longer than finding someone who wants the current hotness).
That might be true for some, but didn't happen for me. I've mentally checked out even though I have another 20-30 years of my career left.
Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
At 25, you have the option to move (that is, change companies) even if you worked on obscure tech. At 25, you can find someone who will take you in that situation (though it may take longer than finding someone who wants the current hotness).
That might be true for some, but didn't happen for me. I've mentally checked out even though I have another 20-30 years of my career left.
Might be a good time for a break if you can afford it. I'm in your boat also - and also 25
Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
That might be true for some, but didn't happen for me. I've mentally checked out even though I have another 20-30 years of my career left.
Might be a good time for a break if you can afford it. I'm in your boat also - and also 25
Not possible for me. I have a family to support and they have recently developed costly medical issues. Not to mention I don't make all that much (under $100k), so most of my income now goes to expenses (area is moderately expensive even when trying to live cheaply).
Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#29~10% is more what I've seen. The biggest gain came from actually putting effort into getting lots of offers and negotiating well. This lead to an offer that was 2.75x my pay at the time. I ended up taking one that was lower (a mere 2.25x), but after stock growth, refreshers, and a base pay increase (without a promotion) that has gone up to 4x.
A 3% increase for an actual promotion is insulting. You're probably getting hosed already and could get a step function increase if you looked elsewhere and interviewed / negotiated properly. If you decide to do this, let me know, and I can give you some advice.
Re: Ask HN: Software engineers who have been promoted with a large salary increase?
#30Had a two 20% increase over a 6 month period at the same company by just asking to "be at the same rate as other positions in the market".
> % increase over a 6 month period at the
You must be underpaid? Can you share salary before and after two raises? I can't believe in a 6-month period the market rate went up by 1.2^2?