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Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

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Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#311

Post by [deleted] »

rainboOow9 wrote: post #228
indecisive_user wrote: post #5

>the average tech worker’s salary [will] reach $104,566 in the U.S. — a 6.9% increase since 2020, the report found. But inflation is over 11% since 2020. This isn't an increase. The average tech worker is making less than they were 2 years ago according to the Dice salary report. Why do tech workers feel underpaid? Many companies posted record growth and profits over the pandemic, but still give out paltry 3-5% raise…

What baffles me though is that its not like this crazy interview gauntlet is being maintained purely by HR. Engineers in those big tech companies are very protective towards those processes as well, and loudly protest if one would try to change them (complaining about lowering the bar, not hiring top tier talent anymore, etc.). And tbh, I would be afraid of what they would replace those LC interviews with. At least,…

[deleted]

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#312

Post by ryandrake »

indecisive_user wrote: post #5

>the average tech worker’s salary [will] reach $104,566 in the U.S. — a 6.9% increase since 2020, the report found. But inflation is over 11% since 2020. This isn't an increase. The average tech worker is making less than they were 2 years ago according to the Dice salary report. Why do tech workers feel underpaid? Many companies posted record growth and profits over the pandemic, but still give out paltry 3-5% raise…

> Meanwhile for those that have the time and willpower to grind leetcode, they know they can command a 20-40% raise every few years.

One thing a lot of people forget about this 20-40% number is: It's only true early in your career. It might be hard for younger folks to believe, but you will all hit a ceiling and plateau. My first job hop was for +50%! The next one was about 40%, the next one 15%, and so on. Now, with 20+ years of experience, my last job hop was for maybe 0.25%.

If I could get +40% every time I switched jobs, I'd only have to have switched jobs 9 times in my life in order to be making $1M/yr.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#313

Post by IMTDb »

gorbachev wrote: post #206
indecisive_user wrote: post #5

>the average tech worker’s salary [will] reach $104,566 in the U.S. — a 6.9% increase since 2020, the report found. But inflation is over 11% since 2020. This isn't an increase. The average tech worker is making less than they were 2 years ago according to the Dice salary report. Why do tech workers feel underpaid? Many companies posted record growth and profits over the pandemic, but still give out paltry 3-5% raise…

The overall economy inflation numbers are completely meaningless when cost of education, housing and healthcare has been skyrocketing for more than a decade, maybe even longer. The average worker, especially those with families, have seen their costs inflate much, much higher than 11% per year for quite some time.

11% of growth every year for 10 years is 2.83, almost 3. Things haven't gotten 3 times more expensive in the last decade - far from it.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#314

Post by citizenpaul »

indecisive_user wrote: post #5

>the average tech worker’s salary [will] reach $104,566 in the U.S. — a 6.9% increase since 2020, the report found. But inflation is over 11% since 2020. This isn't an increase. The average tech worker is making less than they were 2 years ago according to the Dice salary report. Why do tech workers feel underpaid? Many companies posted record growth and profits over the pandemic, but still give out paltry 3-5% raise…

>. The cost savings of work from home must have been enormous for these companies

First I agree overall, however I think you overestimate how much any companies saved on the WFH shift.

1. They still own the buildings or leases/mortgages. I doubt many were able to get out of leases which in commercial are usually 3-5year min. Mortgage only goes away if they sold the building.

2. They still have to pay the cost of maintaining the building and facilities while unused in the above cases.

3. Pretty much all companies are using their commercial locations to bloat their balance sheets and secure debt. This is actually a HUGE factor as to why so many companies what WFH to end. They simply cannot get rid of their offices or they would be insolvent based on their finances. You can't throw out 2bil in real estate that is securing 20bil in debt or it would be called in.

4. Many companies were unprepared so they had to pay out the nose the get things setup rapidly for remote workers because they resisted it for so long. Why do you think Zoom blew up so fast?

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#315

Post by deergomoo »

sgt wrote: post #128
happymellon wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

20 years here too, UK, I've finally broken the 6 digit bar but I had to move to contracting. My experience made getting job offers simple, but no one wanted to pay more. I'd often get lowballs with the offer of kudos for working at that tech firm. £95k seems to be the upper limit at this point here for FTEs.

£95k is very decent in the countryside but in London that's nothing to write home about, is it? I don't live in London or even the UK, so my statement is just based on friends living there.

£95k would be exceptionally good for the vast majority of the UK, and unless you’re trying to buy a house in central London or something it would still be a very good wage there too. Take the last bit with a pinch of salt though—I’ve never lived in London but a number of my friends do.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#316

Post by BlargMcLarg »

bosie wrote: post #287
Ozzie_osman wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The money we make pales in comparison with the size of our contributions to the company. That's unfortunately not how markets work. If you create 10M of value every year, and are only paid 250K for doing it, it's because there is someone else out there who is willing to do it for the same. (Yes, there are asymmetries in information and power, but broadly, tech salaries are market-driven)

Problem is more that the contributions of an engineere are hard to quantify, so that 10M never gets compared to the 250k

Hah, no. The problem is whenever someone talks about pushing back, you can find at least one guy saying "ok then I'll do the job" and 3 people saying "I don't care, my 250k is super comfy".

Like others point out, it's incredible the US hasn't mass outsourced their work to Europe yet.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#317

Post by [deleted] »

cwalv wrote: post #247
dimitrios1 wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only Americans reignited their imagination and didn't just settle on having a few big cities in opposite corners of the country. America is huge. There's land everywhere. Start dreaming. China has 160 cities with 1+ million people. We have 10. Granted, there is a massive population difference, but we should most definitely have more than 10. There are major issues when you only have a few cities with the bulk of t…

The US has way more than 10 "cities" with over 1M population, unless you ignore ground truth (metro area) and only count people within random city boundaries

[deleted]

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#318

Post by criddell »

Ozzie_osman wrote: post #261
tomc1985 wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The money we make pales in comparison with the size of our contributions to the company. Especially so if you are in a value-adding position and not something like internal tooling. Management and executives are DEFINITELY underpaying us relative to what we bring to the table for them. Maybe that is one of the reason headcounts have ballooned and complexity has increased so much -- an attempt to minimize individual i…

> The money we make pales in comparison with the size of our contributions to the company. That's unfortunately not how markets work. If you create 10M of value every year, and are only paid 250K for doing it, it's because there is someone else out there who is willing to do it for the same. (Yes, there are asymmetries in information and power, but broadly, tech salaries are market-driven)

It often works like that for people in sales or other positions that puts them in the flow of money. The get paid some percentage and the more deals they are involved in, the more they are paid.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#319

Post by nicoburns »

emteycz wrote: post #251
nicoburns wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If my work was significantly taxed above $100K, I'd stop earning more at that point because work is very stressful to me and I'm not going to do it if I don't get the benefit (now I earn slightly less than $100k, but also live and work in Europe). Everybody would lose - I'd pay less taxes overall. Perfect. You get a less stressful life. And you working less creates job opportunities for others. Other people win jus…

No, I don't get a less stressful life, I'd get a much more stressful one. One, maybe two years I earn a lot, and then 2-5 years next to nothing. I must plan my life according to the needs of my mental health, not fiscal calendars of some social engineers who can't understand that one size doesn't fit all and can seriously hurt some people (yeah, even those who earn a lot some years are still just humans, and sometime…

> And it's a life where I am forbidden to do useful things that others want me to do and I am willing and able (which is not always, or often) - just because someone said "you did enough in this arbitrary period of time, give us your money or don't do it at all".

No you're not. You're free to do whatever you like. You just won't receive as much money in return as you would otherwise have done.

> From the beginning where people "should earn less so we are equal" to the end where it's "perfect that engineers work less"

To be clear, to the extent that there is a difference, I think that people with high earnings should be taxed more not that their nominal income should be lowered or restricted. And I think that it would be good if people had the freedom to choose to work less while still earning enough to comfortably live on. If you want to continue working as much as you currently do then all power to you. It was you who said further up the thread that would choose to work less.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#320

Post by citizenpaul »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #213
indecisive_user wrote: post #5

>the average tech worker’s salary [will] reach $104,566 in the U.S. — a 6.9% increase since 2020, the report found. But inflation is over 11% since 2020. This isn't an increase. The average tech worker is making less than they were 2 years ago according to the Dice salary report. Why do tech workers feel underpaid? Many companies posted record growth and profits over the pandemic, but still give out paltry 3-5% raise…

And to think, people working in IT actually get raises, and can earn more money by changing jobs; they are already quite privileged compared to those earning closer to minimum wage (like 30K a year?), given that said minimum wage hasn't been increased from $7.25 in 13 years now, while cost of living and inflation HAS gone up. One issue is that while costs of products, housing, etc is adjusted pretty much instantly wi…

>ready quite privileged compared to those earning closer to minimum wage

I really don't like this self loathing mentality on HN. I work really hard to keep up to date in IT, even after I'm off work.

Sorry to burst your bubble but most people just go home from work and get high or drunk then watch 5hrs of TV. Thats the reason they can't work tech jobs. I didn't go to school for CS but I still make lots of money in tech because I want to and I keep myself up to date.

Its not all poor single moms without any time or some other tragic story.

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