71–80 of 119 posts
There's a lot more to a total comp package than just straight salary. I'm probably an outlier on HN as a .Net dev in finance in NYC. I was making ~250k as a freelancer but went perm. I now make ~200-220k after bonus but I now have a gold-plated health plan, 5 weeks vacation, a retirement plan and a training budget. It isn't always about straight up cash.
/me goes sharpen his .NET and applies cough
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're making $100k in say, San Francisco, about half your paycheck is gone to federal, state, and local taxes, social security, retirement plan, etc. Say you're left with $4200/mo. Take a look at house prices and rents there. There goes half of that. Now half of what's left on food. Now you need transportation, clothes, a phone, insurance, etc. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good life. And you can definitely s…
I make significantly less than $100k in San Francisco and net significantly more than $4200 a month. I don't have a retirement plan, but I doubt that would be enough to cover the difference.
If you put back 10% into a 401(k), you need $88k minimum to net $4200/month.
SV here as well, independent contractor. 190k a year, ~6 years of experience, was making ~120k 3 years ago, ~40k a year 4 years ago. Contracts are remote, so I could leave but choose not to for various reasons. Starting a product and services company soon for developers (the customers) based on the schleps I've encountered. Just need to wrap up the current contract...
Posting this on a throwaway account, but I would like some feedback. I'm currently making $60k in Boston as a front-end developer with just over a year of working experience. I've wondered for a while whether I'm underpaid, but I am getting a lot of experience, so I figure it evens out. I mostly wonder what I should ask for when I start my next job after I pass the hallowed "two years experience" mark, and whether I…
Wow, you are underpaid. Do you have a CS degree? The smartest graduating students are starting their careers off at 100K at least.
SV here as well, independent contractor. 190k a year, ~6 years of experience, was making ~120k 3 years ago, ~40k a year 4 years ago. Contracts are remote, so I could leave but choose not to for various reasons. Starting a product and services company soon for developers (the customers) based on the schleps I've encountered. Just need to wrap up the current contract...
Just trying to understand but what does that 190k look like post tax in the valley?
$16,000 per month
$11,500 left after federal and social.
~$10,000 left after California takes its pound of flesh
$1100 for rent (I am frugal and live with a roommate), utilities, cellphone
$170/month for health insurance, $25 a month for motorcycle insurance
Rounding monthly spending up to $2k.
Roughly $8000 left over at the end of each month, meaning I stack up about ~3 months of runway for every month I work.
My biggest indulgence/non-required expense is Instacart. I justify the expense of Instacart as a way of incenting myself to cook from home. (And I do.)
A salaried programmer out here, if they live by themselves and eat out often could quickly find themselves living paycheck to paycheck. God help the people that have families, you need both parents working (now you're coping with the cost of child-care).
Here's how somebody else's story out here looks:
$90,000 a year in salary
$5,500 a month in take-home after taxes.
$3,000 for rent and utilities for a two bedroom apartment for the wife and kid (most people out here have fewer kids. Can't a afford a house for more than one or two).
$600 a month in groceries for a family of 3. If the programmer resists the peer pressure to eat out, the food costs can be constrainted to this.
$1,900 in slop month to month so far.
$150 a month in health insurance premiums (insuring a family is expensive)
$400 a month in car payments + insurance
If any of them are commuting any distance, easily $100 a month in gas.
$1250 left per month.
And you haven't bought your kid any clothes yet.
If you want a decent house in Mountain View (where I live) or Palo Alto you're generally looking at at least $1 million.
SV here as well, independent contractor. 190k a year, ~6 years of experience, was making ~120k 3 years ago, ~40k a year 4 years ago. Contracts are remote, so I could leave but choose not to for various reasons. Starting a product and services company soon for developers (the customers) based on the schleps I've encountered. Just need to wrap up the current contract...
Any proof? Stories to link to?
I had to stop scanning my client checks using my bank's mobile app because I exceeded the $12k per month limit they instituted.
Now I have to take my checks to the bank like a prole.
Edit:
Since I know HN's humor parser is broken, the "prole" thing was a bit of humor. I grew up very poor and have memories of waiting in line at the bank with my mother when I was young.
SV here as well, independent contractor. 190k a year, ~6 years of experience, was making ~120k 3 years ago, ~40k a year 4 years ago. Contracts are remote, so I could leave but choose not to for various reasons. Starting a product and services company soon for developers (the customers) based on the schleps I've encountered. Just need to wrap up the current contract...
How are you arranging your gigs?
Networking, a knack for sales, and a reputation for delivery.
You know this post is from an entity that claims to teach you how to do this, right?
(I just signed up out of curiosity.)
There is no such thing as an underpaid developer. The key skill is in recognizing your value as measured by the market. And to find that out, you need to test the waters. If you aren't testing the waters, you aren't underpaid (because you've restricted your scope to just the current firm, and are getting the only market price available) This is a real problem in finance, where a lot of people think they are worth mor…
Making a credible threat to retire is a legitimate way to negotiate higher pay at a single employer, if you are more valuable than your replacement.
You mean if the company believes you are more valuable than a replacement. If you think you are more valuable but the company doesn't think so, you should be ready to quit and move on.
SV here as well, independent contractor. 190k a year, ~6 years of experience, was making ~120k 3 years ago, ~40k a year 4 years ago. Contracts are remote, so I could leave but choose not to for various reasons. Starting a product and services company soon for developers (the customers) based on the schleps I've encountered. Just need to wrap up the current contract...
SV here as well, independent contractor. 190k a year, ~6 years of experience, was making ~120k 3 years ago, ~40k a year 4 years ago. Contracts are remote, so I could leave but choose not to for various reasons. Starting a product and services company soon for developers (the customers) based on the schleps I've encountered. Just need to wrap up the current contract...
Do you feel you could have reached this stage from outside the Valley?
I stay in the valley for the sake of risk aversion and because I am planning to start a product company soon.