Developers are the autoworkers of our generation

I definitely agree with your sentiments. What is also missing from this article is that from a demographics perspective, it is much easier to work in an auto-factory than to do software development. As a result, the pool of people that can work in a factory is much, much greater than the pool that can work as software developers.

This opinion of my mine does not have anything to do with how hard the work of a software developer is but more to do with simple human traits. At a bare minimum to work effectively as a software developer you need to be a good learner, ability to try new things, be able to step out of your boundaries and push yourself, discipline to sit in front of a computer for long stretches of time, and comfortable with change. These traits are in some ways the opposite of an ideal factory worker.

I'm interested to know where you're based, I take it it's not London? A day rate of £150 per day to the customer sounds very low; it's hard to find contract rates that low on the likes of Monster across the UK and typical to see £250-500, so double that for the company hiring out. I've seen rate cards for agencies in advertising charging out developers on projects from £500 to over £1,000 depending on what exactly is being worked on. If £150 a day is too much and costing work anything lower seems unsustainable to run anything more than a lifestyle business for a few select people at the top.

If it's 7pm and the developers are likely to be still there for a while - is that "the norm"? Then you are in effect taking a pay cut already on what sounds like below market rate wages. This sort of practice is toxic. It's ok to work late but when it's expected as part of the job but not without any compensation (can be extra time off, not just money) then this really annoys the hell out of me. Someone higher up is making money out of this. That might be the status quo but I would really consider working on the C.V. and widening out skills and look elsewhere - there's no harm in it.

The guys behind you paid less than median (£21.3k in 2012 according to Wikipedia) and that have been at it for 3 years - from that I get the impression they were fresh out of university and this was the first job? And the highest paid guy at just 10% more, so around £23k, is there no CTO or senior developer? To me it sounds like someone's taking advantage of young, enthusiastic energy here. More so with the "we will be here a while" comment - you should work out what your effective annual salary is based on that; otherwise you can just let it slide and fall into acceptance. If your contact states 9 - 6 the company needs to appreciate the above and beyond work. That's what it is, no matter what others might tell you.

We recently hired for a mid-level developer role at our office in Hoxton and that was around the £40k mark which seems to be around right. As the tech director there I regularly get unsolicited CVs via recruiters and salary ranges requested typically range from the £30k mark up to around £60k.

I don't mean to come off as in anyway 'know it all'y or 'just do x' - I'm genuinely interested in the situation as a fellow UK based dev. Your situation contrasts starkly with my developer friends (based in London, Belfast, Hertfordshire & Leeds) so I'd like to hear more if possible. I often extol the virtue of learning developer skills to younger folk who I interact with and have always painted it as a pretty good way to get a good head-start financially over many other occupations.

When I started out at just above the median I was so thrilled that I was actually getting paid to do what I started out doing in my bedroom as a young kid. After passing the 30 mark I've come to realize it's about what value you can provide to the company, there's no shame in wanting to be out at 6, for one thing realistic timing plans that actually reflect reality are far more useful than ones papered over with hours upon hours of hidden overtime - I'm not saying that hard, late nights are out of the question - I just don't expect it to be treated as the norm' or assumed unless it's also reflected in compensation of _some sort_ (we've in the past traded late nights for conference & flight fees for instance). There's also no shame in taking a look what else is out there and moving if you have to - there is some give and take on your part in progressing. Moving jobs is usually the easiest way to significantly bump your pay grade. It's hard work but can really be worth it in the long run.

Linus Torvalds made millions off the VA Linux and Redhat Linux IPOs, both of whom gifted him with decent stock grants for his role in their corporate success. He's not hurting for money, and in terms of percentiles would easily be in the top 1% among both developers and the general public.

What the fuck?

I have never heard of a job this bad. Maybe the U.S. is just El Dorado for programmers?

I get the point but then again is demand so high or just in SV and other tech hubs?

I travel a lot and the situation for devs can be very different depending of the context. In LATAM most devs are making less than other even simpler professions and chump change compared to the guys on the valley.

At the same time I meet devs in the midwest that don't get a lot of six-figure offers and have to compete for a good steady job.

99% of the IT industry in silicon valley are simple web apps that are becoming increasingly easy to develop due to better tools and standardization, is no longer like in the '70s and '80s when the actual silicon being made there couldn't be made anywhere else in the world.

But only in the valley, the alley and other such places you have investors putting the money that creates this unprecedented demand for IT workers, anywhere else its business as usual except in the third world where you have IT outsourcing companies popping up all over the place with the age-old business method of paying jack-shit to the local workers while billing first-world companies just a tad less than what first-world developers make.

If you were a developer in a third world country your only chance at a six-figure pay is to move to the first world where there are limitations due to visa and immigration problem, so for a lot of people its not about leaning how to code because they already can. Its about getting to the valley, and even for someone in the US moving to Nocal can be difficult depending on his/her situation.