Poll: How much do you make as a programmer? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#131

Post by brc » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 1:03 AM UTC

archgoon wrote: post #129

brc wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do some people defend the system so vehemently? It's a funds-in, funds-out scheme. New 'investors' are required to pay out old 'investors'. I agree that 'fraudulent' is inflammatory but to pretend SS is some type of insurance or pension fund is just gilding the lily. I think everyone would be better off if everyone was just honest about what Social Security is, and what it will be if the contribution/payout ratio…

> Why defend the system so vehemently He wasn't. He was stating specifically how it worked. >I think everyone would be better off if everyone was just honest about what Social Security is Calling it a ponzi scheme doesn't accomplish this goal.

You're right - I'm fixing the wording on my comment. I was associating the wrong comment with my reply.

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#132

Post by winsbe01 » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 1:17 AM UTC

i wouldn't say it's as low as country living, but it's not quite 2k/mo for a 1 bedroom

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#133

Post by beedogs » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 1:18 AM UTC

veyron wrote: post #46

What is the point is this? Sorry for asking, but you are either curious about how much everyone else is making or trying to value yourself in the market. If you are curious about how much everyone else is making, stop. Just stop. It won't make you feel good. You will feel shitty because I would imagine the HN crowd will show better numbers than america as a whole, or even just your city. To illustrate my point, if yo…

> I would add 250K, 500K, 1M tiers here (as there are plenty of people who are making salaries in those ranges)

I highly doubt you'll find "plenty" of people, here or elsewhere, making more than $250k a year as a programmer.

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#134

Post by RandallBrown » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 1:28 AM UTC

bretthoerner wrote: post #55

RandallBrown wrote: post #16

Location is huge. I live in Michigan and make considerably less than friends that live elsewhere. My rent is also almost 1000 dollars cheaper per month.

"Considerable" is unclear, it'd be easy to cover a 1k/mo spread under my definition of "considerable".

The friends that I would say make considerably more than me could cover it easily. I have others who only make a bit more than me but cost of living is more than offsets it.

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#135

Post by johnl » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 1:56 AM UTC

cletus wrote: post #26

This poll exemplifies the problem with all of these polls: it doesn't say what it's measuring. I would put in vastly different numbers for base salary vs base salary + bonuses + shares + other benefits. I see the same on Glassdoor on elsewhere. The bigger problem is the people volunteering such information have differing views on what to put making such information mostly useless. Also, if life has taught me nothing…

Plotted against years in business would give me a measure of where I am based upon my experience.

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#136

Post by anamax » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 1:56 AM UTC

rskar wrote: post #117

OstiaAntica wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully 12.4% of nearly every American's income is going to Social Security, which is a national pension scheme. (er...national Ponzi scheme)

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation. Social Security is a social insurance program that is primarily funded through dedicated payroll taxes called Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA). Tax deposits…

Back when the demographics worked, Paul Samuelson said that Social Security was a ponzi scheme. Yup, Samuelson with a Nobel prize in Econ.

However, there are a couple of differences. Ponzi schemes are voluntary and you only lose the money you put in. Neither is true of SS.

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#137

Post by tsuyoshi » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 2:10 AM UTC

You must live in a low cost area, because you're overestimating the rent in high cost areas.

I live in New York City (Manhattan, even) and believe me, you can get a one bedroom for less than $2000 a month (in Manhattan, even!). And certainly you can't put the entire state of California into the "expensive" category.

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#138

Post by tsunamifury » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 2:15 AM UTC

rationalbeats wrote: post #102

tsunamifury wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the east bay even i pay 1900/m for 550 sqft Studio+

What? That is insane. That is more than my mortgage and I have property and a big house in the East Bay. I also live in a nice neighborhood. Do you live within 2 blocks of UC Berkeley?

Albany/Berkeley border. Prices are through the roof here due to the school system

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#139

Post by veyron » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 2:15 AM UTC

beedogs wrote: post #133

veyron wrote: post #46

What is the point is this? Sorry for asking, but you are either curious about how much everyone else is making or trying to value yourself in the market. If you are curious about how much everyone else is making, stop. Just stop. It won't make you feel good. You will feel shitty because I would imagine the HN crowd will show better numbers than america as a whole, or even just your city. To illustrate my point, if yo…

> I would add 250K, 500K, 1M tiers here (as there are plenty of people who are making salaries in those ranges) I highly doubt you'll find "plenty" of people, here or elsewhere, making more than $250k a year as a programmer.

Let's put it to a poll: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3148005

Re: Poll: How much do you make as a programmer?

#140

Post by wisty » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 2:18 AM UTC

rskar wrote: post #117

OstiaAntica wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully 12.4% of nearly every American's income is going to Social Security, which is a national pension scheme. (er...national Ponzi scheme)

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation. Social Security is a social insurance program that is primarily funded through dedicated payroll taxes called Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA). Tax deposits…

The mechanics are similar, but the motivations are different - in a Ponzi Scheme, the numbers need to keep growing to keep paying out ever-increasing amounts, otherwise people will abandon the scheme. The payouts from Social Security will go down (or inflation will eat them, or some other equivalent) if less gets put in; but it won't kill the scheme. Young people will still put money in, because they have no choice.

Social Security isn't a magic pot of gold. Nobody believes it is. It's welfare that's designed to give more welfare to the people who contributed more when they are able, and less to the people who didn't contribute.