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It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

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Re: It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

#21

Post by myf »

DavidChouinard wrote: post #10
droithomme wrote: post #4

For those of you who live in New York City, what sort of standard of living do these salaries represent? Would one be comfortably be able to lease a 3 bedroom apartment within walking distance of work, in a neighborhood with good schools?

From the ever useful Wolfram Alpha: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cost+of+living+index+Ne... Assuming a 50,000$ salary, here's how much you'd need to earn for the same purchasing power in New York: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=moving+to+New+York+sala...

transportation is marked 127.5% of average US cost. I wonder if it's from the price of gas and knowing that people don't really drive to work as much in manhattan.

Re: It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

#22

Post by brador »

Once again: Averages without variance have no meaning.

This is why, at school, you were taught how to calculate averages at the same time as calculating variance. The variance provides an indication of data spread and the two belong together, like fish and chips.

One without the other means incorrect inferences are more likely. Like here.

Re: It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

#23

Post by thetrendycyborg »

myf wrote: post #21
DavidChouinard wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the ever useful Wolfram Alpha: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cost+of+living+index+Ne... Assuming a 50,000$ salary, here's how much you'd need to earn for the same purchasing power in New York: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=moving+to+New+York+sala...

transportation is marked 127.5% of average US cost. I wonder if it's from the price of gas and knowing that people don't really drive to work as much in manhattan.

Yeah, these results seem a bit off. ~$100 gets you an MTA 30-day pass. That's probably less than gas and maintenance for your average monthly commute elsewhere.

Re: It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

#24

Post by dabent »

I wonder what the sample size was here. I noticed most of the salaries end in numbers that indicate a denominator of 3 or 4, such as 250 or 667. If that's really how small the sample set is, I'm not surprised that so many have seen the numbers as being low.

I'm also curious about the source of these numbers. I don't think I've seen a salary survey like this that's ever seemed anything but lower than what I know the market to be. That makes sense if employers are providing the numbers, as they'd like to pay less than they are currently paying for talent.

Re: It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

#25

Post by droithomme »

thetrendycyborg wrote: post #18
droithomme wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks very much for all the replies. So 3 bedrooms basically doesn't even exist, but 1 and 2 is available. No answers on the school issues. Is it uncommon then for developers living in New York City to have children? If you have kids, they all go in a single bedroom it seems and there's no room for a home office since there's no third bedroom. If one is single I can see how it all works, but for those of us with kid…

Most of the developers I know are twenty-somethings. Some of the older devs have kids, but they usually don't live in Manhattan proper. Long Island City, Astoria, Brooklyn, New Jersey, etc, are much preferred. I know only one dev who lives in Manhattan. Commuting is amazingly nice in this area.

Thank you for the specific details. It sounds like those with children just all live in other cities and states. In places I have lived most of my life states are usually a bit farther apart, so the idea of commuting daily from another state sounds strange, but I did do that for a while when I worked in DC. The commute was far from pleasant though!

So regarding commuting, what sort of commute is involved for say the people living in New Jersey who work at a tech firm in New York City. Can it be done in 30 minutes? Is there a train that goes straight from one to the other or does one have to drive to a station first, park, etc. How far a walk is it on average from the nearest subway station exist to a tech firm office. Trying to get an idea how many minutes a day the commute would be. Thanks.

Re: It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

#26

Post by droithomme »

kai-zer wrote: post #7
droithomme wrote: post #4

For those of you who live in New York City, what sort of standard of living do these salaries represent? Would one be comfortably be able to lease a 3 bedroom apartment within walking distance of work, in a neighborhood with good schools?

3 bedroom would likely be +5k for what you describe in Manhattan.

Thanks very much, so around $60,000 a year gets one a three bedroom. Salaries around $100,000-$120,000 before taxes, after all taxes taken into account (federal, FICA, state, county, local, sales) about $50k-$60k take home, so it sounds like a 3 bedroom is basically not possible.

Re: It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

#28

Post by [deleted] »

droithomme wrote: post #26
kai-zer wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 bedroom would likely be +5k for what you describe in Manhattan.

Thanks very much, so around $60,000 a year gets one a three bedroom. Salaries around $100,000-$120,000 before taxes, after all taxes taken into account (federal, FICA, state, county, local, sales) about $50k-$60k take home, so it sounds like a 3 bedroom is basically not possible.

[deleted]

Re: It Pays to Know Ruby: New York City’s Top Tech Jobs (and Their Average Salary)

#29

Post by thetrendycyborg »

droithomme wrote: post #25
thetrendycyborg wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the developers I know are twenty-somethings. Some of the older devs have kids, but they usually don't live in Manhattan proper. Long Island City, Astoria, Brooklyn, New Jersey, etc, are much preferred. I know only one dev who lives in Manhattan. Commuting is amazingly nice in this area.

Thank you for the specific details. It sounds like those with children just all live in other cities and states. In places I have lived most of my life states are usually a bit farther apart, so the idea of commuting daily from another state sounds strange, but I did do that for a while when I worked in DC. The commute was far from pleasant though! So regarding commuting, what sort of commute is involved for say the…

Well, it can vary. I can only speak to my own experience. I live just outside the city in Jersey. It's a bus to Port Authority Bus Terminal (located on 42nd and 8th), then a subway ride to work. Total time: 30min. In rush hour: 45min. That's why flex time is nice. Other places in New Jersey you can take the PATH train. That's 15 minutes, and if you work in the Financial District, it drops you off right at the World Trade Center. Usually you wouldn't even need to drive in New Jersey if you're in Jersey City or Hoboken or even as far north as Bergen, if you position yourself near a bus stop.
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