Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

2018 UtahJS Pay, Education, Job-title Survey

mdjasper.github.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–77 of 77 posts

Re: 2018 UtahJS Pay, Education, Job-title Survey

#71

Post by nouseforaname »

cglee wrote: post #5

This is great and more salary transparency is important. I'm wondering if these numbers jive with your hunch about the local market? I'm asking because I've noticed that when asking for salary numbers, those who make "decent" wages tend to reply more often and this can lead to sampling bias.

When I wasn't working remote, informally the ceiling seemed to me to be around $120k. That was a few years ago and these days I would have guessed more around $140k. Obviously I didn't have all the data points so good to see people who are at $175k-$200k.

Re: 2018 UtahJS Pay, Education, Job-title Survey

#72

Post by suresk »

nouseforaname wrote: post #69
dsnuh wrote: post #7

An interesting data point is that the highest salary ($206,000) also reports as"self-taught".

FWIW I live in Utah, work remote, and am self taught (dropout from engineering program) and my base is higher than that. It's in the 240s. I'm the first one to tell someone to go to school instead. It's not actually the fundamentals I missed out on, it was the network of peers in computer science as well as potential options in academia. It slowed my career growth down a bit. I'm not complaining though since I'm set…

Can you share which company you're working remotely for? I figured most people in Utah who are at > $200k base are working remotely for bigger SF-based companies, but I haven't really heard of many companies doing that. (I understand if you can't, though)

Re: 2018 UtahJS Pay, Education, Job-title Survey

#73

Post by marcusarmstrong »

I spent a year in SLC (funemployed) considering staying there long term but was scared off by long-term earning potential from what I had read online (vs. Boston area, where I previously and currently live[d]). These numbers are much more positive than others I had read. Congrats to those of you who’ve found broader-market-level roles in the area!

Re: 2018 UtahJS Pay, Education, Job-title Survey

#74

Post by seattle_spring »

fooey wrote: post #49
bsimpson wrote: post #15

Salaries in Utah are a lot healthier than I expected. Maybe moving away from SF wouldn't be as big of a salary cut as I thought...

In my experience Northern Utah is good, Southern Utah is not very good

That's like correcting someone saying California has high salaries. "Well sure, maybe in th cities, but not on farms or in the mountains!"

Of course Capitol Reef, Zion, and a bunch of relatively small towns don't have good pay.

Re: 2018 UtahJS Pay, Education, Job-title Survey

#75

Post by mywittyname »

suresk wrote: post #17
bsimpson wrote: post #15

Salaries in Utah are a lot healthier than I expected. Maybe moving away from SF wouldn't be as big of a salary cut as I thought...

Every time I've thought about moving away from Utah, I've found it almost impossible to find a place with a better salary/cost of living ratio. There are a handful of things to not like about Utah, but in the software industry at least, it has been pretty good for the last decade.

Ohio seems pretty similar. The salary ranges are pretty close to this survey and it has some of the lowest housing prices in the nation -- although this secret is out and housing prices have begun their ascension.

Re: 2018 UtahJS Pay, Education, Job-title Survey

#76

Post by mywittyname »

dsnuh wrote: post #7

An interesting data point is that the highest salary ($206,000) also reports as"self-taught".

IME, self-taught people tend to have solid business acumen too. The getting that first job with no credentials forces you to 1) figure out a good idea for a product, 2) build it, 3) sell it. Even if it's a small/toy example, like a website or app, and "selling it" amounts to showing it off in interviews.

In contrast, most CS grads can get a good job after a whiteboard session and a quiz.

I'm not saying that one is better than the other, but there's absolutely some self-selection going on among self-taught engineers.

Re: 2018 UtahJS Pay, Education, Job-title Survey

#77

Post by pbrb »

nouseforaname wrote: post #71
cglee wrote: post #5

This is great and more salary transparency is important. I'm wondering if these numbers jive with your hunch about the local market? I'm asking because I've noticed that when asking for salary numbers, those who make "decent" wages tend to reply more often and this can lead to sampling bias.

When I wasn't working remote, informally the ceiling seemed to me to be around $120k. That was a few years ago and these days I would have guessed more around $140k. Obviously I didn't have all the data points so good to see people who are at $175k-$200k.

Man, I would love to be able to pick your brain and see how you made the moves you made. I also come from a non-standard background and have a high paying gig in a low cost of living area, but want to switch to remote at a big company...
Post reply on HN