Ask HN: Calculating salary

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2186816

by aDemoUzer • 15 years ago

7 6 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am interested in learning how do fellow HNers figure out salary for themselves and others (if you are in position to hire). How do you quantify your experience, and potential into a dollar number? Do you change the number in regard to the company you apply for? I.E. if you are being hired by google, you expect to get more money (say $110K) than if you were getting hired at a start-up because start-up usually does not has much money (say $70K).

About moi: I have had 2 part-time IT jobs @ $10/hour and my current position is @ $20/hour which ends in a month. I went for the low money in order to gain experience in the IT field. Now, I feel confidence in my skillset and would like to earn more money at my next job. Currently, I am trying to figure out how do various people's salaries change over the years. Do most people start with, say, $60K in the first few professional years and then over-the-years started to earn more money, OR were others able to start making $85k+ very early in thier career. Also, waht resources and factors do people use to come up with their salary number?

nostrademons2• 15 years ago

It's doubled every time I've switched jobs.

There isn't really a right answer to this, because it depends on your experience, the particular subfield you're in, and the company you're starting at. I'd start with GlassDoor and then aim high:

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/software-engineer-salary-S...

You can always negotiate downwards if you really want a job, but you may find that companies are willing to pay quite a bit more than you expect.

guynamedloren• 15 years ago

Wow, that's exponential salary growth :)

How many switches have you made?

nostrademons2• 15 years ago

Two. And they both included a "break" in between, eg. I went to college between my first and second real jobs, and I founded a startup between my second and third. (Side note: if you include my high-school internship, the pattern is still doubling every job, just with a lower base. I didn't because I was paid hourly for that, and wasn't working full-time. Plus I didn't include college internships.)

I have a hard time believing it will double if I switch again, because that becomes the salary no-mans-land. At this point, increases will either be piddly 10% raises, or they will be rather nifty 10x raises. ;-)

Tangurena• 15 years ago

I've always tried for at least 15% raise each move [1]. If you are desperate, they'll figure it out and lowball you. The last 3 jobs have been 50%, 50% and 33% raises. Confidence does sell, but you also have to produce your value [2]. I'm not at the top of my pay-band for folks of my age and experience, but I am slightly above median for Denver.

2000 and 2001 were terrible years for developers. You'll hear them described as all sorts of terms, including "dotBomb." It took me 8 years to get my salary back to the same dollar amount I was making in 2000. And that 8 year period included 2 years I was out of work (23 months spread over 3 gaps).

There is a saying that goes "make hay while the sun shines." Aside from the obvious agricultural meaning, it also means that you should make as much as you can during the rich years, and put some aside for the lean years [3].

My estimation is that there are really 2 job pools. One for junior level skills and one for senior level skills. There is a large gap in salaries. When execs and politicians whine about a shortage of experienced workers [4], they're complaining that the senior pool is too expensive. However, all their options of making colleges produce more workers, or opening the visa flood gates will only serve to increase the quantity of folks in the junior pool. It takes time, training and effort to move yourself from the junior pool to the senior pool. But it will be up to you - no company will do it for you, and indeed, with the constant demand for workers who can "hit the ground running" that shows that companies want the benefit of the senior pool without contributing to the succession from the junior pool.

Notes:

1 - Companies who ask what you are making now will usually try to limit you to 10-15% raises with your new position. Part of this is a cultural dislike for people moving up too fast. Victorian literature was full of tales of people who tried to move to another "station in life" and were found out then sent back to the lower classes they came from. This is the sort of mentality you'll find during interviews.

2 - Confidence will get you in the door, but you have to get work done to keep your job.

3 - This is not limited to retirement savings. By age 28-30, you should have about 6 months income saved up for the times when you will be out of work. By 35, you should have more like 12 months saved up. That is your lifeboat and the only way you can survive the ups and downs of the industry. Developers over 40 who get laid off can find it takes 6-12 months to get a replacement job.

4 - Mostly they want protection from the free market, but usually what's happening is that they think they need senior level workers but are only willing to pay junior level wages. So they want some sort of bailout from the government.

alnayyir• 15 years ago

I tripled my income in my last upgrade. Don't cap yourself. Definitely aim for getting at least 15-20% upward motion in the next move though.

khanm• 15 years ago

I look in the mirror the day of my interview and ask myself if I'm worth it and can they afford me period. Look at glassdoor.com for related positions and salaries.

When employers ask you what your expected compensation is, you reply: "what ever industry average is for the job title plus 15%, because I'm worth it"

wait for the awkward silence and add "...are you?"

guaranteed HR says yes.

Ask HN: Calculating salary

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