What Every New Software Developer Should Know About Salary
Jun 1, 2018 | 6 minutes read
Money Matters!
Money is why we work, period. And yes, we want to also make the world a better place and have purpose in our lives. But money matters! And even if you do not care that much about how much money you’re making, what you ask for in exchange for your services affects all software developers. So this is important!
Here are a list of items I wish I knew when I started my career in software.
1) Hard work, long hours != More money
When I started my career, all I wanted to do was impress my peers and supervisors. I worked long hours without anyone asking. I studied documentation and read articles on the technologies that I was working with over the weekends. I did this all without my boss knowing, which was a big mistake.
If this sounds like you stop it now!
There are a few issues with this approach.
Don’t do this for your boss. If you really like learning and working on what you’re assigned to, work on this for YOU. Do not do this in hopes for a big raise.
If your boss does not know that you do these things then they will not value it. If you’re going for the raise, ensure you are doing things that your boss thinks is valuable. Some bosses may think that reading documentation about frameworks and languages on the weekends so you can be more productive during the week is valuable. If so, make sure they know you’re doing this. Log the time in whatever time tracking software your company uses. Make sure to casually mention it during morning stand-ups. Make sure you don’t sound too braggy, but mention that you were able to solve problem x because you studied it over the weekend. If they seem to not care about this, then stop before you create resentment between you and your boss.
When your company actually needs you to work the weekend, you’re going to be pissed. Especially if you’re coming off of a 60 hour week that you made yourself work. Again, if your boss does not know that you just worked a 60 hour week, then that’s not their fault! Also, if they did not ask you to work 60 hours the week before, then that’s not fair to them! I know that there exists bosses that force their devs to work until their fingertips are numb. But in my experience, I have never had one that expects, and asks for regular 60 hour weeks from me. All of mine have been pretty rational. But most of the moments when I felt burnout were because I placed pressure on myself to accomplish something.
I know there are exceptions to everything. But, the people I worked for would rather have someone that can put in the extra work when they really need it, as opposed to someone that burns themselves out and then complains when the extra effort is called for.
2) Start how you want to finish
Most of the time, if you start at a low salary, then you’ll forever be underpaid. Managers think in terms of percentages when it comes to raises. And the average raise is about 3%. This means if you start off making $45 K / year, then the next year, on average you get get paid roughly $46.3 K / year, which is a raise worth $1,300. But if you were to start off at $50 K / year and get a 3% raise then that’ll put you at $51.5 K / year, which is a bump of $1,500. So, not only are your raises bigger if you start higher, but that’ll compound over the course of your career.
Also, another thing that I get asked when interviewing at new jobs is my current salary. It’s always good to be truthful when your prospective employers asks this since they might want to verify this later. They do this because they will base your offer off of what you’re currently making. So if you are making $60K a year and have 5 years of experience, then they might offer you $65K, which is a decent jump, but would keep you being underpaid.
Because of this, it’s super-important that you start as high as you can, as early as you can in your career or you’ll spend the rest of your career trying to catch your salary back up. Being stuck getting underpaid is not where you want to be.
3) Sometimes you have to just move on
If you work somewhere that hasn’t given you a raise in several years, you need to ask for it. If you feel like you’re underpaid, but they refuse to give you a raise, then one of two things could be true. Or maybe both:
The company literally doesn’t have the capital to give you more money.
They don’t think you are worth that much, period.
If they don’t think you’re worth that much, then there’s not much you can do. You might be able to change their mind by working harder and studying up. But in all honesty, it might be faster to just change jobs. I admit that at one point I was a crappy employee before I became a software developer. I was much younger and idiotic. I realized the error in my ways so I started working harder and coming to work earlier, but at that point my supervisors saw me as the employee that I was in the past. I couldn’t change that no matter how hard I tried. Eventually I moved locations and at my new workplace I excelled. This may be something that you have to do if you are no longer valued and want to propel your career forward.
4) Know your worth
Do your research! Know what the average pay is for your area, for your job title. Hit up every site you can find to get an accurate number. Here are a list of sites you can visit to get a grasp on how much you should be making:
When you are looking at these sites make sure that you’re actually looking at your job title or the closet title that fits your responsibilities. Also, always adjust for your area. Going to this site will help you determine what the salary adjustment would be for your area.
And if all else fails, just ask on Reddit.
5) Employers will always pay the minimum amount possible
Don’t get your feelings hurt by this. It makes perfect sense. You’re likely working for a business. One of the main goals of a business is to spend as little money as possible to make as much money as possible. Their main goal is not to put money into your pockets. That is your responsibility. Their responsibility is to make the business profitable.
I do still want the business I work for to thrive. I really do. But, I have a family and they are my number 1 priority. I want the business to thrive and be successful, but not more than my family and I. Keep in mind that if you don’t prioritize your life and goals, then there’s a chance that the business you work for won’t either.
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