Ask HN: Would anyone find this system fair?

The company is not tech enough to know the difference?

Your coworkers aren't "overpaid", you're underpaid.

Are you paid well relative to what you could make if you did jump ship? You mention that your coworkers are over-paid, but not specifically that you are underpaid.

> The others have little to no experience.

> I do all of the project planning, code reviews, bug fixes, requests etc.

The other devs should also be assigned some of the simpler of these tasks to grow their skills so that eventually they too can get step bumps.

In my experience, non-technical managers underestimate the importance of Senior devs / leaders / mentors. They might have the assumption that those folks are as replaceable as Jr. devs, when that is not accurate. The switching cost for a Sr. contributor is far higher.

It’s a tough job market and as a recruiter I can tell you that a series of short stints isn’t a good look. But, you will probably find more appreciation and respect with a tech company or a tech manager / owner who understands the importance of your contributions.

Good luck.

Fair is for fools or those genuinely content with the averaging (I have been both.)

To start with, there are different definitions of fairness. A small example: everybody gets equal, everybody gets what they deserve, everybody gets what they need. An so on.

It's very hard to answer this as my definition of "fair" is probably different to yours. However, we live in a free world. The company's rules are clear and nobody is forced to work there. Seems fair in some sense to me.

I personally wouldn't be happy with this arrangement as I would probably seek a little bit more appreciation of my experience and position.

So you’re not on the same level, so you get paid more? Except you don’t? That’s a contradiction.

I’d start applying and interviewing elsewhere, and once you have an offer, decide which one you’d rather do. If you’re not happy where you’re at, don’t wait, start making a plan B now

You have 3 choices: live with it, go elsewhere or start some nuclear war trying to change it. Since you’re alone unhappy your situation will be way worse afterwards. And you will leave anyway.

This is the line I have a bit of trouble with. You shouldn't try to bring others down to feel better about making more, you should see what they're being paid and realize you are worth more. Outline this in asking for compensation adjustment, or begin to look elsewhere. If you can't find a role making more, just try not to let what others make bother you. At the end of the day you are the only one looking out for you - so invest more in doing that, and try to spend less worrying about others. Their making more or less will have little to no impact on your personal career progression.

That right there is what makes you a senior. Make sure your work, your performance, and your track-record in levelling up your coworkers is well-documented, and use that to justify your bump and bonus. There is a chance that it doesn't work - in that case you have a year (or more) of experience with leading teams and mentoring coworkers that you can take to your next gig.

With regards to either or not things are fair, it is very possible that the business doesn't understand the value of the work your team does. It might be worth finding out what it is they do value and either trying to provide it or - if you can't directly provide it - enabling those who do provide it.

In either case, since you are going to be at this job for a while, it's a good opportunity to focus on fattening up your resume with those soft skills that often don't come easy but are valuable.

You could even list both titles on your CV for one length of time at the company, and just let people assume you progressed to senior rather than 'regressed'.

But ideally/presumably that doesn't happen - use it as negotiating point I mean - you can say you're honestly willing to be demoted, because it's going to spare you work, to the detriment of the company, with no loss in pay. Hard to imagine they wouldn't see sense and pay you more, and if not, try to shrug and enjoy the 'easy ticket'? (Especially since you phrase it as them being overpaid, not you under, so you'd presumably be happy with that.)

Get a new job. There's no solution here because management does not respect your effort.

Focus on your own career, do whats good for you, don't look at what others are making. There are plenty of people in your situation making less than their coworkers instead of the same

You spend your time in a different manner than they do, something that takes less skill (in terms of programming), but more skill in terms of non-programming. It's just different work, not more important or less.

Could you do all the work if they left? If not, you have to acknowledge their contributions to the company.

The only thing that matters is whether or not you feel like you are being compensated fairly for the value you bring.

I fully understand the sensation of feeling sick at how much someone else gets but it's really important to your own happiness to consider your situation on an absolute basis rather than relative to others.

This is what is described in "Liar's Poker" as "ever-increasing levels of relative poverty" and if you let it get to you it will really knaw away at you.

If you are in a system that has put a ceiling on your ability to contribute or has put a ceiling on the price they are willing to pay for your contributions, and this bothers you, then you should find somewhere else to work.

Capitalism doesn't care what you think you deserve.

You're underpaid.

If you're their senior, you need compensation that reflects this difference. Otherwise, there's no point in being their senior.