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What's a Fair Salary for a Junior Full-Stack Engineer at a YC Startup?

1 points by sandibi13 ↗ HN
Hi HN,

I’m an 18-year-old self-taught software engineer passionate about startups and solving real-world problems with tech. I’ve built SaaS platforms and web apps, including a financial advisor SaaS currently in beta.

I’m exploring junior full-stack engineering roles at YC startups and want to understand:

    What’s a reasonable base salary for someone at my level?
    How flexible should I be with compensation, especially for early-stage startups?
For context:

    I have experience in frontend, backend, and AI/ML development.
    I’m eager to work in high-impact environments and am open to working at a competitive rate if the role is exciting enough.
I’d love to hear insights from founders or anyone with experience hiring for these roles. Feel free to reach out if you’re looking for a junior engineer—I’d be happy to contribute to your mission!

Thanks in advance for your advice!

4 comments

[ 4.3 ms ] story [ 14.9 ms ] thread
qwer1234321
Not YC founder and I have no data to give you advice on monetary values. However. In my area, if you advertise yourself as junior you are setting yourself to be paid junior rates- scout LinkedIn, career pages for companies you are interested in, and whatever other sources to get a feel of what juniors are paid. Some companies (not all) hire juniors due to budget reasons. Having said this, it's all in your hands and circumstances- target the figure you want to earn and weight your circumstances, if you are not in need for money you can prioritise getting good entries in your CV, if you prefer to hunt at expense of time- do it. Good luck!
sandibi13
Thanks for the advice! You’re absolutely right—labeling myself as "junior" might unintentionally pigeonhole my value, and I’ll keep that in mind moving forward.

I’m definitely prioritizing experience and impactful entries on my CV over immediate financial gain at this stage, especially if it means working on meaningful projects with great mentors.

I’ll take your suggestion to scout LinkedIn and company career pages to better understand the market rates. Do you think it’s better to negotiate salary upfront or prove my value first, especially if I’m open to competitive pay for the right opportunity?

Thanks again for the thoughtful reply—it really helps!

qwer1234321
From experience I'd risk to say that whatever you get initially will be hard (not impossible but hard) to change later, so I'd always try to negotiate terms to be as comfortable as possible before I join.