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Ask HN: What does the path to being a $250k developer look like?

24 points by beamatronic ↗ HN
If you are a typical developer, and let say you are in the $150-160k range, what does it take to get to the next level?

You've probably already done some professional networking, written some technical articles for your company or customers, gotten a ton of recommendations on LinkedIn, contributed to visible projects on GitHub, and survived some production deployments/Go-Lives.

At that point is it more about "who you know" than "what you know"? Is it self-promotion that really makes the difference? Into what areas would you direct your energies?

16 comments

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hcho
>You've probably already done some professional networking, written some technical articles for your company or customers, gotten a ton of recommendations on LinkedIn, contributed to visible projects on GitHub, and survived some production deployments/Go-Lives.

None of that really. At least the ones I know don't do any of that.

Here's what they do. They negotiate hard. Every job move, every annual review, they negotiate tooth and nail. Over time they become expensive. The more expensive they are, the more critical stuff gets assigned to them. The more critical stuff they handle and successfully deliver, the more chips they have on the next negotiation.

JSeymourATL
>Into what areas would you direct your energies?

Classic advice from Richard Hamming on life & work. What are the most important problems in your field? Are you working on one of them? ... Why not?

Here's a video presentation from 1995> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw

MortenK
High-end contracting within not-so-common software and / or specific business domains.

The contracts are often very long (some many years) and the rates are sufficiently high to get you to 250K and beyond, even after accounting for sickdays, medical insurance, pension, vacation etc.

You can get there through experience in specific technologies like SAS CRM, SAP, Salesforce etc, meaning tech's that are not so common without necessarily being completely niche. You can also get there as a generalist developer with exceptional experience in a business domain like automotive, finance, retail or whatever.

The rates can get extreme when the developer is specialized in both a specific technology and business domain.

A specialist in marketing automation + finance for example or datawarehousing + retail etc.

seasoup
Get a job at Google, Apple, ms, Facebook. Salary is in range with what you list plus RSUs make up the difference.
ForHackernews
Are 'typical' developers really in the $150-$160k range? I'm apparently shockingly underpaid.
dangrossman
The average software developer in the US earns $86K. The "$150-160K" range is more than even the top 10% highest paid developers average according to Labor Department reports. HN's userbase is atypical.
Jeremy1026
I'm still underpaid apparently.
dangrossman
Perhaps. Half of all software developers earn less than average. Cost of living isn't uniform.
Avalaxy
> Half of all software developers earn less than average

No, less than median.

dragonwriter
The median is an average, and either it or the mode (but not the mean, arithmetic or otherwise) is an average that makes sense with the words used as to which "average" is referred to when someone says "the average software developer in the US makes $X per year". (Any of the three, including a mean, would make sense if someone said "the average annual pay of a software developer in the US is $X". Of course, this is one way in which people are sloppy with language, so even though it doesn't make sense, people will still use the first construction and mean the arithmetic mean.)
gt565k
Making 125k in San Fran is worse than making 85k in Atlanta.
joesmo
In the Bay Area, NYC, and other cities to a lesser extent, yes.
philjr
The quickest way to get to that money is contracting, but it is possible through more traditional employment but you're going to have to probably do 2 things, unless you're willing to wait for some good luck

1. Find yourself a niche. Expert in X where X isn't just a programming language. Build relevant domain expertise which means people who are hiring you are hiring your experience as well as your skillset and you get to stop them running down rabbit holes. e.g. Java programmer who's built large real time streaming systems with Spark. Find a niche that's hot where lots of companies are looking for that expertise.

2. Be fairly mercenary with pay and job. Holding out for higher offers, setting expectations with recruiters early in the process about your salary expectations etc. Ask for exactly what you want.

If you're on $160k now, walk in and ask for $190k with a view to taking that for a year or two and then looking for $220 or $240k. Don't wait for the employer to give you a figure. Set that expectation with the recruiter early so they're not wasting your time. Be aware on that kinda money, employers are going to expect big things and in lots of cases will expect more than just coding.

I realise this is may be very obvious, but you will literally be optimizing for money. That could lead you in to shitty situations / companies. Personally I'd caution against that for most people. However, I understand money can sometimes be the most important hole in peoples lives with certain personal / debt situations, so I don't mean to judge.

If you are assessing your self worth against your paycheck though, this route won't satisfy you!

gavanwoolery
Sometimes (albeit rarely) it is luck. I was offered $400k/year to be a CTO at a big (yet relatively unknown) company. Most of my other job offers have not been above $200k.
gadders
Get a good level of experience and knowledge of what you do (not necessarily guru level, but solid) and become a contractor in an investment bank.

For a decent C#/Python/Java developer, £600/day is not exceptional. If you know a niche business, trading system or quant-level maths you can get more.

gesman
Being high-paid "pure" developer is possible but not recommended. Developers from the top management perspective are seen as expense/liability, not an asset (surprise!).

That means that as soon as things go south for company, business or industry - you'll be the first to let go with heartwarming "You're great, but sorry - we cannot afford you any more".

You'll need to establish your uniqueness, expertise and visibility within industry and within the company (and in this order) to have solid foundation behind high income.

Otherwise luck of getting high salary offer may run out soon.

Also - try to stay above the head of your immediate managers and be in direct connection and communication with decision makers and present yourself as unique problem solver and solution builder to them.

Quite often developers are too narrow focused on technologies and neither seeing nor participating in bigger visions.