Most lucrative area of Software Engineering

[Anonymous]

[quote=AN][quote=deadzone]Why not? If I made 175K I would be proud of it. If we can find an actual real person on this board who makes that salary, they can call BS on FLUs flawed take home pay calculation.

Your data points aren’t tangible examples so of no value to my specific question.[/quote]Not everyone is like you.

Why would my data points aren’t tangible? It’s a direct answer to your question. Some people would be will to state their pay when it’s anonymous. Which is exactly what my data show. Why does it matter if one of the people here is making that much and be strictly technical?[/quote]

That website is not tangible, for among other reasons, because there is no details about the actual work being performed for that salary. Those individuals could be managers, project leads, etc. you don’t know.

Again, obviously there is nobody on this thread who can provide a concrete answer. The whole point of this thread is the poster wants to know what specific engineering job they can get that pays 175K or more. I say that is unrealistic salary unless you go into management. If you guys have specific information about jobs/companies that pay that salary, why not divulge it to help the guy out?

[no_such_reality]

How is someone putting money in a roth with a base salary of $169K and other $33K in bonus?

As for the hypo paycheck, sorry, but $2000 going into the 401K, Roth 401K and ESPP every two weeks which is a $52K a year savings rate. $26K a year of which is going into stock purchase.

Yea, definitely do it, but don’t claim the take home is minuscule because those stock purchases can be rolled immediately.

[bearishgurl]

flu, if the checkstub you posted was YOUR old checkstub, it must have been from a job in the bay area. SD companies don’t pay like that … especially years ago.

Yeah, I agree about the low net pay. Even gov’mt lawyers were making that net pay (and lower) back when I worked with them ~15 years ago, mostly due to heavy deductions for dependent medical plans (spouses were very expensive) and their 457 plans. Especially the ones who were planning on “retiring” in <10 years.

Yes, I also brown-bagged my lunch every day for three decades as did most of my co-workers (including attorneys). Lunch (and dtn pkg) eat up a LOT of money every week while trying to support a family. We only got $60 month for a parking stipend on our paychecks when dtn parking cost $110 to $150 month around the year 2000. OR, you could apply the stipend to the cost of a monthly bus/trolley pass but I never did because I used ~3 lunches per week to conduct all my family's errands so I could ensure picking up my kid(s) from daycare/after-school care by 6:00 pm. (I routinely kept an ice chest in the trunk.) I'm sure the stipend is higher today for current workers but so is downtown parking and a monthly bus/trolley pass. So it's all relative.

[bibsoconner]

It seems like we digressed a bit from the original main question … or what I understood as the main question. Which are the most lucrative areas of Software Engineering. I’m a C# software engineer working (these days) at a medical device company. Salary (not total compensation) is $125K. Perhaps it’s a case of “the grass is always greener”, but I heard (1) firmware engineers and (2) software engineers specializing in bioinformatics make the big bucks, have the glamorous lifestyle and get all the girls :). Anyone care to comment? And any hints on breaking into these fields? For (2) perhaps the free courses on edx and coursera?

My motivation is not so much more money, but rather I’m bored after more years than I care to admit doing C#!
Thanks,
Dave

[meadandale]

[quote=flu][quote=deadzone]Sorry but you are not going to make 175K as an Engineer in San Diego. For that kind of pay you will need to be in management of some sort. If anybody has example to the contrary, I would be interested in hearing the details (i.e. what company and job).[/quote]

Not to make you feel bad, but you would be wrong.[/quote]

+1

[meadandale]

[quote=deadzone][quote=AN][quote=deadzone]Why not? If I made 175K I would be proud of it. If we can find an actual real person on this board who makes that salary, they can call BS on FLUs flawed take home pay calculation.

Your data points aren’t tangible examples so of no value to my specific question.[/quote]Not everyone is like you.

Why would my data points aren’t tangible? It’s a direct answer to your question. Some people would be will to state their pay when it’s anonymous. Which is exactly what my data show. Why does it matter if one of the people here is making that much and be strictly technical?[/quote]

That website is not tangible, for among other reasons, because there is no details about the actual work being performed for that salary. Those individuals could be managers, project leads, etc. you don’t know.

Again, obviously there is nobody on this thread who can provide a concrete answer. The whole point of this thread is the poster wants to know what specific engineering job they can get that pays 175K or more. I say that is unrealistic salary unless you go into management. If you guys have specific information about jobs/companies that pay that salary, why not divulge it to help the guy out?[/quote]

There are good jobs out there but you have to look. It helps to have contacts. I’ve been doing contract java server side work for almost a decade now. They’ve all been long term gigs with as much stability as if I was a FT employee.

The job I just left was paying $110/hr. I pay myself $80k/year and put $38k into a Keogh (self employed 401k) every year.

If someone tells you “no one in San Diego is paying $170k” they don’t know what they are talking about.

Another option, which I’ve also engaged in, is to find a contract with a company in the Bay Area that will allow you to work remotely with occasional travel (i.e. maybe a couple times a year). Talent in the Bay Area is heavily taxed right now and there is major demand. My current contract is with a company in San Bruno and I work out of my home office full time.

[Anonymous]

[quote=no_such_reality]How is someone putting money in a roth with a base salary of $169K and other $33K in bonus?

As for the hypo paycheck, sorry, but $2000 going into the 401K, Roth 401K and ESPP every two weeks which is a $52K a year savings rate. $26K a year of which is going into stock purchase.

Yea, definitely do it, but don’t claim the take home is minuscule because those stock purchases can be rolled immediately.[/quote]

Exactly.

Thanks FLU by the way for the detailed pay stub example, that is good info.

But yeah complaining about not enough take home pay when you are contributing way above and beyond in the optional savings plans is a whole nother thing.

I’m not suggesting it is a bad idea, but maybe overkill. The person in that pay stub is clearly an extreme saver/wait for a rainy day kind of guy. Particularly the ROTH IRA contributions. Maxing out 401K makes sense, although for me I only contribute enough to get full employer matching.

[no_such_reality]

As a tech manager type in Orange County, that far away northern frontier, I’ll tell you I’ve hired tech centric role people making $175k comp

Common no, rare no. realistic yes. Boatloads making 140 ish base with 15-20% baseline bonus, stock options great 401k match, healthcare contribution that was a pittance eta

[exsdgal]

deadzone,

[quote]
…
to consistently command higher pay one needs a broad experience in multiple disciplines – server app, client app, responsive design, database, aws/cloud management, high availability server maintenance, trouble shooting, data analysis to list the basics.

…
For example the ruby/node.js, ios/android guys (and gals) making high figures today typically started when the sdk’s and platforms were in version 0.x.
[/quote]

Other potential industries
– experienced in tera, preferably peta bytes of data
– sequencing, biometrics (these probably difficult to migrate to unless there is excellent chemistry and associated knowledge)

Obviously this is based on my narrow industry specific knowledge and is no guarantee it will continue to be the case. And some of the positions do require specializations, and all the above examples are for pure software development in SD.

For the sake of completeness, here is a screenshot from my tax prep documents for last year. Haven’t updated the doc for the new year… but still….
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yLaiTsIJ1rVhvmpXzZ9xSqKkfj6_wdzrQwVCnbZjOIs/edit?usp=sharing

And please don’t say this is not an acceptable documentation… for I don’t have the time to fudge the details 🙂

I don’t know why I still get offended by statements like this, and get pulled into a quagmire *sigh*

[quote]
And at my last company…there was an INTERN, she barely knew WTF she was doing and she was paid $95k and did I mention she was an Intern??[/quote]

[Coronita]

[quote=exsdgal][quote=flu]
Lol How the are you even doing that? [/quote]

flu, you caught me! The correct response should have been 6-8K a month. Towards the end of the year the take home is about 4K/pay, and next month it will be roughly 3K. For the first time this year the 401k was not fully maxed out, to increase take home for other activities. What is ESPP? 🙂 No such lux deuries here.

Like I mentioned earlier it is good on paper, but for day to day expenses it is not much. I will be happy to have a 1K monthly expenses, and most months if I don’t watch out the cc bills land almost double. In my situation the deductions are roughly 50% of the salary. One could argue this 50% deduction includes the 401k contributions, which is theoretically mine. However I don’t get to use it when I need it, and also will pay tax on the distributions. (Yeah I can hear some say why not Roth401k – again not everyone gets these options)

The first job after graduation in the 90’s was at 37K in SD, writing about it makes me pause how much things have changed. The pay today may not necessarily be far fetched when adjusted for inflation. (I am sure there is an app for that!) Besides the inflation adjusted pay, I also attribute some of the career success to timing. Being some place at the right time, and jumping at opportunities with eyes closed. I guess youth offered some such luxuries. I don’t believe I was ever at the highest pay scale in any company, but over time definitely moved to the middle of the pack.

Things are a bit different now being a single W2 family. But even with a dual W2 in the past I did not feel rich enough to afford some of the things in San Diego especially housing. I remember when the Bel Etage/Savannah developments were released, I could not compute how it was possible for anyone to maintain the monthly expenses. Thinking back those homes were a steal at 500-800. Eventually moved to a <1500 sqft house inland and happy with the decisions made so far.

IMO moving forward the job market will be different with lot of non-W2 earners, folks starting businesses, young graduates creating their own businesses and not following the traditional 9-5 jobs. I think the current generation values their mobility and sense of presence higher than conforming to tradition. Over the years they will create their own ecosystem to thrive, and define their destiny. Combined with burgeoning global economy I except many from this next generation to blur the borders and start/build global small scale eco-friendly companies. It may not be far fetched when other countries begin to 'complain' about the Americans taking up prized RE in their home country :-)[/quote]

Lol. My first job in San Diego was $37.5 at Qualcomm back in 96. I was like wow, that's s lot of money. Then I went to the bay area, because a startup offered me $60k. I gave up 4000 shares of stock options doing that. Big mistake....huge! Just another reason why you don't chase only after the salary.

[Coronita]

[quote=no_such_reality]How is someone putting money in a roth with a base salary of $169K and other $33K in bonus?

As for the hypo paycheck, sorry, but $2000 going into the 401K, Roth 401K and ESPP every two weeks which is a $52K a year savings rate. $26K a year of which is going into stock purchase.

Yea, definitely do it, but don’t claim the take home is minuscule because those stock purchases can be rolled immediately.[/quote]

Roth 401k is not the same thing as a Roth IRA. The former is an employee sponsored plan. You can contribute up to $18000/year this year or any portion of it and split it with a traditional 401k. The caveat is the deductions are completely after tax, which is a bit of a sting. Also, there is no guarantee that earnings from it in the future won’t really be taxed. Which is why I split my contributions between a traditional 401k and Roth 401k. The traditional 401k contribution is to defer my taxable income and lower my bracket in the present day. Employer match is always to a traditional IRA, which currently my employer has at 4% I think.

[Coronita]

[quote=no_such_reality]How is someone putting money in a roth with a base salary of $169K and other $33K in bonus?

As for the hypo paycheck, sorry, but $2000 going into the 401K, Roth 401K and ESPP every two weeks which is a $52K a year savings rate. $26K a year of which is going into stock purchase.

Yea, definitely do it, but don’t claim the take home is minuscule because those stock purchases can be rolled immediately.[/quote]

The stock can not be rolled immediately. Espp usually has a 6month waiting window, and if you do withdraw early, you will be locked out of the plan for the duration of the offering period. And when you do sell, before 2 years you will be taxed at ordinary income which is roughly 30-35% I believe, fed and state.

[bobby]

[quote=kev374][quote=bobby]
1.she’s a daughter of the CEO, COO, VP, managing director (it’s not what you know, it’s who you know)
2. she’s a superstar and they want to recruit her (ie your assessment of her is wrong)
3. your skill is just a little more than hers, hence your slightly higher pay (see first line of my post)
4. you don’t know how to negotiate your salary despite being a much superior coder
[/quote]

#1 is wrong, she is not
#2 is wrong, she eventually got laid off because she was so bad and the manager could not take it anymore
#3 is wrong because I know people in my field at my level who actually make less than me
#4 is wrong because of #3, I am making more than a lot of my peers and am at least in the 75-80th percentile of the pay for my position.

I am not saying I am not compensated according to the market, what I am saying is that the MARKET itself does not pay according to the difficulty level of the job compared to other jobs I know that need less expertise and pay more.[/quote]

I don’t get it then. You make more than a lot of your peers yet your are stating that you are not making as much as your peers.

but you know and I know that life isn’t fair.
I’m in medicine. some subspecialty, such as derm, is relatively easy and pays a whole bunch. Internal medicine is complicated and pays a pittance (relative to derm). If you want easy life and more money, go into a subspecialty. Some docs going to disagree but this is general consensus.
If something else is easy and pays more, go do that. Why stay in your field then complain?

[no_such_reality]

Thanks regarding Roth 401k. Never heard of them before.

ESPP varies by company, I’ve seen them run as quickly as quarterly, where we bought shares at 15% below the lower of the quarterly starting price and the quarterly ending price. Shares where immediately sellable upon receipt, which took about 2 business days to show up in your account once established with tax benefits if held 2 years (that whole below market buy was free if held two years), whole not available thing really amounted to three months of with holdings. Once you have the stock you can sell without getting locked out.

And yes, it’s a pretty big tax incentive to sit on the stock for two years when you bought it $40 and its trading at $50 or $60. Because with ESPP that early sale gets reported as income on your W2′ Make sure your tax guy doesn’t double report it

[quote=flu]

The stock can not be rolled immediately. Espp usually has a 6month waiting window, and if you do withdraw early, you will be locked out of the plan for the duration of the offering period. And when you do sell, before 2 years you will be taxed at ordinary income which is roughly 30-35% I believe, fed and state.[/quote]

Apples to apples with other wage slaves, just compare discretionary after state and fed taxes. Everything else is variable. At high income, ESPP, 401k, deferred comp, you can’t afford to say no too but they can crimp on a monthly run.

[cvmom]

[quote=meadandale][quote=flu][quote=deadzone]Sorry but you are not going to make 175K as an Engineer in San Diego. For that kind of pay you will need to be in management of some sort. If anybody has example to the contrary, I would be interested in hearing the details (i.e. what company and job).[/quote]

Not to make you feel bad, but you would be wrong.[/quote]

+1[/quote]

+2

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