That’s a salary of about $200k assuming twice monthly paychecks and a 75% tax rate. This is not at all unusual for tech software engineers, though probably not at the entry level. The entry level is a mess right now in general.
Here’s a job posting w base salary of $190k, seeking 3 YOE.
I’ve never hired a software consultant, but most of the time when I hire a company or person to do contract work like roofing, gardening or similar they prefer to be paid by check. Sometimes they accept credit cards, but usually not when the bill is over a certain amount, due to the cut going to the card company.
Furthermore, “Direct Deposit” is basically a special term used for people getting their wages or salary paid to their bank account, as opposed to receiving it by check or cash. Other types of bank-to-bank transfers have different names, like “wire transfer” or “ACH transfer”.
Americans love overcomplicating things in general, and particularly love using overly specific and technical names for stuff. There’s acronyms everywhere, and things are named after weird technicalities. Like nobody says “retirement account”, they call it “401(k)”, named after the paragraph in the law which defines it.
You find stuff like that everywhere if you look. Some of their coins don’t even have a value printed on them, you just have to memorize how much they’re worth.
In Europe (maybe also elsewhere outside the US?) nearly all transactions are simply direct bank transactions. Occasionally facilitated through some app, but usually it’s just your own bank’s app. Nobody has used checks for decades, and the only reason we’re using credit cards is because the US keeps forcing them on us.
Americans love overcomplicating things in general, and particularly love using overly specific and technical names for stuff. There’s acronyms everywhere, and things are named after weird technicalities. Like nobody says “retirement account”, they call it “401(k)”, named after the paragraph in the law which defines it.
As a plus, I can greatly confuse and terrify an Irish person by telling them about the thousands I send “to the old IRA” every year. 😂
Exactly. When I was self employed, my monthly invoice was almost always in the 5 figures. From that you pay your VAT every quarter, save up for income taxes, pay all sorts of insurances, and what you’ve got left is a lot less, but the initial transfer looks very good.
I’m not really sure what your point is. If I bill my guy 8k for the hours I did last month he sends me 8k. I then personally have to buy my own insurance and do my quarterly taxes
Right, which would happen after the direct deposit, so your entire tangent about taxes and insurance seems irrelevant to the meme and conversation involving the amount in the meme.
As far as I know, $150K isn’t less than the median for software engineers in the entire US . It is less than the median for Senior/Lead Software Engineers though, so maybe that still works for you. In a HCOL city, you likely get far more than this amount, but it wouldn’t go nearly as far obviously.
Eh, that looks like typical take home for a staff level engineer in a big city.
Edit:
Assuming they get paid every two weeks, that’s an annual take home of $161,122. Depending on state taxes, insurance coverage, 401k contributions, dependents, etc, that’s a base salary of $200-250k. Which, yeah, that’s what I budget for a staff salary.
Heck, I’d be pulling more than that if I were a self-employed consultant rather than under a consulting firm, in our small city in northern Scandinavia.
Now I’m raking in a little below that, and I’m taking out like a third of it as actual salary and saving the rest, to avoid high taxes, and to to pay for a leased car, pension saving, extra insurance etc, before taxes. But after all that I’m probably saving $3k every month tax free, and maybe $1,5k in my bank account.
Engineering life is pretty okay. Still can’t afford a house yet though. Thanks boomers.
Key phrase is “big city”. I’m a staff and there’s a mid on my team that moved to Seattle. His cost of living adjustment when he moved allows him to make more than I do.
Did he move to a new company site in Seattle or is he working remote now?
If they gave a cost of living increase for moving and allow him to do remote work, please tell me who you work for 😅
I know if I were moving, my company would offer me the option to go remote, because I’m the top performer on my team. But there’s no way they’d give me a cost of living increase to go remote, they don’t even want me to wfh a couple days a week…
That’s not that outrageous as a higher-level IC in a big tech company in a big city. But if you’re that senior you’re not questioning why you became an engineer.
I’d say it is more accurate to say that the typical dev dreams about it ending as a farmer. I only know of a single guy that made it happen, proud of him though!
Oh, you definitely wonder how long you can keep up with the corpo bullshit, but that wasn’t the vibe I was getting from the first panel. That was giving me more of a “junior engineer who can’t get something to work” vibe.
I’ve traded half my pay for more fulfilling work and less corpo bullshit before, but I didn’t quit engineering. I see some people dreaming about leaving it all behind and buying a farm, but what they all had in common was zero farming experience. The grass is always greener and all that.
If you can add AI to your title somehow, that might even be midrange. I was talking to someone who has not been doing this long pushing pretty close to a half million dollar salary and then bonuses on top.
god dam where they getting that
That’s a salary of about $200k assuming twice monthly paychecks and a 75% tax rate. This is not at all unusual for tech software engineers, though probably not at the entry level. The entry level is a mess right now in general.
Here’s a job posting w base salary of $190k, seeking 3 YOE.
If that’s monthly pay, that’s at or below average.
If that’s bi-weekly…fuck I need to up my engineering game.
In the US…
Different in other parts of the world, even in Europe this is a high salary (but it reminds me to still ask for a raise…)
That’s because in Europe you have basic human rights like healthcare or the ability to not work while you’re sick.
Maybe that’s the monthly pay
If do contract work that’s not even that much
True, then insurance and no time off or other benefits would suck.
Accurate. Source: 20 years solo.
It’s only “no time off” if that’s what you want. It’s time off whenever you want (and sometimes when you don’t want).
Contract work is rarely direct deposit, though?
US banking is weird. How would it be paid instead?
I’ve never hired a software consultant, but most of the time when I hire a company or person to do contract work like roofing, gardening or similar they prefer to be paid by check. Sometimes they accept credit cards, but usually not when the bill is over a certain amount, due to the cut going to the card company.
Furthermore, “Direct Deposit” is basically a special term used for people getting their wages or salary paid to their bank account, as opposed to receiving it by check or cash. Other types of bank-to-bank transfers have different names, like “wire transfer” or “ACH transfer”.
Americans love overcomplicating things in general, and particularly love using overly specific and technical names for stuff. There’s acronyms everywhere, and things are named after weird technicalities. Like nobody says “retirement account”, they call it “401(k)”, named after the paragraph in the law which defines it.
You find stuff like that everywhere if you look. Some of their coins don’t even have a value printed on them, you just have to memorize how much they’re worth.
In Europe (maybe also elsewhere outside the US?) nearly all transactions are simply direct bank transactions. Occasionally facilitated through some app, but usually it’s just your own bank’s app. Nobody has used checks for decades, and the only reason we’re using credit cards is because the US keeps forcing them on us.
Plus they are not even logically ordered by size or anything.
As a plus, I can greatly confuse and terrify an Irish person by telling them about the thousands I send “to the old IRA” every year. 😂
Depends on how you do ur billing but yeah it varies
A month!? I know it’s regional but that’s low for a monthly deposit for a contractor!
You’re not accounting for taxes and insurance. You lose way more to both as a self employed individual (at least here in the states)
If you’re a self employed contractor, you’re taking taxes and insurance out yourself, not from what you’d be paid.
Exactly. When I was self employed, my monthly invoice was almost always in the 5 figures. From that you pay your VAT every quarter, save up for income taxes, pay all sorts of insurances, and what you’ve got left is a lot less, but the initial transfer looks very good.
I’m not really sure what your point is. If I bill my guy 8k for the hours I did last month he sends me 8k. I then personally have to buy my own insurance and do my quarterly taxes
Right, which would happen after the direct deposit, so your entire tangent about taxes and insurance seems irrelevant to the meme and conversation involving the amount in the meme.
Reread the thread mate. If you already know that contractos charge more then you shouldn’t be this confused
Yeah that’s a very big monthly pay
no it’s not. at least where i live, it’s considered poor.
deleted by creator
$150,000/yr (yes big, less than median for software engineers in the US) is $2k/week, $8k/month
What
I’m moving there the second the orange guy gets thrown out of the White House
$2k/month is considered a very good salary in my country
Btw how does 8k/ month make 150k/year? Do you get bonuses or shares or whatever? I heard that they give shares to employees in the US
As far as I know, $150K isn’t less than the median for software engineers in the entire US . It is less than the median for Senior/Lead Software Engineers though, so maybe that still works for you. In a HCOL city, you likely get far more than this amount, but it wouldn’t go nearly as far obviously.
8k/month is 96k/year. Just multiply by 12
this is about a deposit so it’s take home
401k etc makes this fuzzy
How dare you question his math?! He gets paid 96k /150k for that!
They said the US. Ao mathing is hard.
Nah, that’s a normal paycheck for a medium level engineer in any American big city.
Nay, daily.
Eh, that looks like typical take home for a staff level engineer in a big city.
Edit: Assuming they get paid every two weeks, that’s an annual take home of $161,122. Depending on state taxes, insurance coverage, 401k contributions, dependents, etc, that’s a base salary of $200-250k. Which, yeah, that’s what I budget for a staff salary.
I think for a SF based company 200 - 250k salary is typical for even a senior engineer.
Monthly it’s about what I’d expect for a low-medium experience engineer. But I’m an industrial engineer not software.
Heck, I’d be pulling more than that if I were a self-employed consultant rather than under a consulting firm, in our small city in northern Scandinavia.
Now I’m raking in a little below that, and I’m taking out like a third of it as actual salary and saving the rest, to avoid high taxes, and to to pay for a leased car, pension saving, extra insurance etc, before taxes. But after all that I’m probably saving $3k every month tax free, and maybe $1,5k in my bank account.
Engineering life is pretty okay. Still can’t afford a house yet though. Thanks boomers.
Key phrase is “big city”. I’m a staff and there’s a mid on my team that moved to Seattle. His cost of living adjustment when he moved allows him to make more than I do.
Did he move to a new company site in Seattle or is he working remote now?
If they gave a cost of living increase for moving and allow him to do remote work, please tell me who you work for 😅
I know if I were moving, my company would offer me the option to go remote, because I’m the top performer on my team. But there’s no way they’d give me a cost of living increase to go remote, they don’t even want me to wfh a couple days a week…
That’s not that outrageous as a higher-level IC in a big tech company in a big city. But if you’re that senior you’re not questioning why you became an engineer.
There’s a reason the typical dev career pipeline ends at farmer. People get tired of all the bs and leave never to be seen again.
I’d say it is more accurate to say that the typical dev dreams about it ending as a farmer. I only know of a single guy that made it happen, proud of him though!
What is a farmer as a dev?
Literal farmer. In the dirt.
deleted by creator
I mean, you definitely do. I know numerous people that dropped the field entirely (including me) even though the pay is ridiculous.
Oh, you definitely wonder how long you can keep up with the corpo bullshit, but that wasn’t the vibe I was getting from the first panel. That was giving me more of a “junior engineer who can’t get something to work” vibe.
I’ve traded half my pay for more fulfilling work and less corpo bullshit before, but I didn’t quit engineering. I see some people dreaming about leaving it all behind and buying a farm, but what they all had in common was zero farming experience. The grass is always greener and all that.
I also left, the industry is toxic right now. Circus for me
Already farming?
Woodworking, close enough?
Mr Offerman?
Same ballpark yeah
I approve of this.
Sometimes it is just a really intense garden.
Lockheed Martin
Lol they are not
Mechanical Engineer (union) with 20 years experience, slightly underpaid at $76.33/hr in (just north of the) Seattle area.
It doesn’t say it’s salary. A lot of companies pay out bonuses right around now.
That’s on the high end, but not so high it’s uncommon, for a salary paid biweekly to a senior engineer.
I know, and I mentioned that in another thread. The first panel in the comic was giving junior engineer vibes, though.
California. It goes with high cost of living.
If you can add AI to your title somehow, that might even be midrange. I was talking to someone who has not been doing this long pushing pretty close to a half million dollar salary and then bonuses on top.
After taxes that’s like 300k salary.
Closer to $200-$250K depending on how much you withhold for 401k.