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sorry, you are mistaken. Normal is $120,000/yr because that is what people are making. It's demand and supply... there aren't enough people with that skillset because some of these technologies have VERY steep learning curves.
I'm sure some people are making $120k/year, but that is in no sense the norm for someone with 5~10 years experience. Payscale has the salary range of this experience level at $72k~$96k.
PayScale - Sr. Software Engineer / Developer / Programmer Salary, Average Salaries by Years Experience (http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Sr._Software_Engineer_%2f_Developer_%2f_Progra mmer/Salary/by_Years_Experience - broken link)
I don't find any of the things that were mentioned to be particularly difficult to learn, pretty run of the mill Java development stuff. They are most likely just looking for someone to do basic stuff.
6 years of experience is not a "very experienced developer". $120k/year is on the high end even for a Senior developer.
It says 10 years experience total, and while I'd agree 120k is high for a developer salary for a 6 month contract position the hourly rate is usually higher than a comparable annual salary.
$70k is a good salary in the United States. i don't see the problem here. are you suggesting that this skillset is particularly rare? i am no expert but it looks like Java, plus a bunch of java libraries, not something rare and unusual.
$70k is a good salary in the United States. i don't see the problem here. are you suggesting that this skillset is particularly rare? i am no expert but it looks like Java, plus a bunch of java libraries, not something rare and unusual.
Again, it's not something you look at compared to a salaried employee of a company like a software developer working at Boeing making $70k. This is a six month contracting gig, it is paid hourly, and there are likely no benefits. The salary guy has vacation, sick time, health insurance, life insurance, and the (relative) security of being a full time employee.
And yes, that is a pretty wide skillset for that many specifics in that ad.
I'm sure some people are making $120k/year, but that is in no sense the norm for someone with 5~10 years experience. Payscale has the salary range of this experience level at $72k~$96k.
$120k/yr is for the Los Angeles metro area, salaries are highly dependent on location... in case you didn't notice the house that costs $200k in Texas costs $700k here so they can't expect to be paid the same otherwise nobody would live here!
Goto salary.com and plug in Los Angeles and job description Sr. Java Developer, then take base+bonus for 50th percentile, that is how I arrived at the figure. It's not some random number but what companies are actually paying people.
Apparently the free market thinks such skills are deserving of that salary...
$120k/yr is for the Los Angeles metro area, salaries are highly dependent on location... in case you didn't notice the house that costs $200k in Texas costs $700k here so they can't expect to be paid the same otherwise nobody would live here!
Yeah, its too high for the Los Angeles area (which I'm in) as well. Companies don't pay wildly different salaries based on location, if a developer in Texas was much cheaper than California why would any business hire in California?
In case you did not notice the expensive houses in Los Angeles are not a reflection of higher wages, but rather state policies that have inflated housing costs. The median income in Los Angeles is around $37k where as it is $40k in Dallas. The lower real estate costs in Texas have nothing to do with lower wages.
Quote:
Originally Posted by k374
Goto salary.com and plug in Los Angeles and job description Sr. Java Developer, then take base+bonus for 50th percentile, that is how I arrived at the figure.
Most seniors developers in the LA area make less than $120k, including bonuses, etc is another figure. More than likely this company is labeling it a "senior position" when it really is not. Most senior developers aren't taking contract positions in the first place..
But its not surprising to see wages weaken in Los Angeles, there is little reason for a company to do development work in Los Angeles instead of other areas that are both cheaper and more business friendly.
If this company is paying below market then they will not find the person they need and will, sooner or later be forced to up the offer. Whether salaries/rates in this area are "too high" or "too low" is neither here nor there. The market will determine what they should be based on supply and demand.
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