i work as an app dev in a small town in the Midwest and make 65k (local wage level 2) at a local non profit. COL is very low here (monthly expenses = 1k and savings = 3k). I'm new to this app, and can't help but wonder if the TCs mentioned here are forreal? since they're self reported, there's no way to actually verify them and they're way higher than the ones you find on sites like glassdoor. do y'all believe these TCs or take it with a grain (or pound) of salt?
Some TCs here are clearly lies, but generally the high numbers are for real. The thing to keep in mind is that on the coasts we do actually make a lot but cost of living is insane. I just bought a house for 1M and it is a very normal house, something you would probably pay $200k for in the Midwest. And yes we are all bitter about it
As someone who moved from Midwest to Seattle, they're real. The cost of living is also high, but even considering that the "relative compensation" is significantly higher on the west coast compared to Midwest. If your goals are purely financial, the move is worth it and on average people really get the TCs mentioned here.
Oh boi, wait for your first offer at FAANG. You will be shocked at how low you got compensated 😱
That assumes OP can get an offer from FAANG. Competition is fierce these days. Everyone and their mom is going to coding boot camps and then trying to get this sweet TC we have.
Last time I checked Twitter isn't FAANG but I get what you mean.
I’m from the Midwest originally. How many years of experience do you have? Your $65k isn’t that outta whack for entry level dev spot in some random enterprise. Younger people at FAANG type places lose their minds when I tell them about working internal IT jobs that exist everywhere outside the valley.
IT != software engineering You work at google as a software engineer and you go around telling people you work in “IT”? IT is help desk, fixing computers, network maintenance (7 layers of the OSI model), windows admin, Linux admin, DBA, etc, that type of stuff.
Where did I say I’m a SWE? Also. I have worked as a SWE at fortune 1000 type companies and guess what department we were in. IT. I’ve been doing this almost 25 years in various roles and it’s not uncommon for there to be true development roles in the “IT” org. Settle down.
Just doing the wage level conversion from my local town to a place like Bay or Seattle, my TC comes out in range of 120k. Now I know this is way less compared to what you guys are used to hearing. I'm a single guy, and I live comfortably with monthly expenses(rent, gas, groceries all included) at 1k and 3k savings. COL is very low here as you can imagine. Am I 'saving' significantly less than what I would have if I were to move west? My yoe is 3 if that matters
3k in saving a month is really good. 👍
9-10k/mo in Seattle here and my monthly expenses are like 6-7k. I'm only able to save 3k as well off of my salary. However, this is not counting my stock grants and bonus. I am able to save all of that, plus max any tax deductible accounts I have (401k, hsa, whatever), so yes you would be able to save more if you moved. Unfortunately the difference is, I wouldn't be able to buy a house here where as with your 3k you could afford a house. if you really want a house in the midwest though, you could always move back. If you are a renter, making the money outwest is a no brainer. You can always leave the area once you've saved enough.
90% of TC reported on here is an inflated lie with a huge selection bias. Don’t take it as truth that this is what people make.
I usually do +/- 15%
If you can get a job on the west coast, especially in Seattle, you can certainly save more. Entry level for software engineers is over 120k, and with a little experience you will easily break 200k.
How's your WLB?
WLB is Fantastic - I work for a non profit. 8:30 to 4:30. Never had to stay at office beyond 5pm.
FANG employees make 300k a year and don’t have to stay in the office past 5 either. Don’t think that just by joining FANG you have to work slave hours. Most people who make excuses as to why they don’t join FANG are really afraid of rejection/failure and make excuses as to why they don’t like FANG.
Then you have a good deal, if WLB is important to you
Levels.fyi is pretty accurate. Its common for fresh/little yoe to make 200k and medium levle to get 350 and seniors to get more than 500 all in the Bay, Nyc and Seattle area.
On the one hand, you won't be spending 1k a month to live here and taxes take a chunk too. On the other, if you are single and making 200-250k, you can definitely save a lot more than 3k a month and have access to way more stuff than you would in the Midwest.