WaPo has reported on the annual salaries of U.S. tech workers in various towns and cities across the U.S.:
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Ever wonder how much tech workers get paid in your town? This map might have the answer.
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WaPo has reported on the annual salaries of U.S. tech workers in various towns and cities across the U.S.:
I mean, except make money that enables them to afford housing and hobbies...like every other worker in the world.
Is that average? Median?
I used to make slightly more than the Louisville average and now I make slightly less (haven't had a raise in years). :cries:
I used to make slightly more than the Louisville average and now I make slightly less (haven't had a raise in years). :cries:
Majority of tech workers aren't code monkeys. Maybe if you are a software company with lots of developers. Most companies have infrastructure support with more staff than application development.
Always neat when "tech workers" are talked about as if we are cattle
Imagine having a take this hot/salty/ignorant.
Tech in this context is pretty vague and we're not sure if this is referring to average or median.
I mean, that's the majority of people period. On average, a tech worker is probably doing something more "noteworthy" than an average person, depending on how you arbitrarily define noteworthiness.
shit takes deserve shit replies
as opposed to literally everyone else in the world, who spend their time at their deeply fulfilling jobs doing noteworthy things that will shape the world as we know it?
if you're laboring under the assumption that income is tied in any way to "doing something noteworthy", I uh... I have some bad news for you
I'm glad I'm wrong in this regard, thankfully. I love technology, but I always had misgivings about parts of the industry, given how common things like burnout is. Not to mention that a lot of people in the tech industry sometimes talk about how they feel they are wasting their talents when they could be working on solutions to problems they are passionate about finding solutions to.
But...the tech profession isn't the only profession that has these issues.
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That map is awful. Wisconsin is colored dark blue which should be for lower salaries but Iowa is light blue with a lower salary listed.
Neither apparently, the colors don't line up at all with the legend. The listed salaries in places like Iowa and Idaho are lower than in Wisconsin and Indiana but Iowa and Idaho are colored light blue that should indicate they pay less
Well-paid code monkeys who can make 6 figures in some states, apparently.
Actually, most tech workers aren't code monkeys (by which I assume you mean a more junior/inexperienced developer) and the ones who are aren't making those types of salaries to begin with.
(Also, what defines 'tech worker'? A software engineer is going to make way more than a help desk/IT person, even though they're both technically tech workers.)
Why is it showing Birmingham, Alabama instead of Huntsville? Huntsville is the 3rd largest tech city in the U.S. Birmingham is a shit hole.
As a tech worker resident of San Jose, this would be me if I wasn't married lol.
This is just salary/base? Start adding stock options, bonuses, and other nice perks and the total compensation can double someone's salary.
I wonder how future regulations will affect these numbers though. I'm enjoying things until the gravy train stops.
I wonder how future regulations will affect these numbers though. I'm enjoying things until the gravy train stops.
User Warned - Unneeded Hostility
You're an idiot. Crunch does not happen in every tech job. burnout can happy in any job.
Yup - any big tech company is gonna offer you stock and bonuses that make up at least another 33% more. Get in at a decent level at a startup and enjoy your half million dollar pay day by the time you're 29.
OP
OP
The amounts are average annual salaries for each town/city. Found the article linked to this map on the source site that WaPo reported this from:
I definitely wouldn't describe majority of tech workers (tech being very nebulous by itself) as code monkeys, or even "pure" programmers. Not only are there lots of tech jobs of people who touch code and occasionally write it (DevOps, Data Scientists), there's also many roles where people don't touch or interface with code at all.
with that being said, there are people who work with "tech" like developers, operate in business facing IT roles (sourcing, HR), and product and or management like PMs or Scrum Masters.
Definitely not just a bunch of "code monkeys"
How can I get into the tech field? What sorts of jobs fall under this tech umbrella?
I've kinda been aimless in my career for a while and I live in one of those growing tech metros...I need to get in on this somehow.
I've kinda been aimless in my career for a while and I live in one of those growing tech metros...I need to get in on this somehow.
Become a software engineer or get your MBA and intern in product management. Do well. Or if you have a knack for sales, the good account executives I know can make bank.
It's worth mentioning these averages are likely hiked up by software eng/product salaries which push up the averages of ancillary roles which are likely ~25-30% lower, ish, on average. More when you consider total compensation including equity, etc.
Also some people start in support, and make it quite far, as long as you have an ambitious personality and like to be constantly learning.
It's bad here, but it's not THAT bad. It's probably THAT bad in San Francisco though. I live in San Jose and make $81,000 (in a non-Tech job), and I live comfortably enough. Rent for a 1BR apartment is probably about $2,000 - $2,300/month in a complex that's worth a damn with all the amenities. Fortunately I rent from an old sweet couple who consider me a son, and pay $1650/month for an 800sqft 1BR unit in a nice neighborhood. They haven't raised the rent on me a cent in the three years I've been here. If you're making $117,000, then you're living pretty darn well in San Jose if you're alone - although not nearly as well as you should be given the income.
The Map for IL would be accurate probably for Chicago, but I can promise you it is far underpaid in the rural areas.
Yeah, I noted that at the end that burnout can happen in any job, and sometimes our chosen career fields can be a slog. But I still stand by what I meant (even if it is a bit unclear. I'm going off of two hours of sleep and currently my mood is in the shitter). Personally I'm passionate about how technology has made our lives better, so I'm always interested in seeing people in the industry can accomplish more with less work.
What does "tech" mean? I'm a desktop support technician in Boise Idaho and I don't make 75k a year, make closer to 40k.
Software/hardware engineers and the structure supporting the engineering orgs, sales teams, marketing, operations, etc.
Let's be honest, outside of the metro areas tech jobs are few.
My TC is over double Seattle.
High key reminder that if you are someone who isn't very scholarly, you CAN make it in the tech industry without a degree and climb your way to some hella money.
That doesn't mean a degree doesn't help, just saying its not required as much as it used to be in the past decade.
Mostly if you want to get into product management, an MBA is a fast-track if you already have an undergrad degree, and product teams love to hire MBA interns. Tech company internships are well paid and often lead to a return offer if you perform well.
I kind of alluded to going from a different beginning here:
And if you're particularly skilled at self-teaching and technically minded, it's very possible to teach yourself all kinds of very valuable skills, and learn how to become a competent software developer by actually making something people want to use (lots of resources out there).
Absolutely agree. I started from the bottom and now work in incident management for a managed service provider. didn't ever think I'd get this far but I'm still fuckin going les go
Let's just say I work at a company that often and very closely interacts with networking MSPs :) Congrats!
It ain't all tractors and truck stops once you're more than an hour from the nearest IKEA.