Average earning/savings of a software developer in San Francisco area

[Big_Hitter]

no way you could get me to move to the bay area for a job, even if my pay was doubled - there is a reason they have high salaries there, they need them to thrive


one of my golf buddies in Houston got transferred to San Ramon and the cheapest golf club he could join was about $150K initiation

 

[audreyh1]

One possible way to reach FI early is working as a software developer or manager in Silicon Valley according to some of the discussion at What is the average savings of a software developer in San Francisco area? - Quora



Despite well-known high-tech compensation in the Bay Area, some of claims seem high, however.

Anyway, DD just started working as a software engineer there a year ago after graduation, making over $100K (just in salary) already. Cost of housing is very high (~2x average), but the pay definitely compensates it quite nicely.

This is not limited to Silicon Valley.

 

[dunkelblau]

If you are a single and renting, you can save a lot working as a Engineer in the Bay Area, since your expenses are so much lower than your salary.

This was my experience as well. It seems to me that the only really expensive part of living in the santa clara valley is rent, and while the average is high, there are well priced reasonably well located places available if you look. Maybe I was tighter than most, but over the past decade my living expenses (excluding income taxes) were about 6% of AGI. FI was easy to hit even though I never went into management, never changed jobs, and gained less than a month's pay on company stock and options over my entire career. IOW there can be a decent consolation prize for those who fail to get the big kill in the valley.

If one executes a minimalist expense + high income mad rush towards FI, I think it would be plausible to reach basic FI after about a decade of continuous fulltime work here assuming no debt burdens and no major IPO score. At that point one could choose to retire to a low cost vacation paradise or perhaps stay on while ramping down the wage-income savings rate towards zero over the next decade. If you are aiming for remote work to transition into retirement, I think it's best not to get entangled into management duties-- find some esoteric niche with a steep learning curve and high demand for expertise, then dig in and help everyone who asks, especially those involved in sales or managing crit sits.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I saw this billboard today advertising for "hot" tech talent:

This is How Silicon Valley is Marketing Tech Geeks Now | NextShark

It has programmers in their boxers, and spoiler alert, they do not exactly look like David Beckham.

"Silicon Valley, where tech geeks are celebrated like rockstars and sex symbols, is having a lot of fun with their new surge in the billboard industry. One company, Dice, is getting a few laughs in traffic with their new and provocative campaign to market real programmers and engineers that are baring it all save for a pair of merciful boxer shorts."

 

[NW-Bound]

I saw this billboard today advertising for "hot" tech talent:

This is How Silicon Valley is Marketing Tech Geeks Now | NextShark

It has programmers in their boxers, and spoiler alert, they do not exactly...

Hey, that geek has no beer belly, no tattoos. I don't think the guy on the billboard look that bad, but what do I know as a male geek myself?

 

[jim584672]

My Megacorp off-shored most of the IT Dev to India. Just a matter of time till the whole industry is gone from the US.

 

[Spanky]

My Megacorp off-shored most of the IT Dev to India. Just a matter of time till the whole industry is gone from the US.

IT and software development is not the same. A lots of company farm out their IT projects but most, if not all, software development for their products remains in the US.

 

[Spanky]

Hey, that geek has no beer belly, no tattoos. I don't think the guy on the billboard look that bad, but what do I know as a male geek myself?

concurred - These guys look fine to me. They should include some female geeks also.

 

[JoeWras]

IT and software development is not the same. A lots of company farm out their IT projects but most, if not all, software development for their products remains in the US.

Be careful there. "most" does not apply at my Megacorp and a few others I know.

 

[MRG]

Yes I've seen work be pulled back after being outsourced. The supposed cost savings eaten up by infrastructure costs, training, international travel and housing.

Not to mention the cost of reworking the code, as the developer didn't really understand the business problem that needed to be solved.

Smart staff, but without a clear understanding of the business, most fail. YMMV.


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[jim584672]

I have seen multiple examples of outsourced failure, yet that didn't persuade Megacorp from continuing to expand outsourcing.

 

[mpeirce]

IT and software development is not the same. A lots of company farm out their IT projects but most, if not all, software development for their products remains in the US.

+1

Few IT folks are going to be working for Apple build operating systems. It's a different skill set.

 

[JoeWras]

I have seen multiple examples of outsourced failure, yet that didn't persuade Megacorp from continuing to expand outsourcing.

+1

 

[Spanky]

Originally Posted by jim584672 View Post
I have seen multiple examples of outsourced failure, yet that didn't persuade Megacorp from continuing to expand outsourcing.

Lesson learned does not mean much to these Megacorps!?

 

[MRG]

Lesson learned does not mean much to these Megacorps!?

No, because there looking at only a part of the cost of development. Normally a non IS/IT person that only sees partial costs is the sponser.

My former Megacorp has outsourced to three different countries. Each experienced the same failures. They blamed it on the "culture" of the first two. I don't know what the third failure will be blamed on.

They have much bigger problems ahead due to rifs, an aging workforce and technology . Surprise, employees vote with their feet. The folks that were FI have left(I've helped 5-6 see how they could, and much help from this forum), a bunch of remaining talented development people are waiting for packages. Fear of rifs has left except for the newly graduated. Mega appears to be unable to recruit as word on the street is "don't stay there".


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