

Ask HN: What is the average out of college base salary for software engineers? - antimatter

I recently graduated with a Computer Science degree and various job applications are asking for "desired base salary" and "Desired total compensation". I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to these things and I'm not sure what an appropriate amount to ask for is.<p>The positions I'm mostly looking at are junior to mid-level web application development (specifically rails) in SoCal.<p>Thanks.
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epicureanideal
Typical advice in salary negotiation books is also to not be the first to
state a number. Try putting in "competitive * " or something like that, and
then later put * based on my skills and experience, or at least that's their
advice.

~~~
T-R
There's been a bit of backlash against that, though - while it does set an
upper bound on the negotiation, it also couches the range of the whole
negotiation (i.e. the other side is unlikely to make a significantly lower
counter-offer, since their perception of a reasonable counter-offer is based
on the initial offer).

Still, the typical advice is probably pretty solid for situations where you
don't know where to start.

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epicureanideal
I think it would depend on whether your college education included a
significant number of courses that would help you perform well in web
application development. For example, I know of some programs where only 1/6
or so of the material is somewhat related to web application development
(including the English classes and otherwise being generous). Also, do you
have any relevant experience or projects?

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antimatter
I've learned everything related to web development on my own. Other than a few
security related courses, I wouldn't say I learned much about web development
in any of my courses. I've got a few personal projects that I've done in Rails
as learning experiments and have definitely mentioned those in my resume/cover
letter.

~~~
epicureanideal
Also it depends on where you live and other things like that. "Median annual
wages of wage and salary computer systems analysts were $75,500 in May 2008."
(<http://bls.gov/oco/ocos287.htm>) "In May 2008, median annual wages of wage-
and-salary computer applications software engineers were $85,430. The middle
50 percent earned between $67,790 and $104,870. The lowest 10 percent earned
less than $53,720, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $128,870."
(<http://bls.gov/oco/ocos303.htm>)

According to <https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/EECS.stm>, $73,045 is the
typical starting salary for a Berkeley EECS major, although several people I
know have gotten offers 10-20k higher.

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johnsocs
My Advice: A first job just out of school if heading to an established company
your going to fall into their base cookie cutter template so whatever you put
down is not really going to matter much, infact you could leave it blank and
when HR asks you say 'I'm a n00b'

Salary negotiations don't really come into place until you have a few years
under your belt, acquired some domain knowledge and have become seasoned,
that's when the real fun starts.

If you really feel 'I must put something down' then ask a friend with a
similar background who has already gotten an offer or already in the workforce
what to expect based on the area you are looking in. Lastly, if moving to
another state, city etc.. checkout how salary conversions for the areas.

What it really boils down to is you have to do your homework.....

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bendmorris
I agree that you should leave it blank but not that "whatever you put down is
not really going to matter much" - it matters quite a bit, because your number
is too high you could get your resume thrown away by someone in HR without
ever being seen by the person you're trying to reach.

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tom_b
This is always a tough question from corporations. Best is to know a little
about the range the specific company is offering for entry level jobs. You'll
not see much variation on that.

If you have to come up with a number and justify it, you can always quote from
the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition [1].

[1] <http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos303.htm>

