
Ask HN: How do you negotiate to get $100k/year as a SE? - cyrilbenson47
I&#x27;m a software developer for more than 5 years now, the majority of the projects I worked web software and currently working for an outsourcing company working with US clients. I&#x27;d like to know how I&#x27;ll be able to negotiate to get &gt;= $100k&#x2F;year of salary, despite me located and based in SEA? Thanks!
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patio11
(Personal capacity.)

SEA = Southeast Asia in this context?

Try to get hired into finance or directly by a US company which considers
software crucial to their business, and give the company cause to believe they
are reasonably in competition with other companies in that set during your
recruiting process, so that they pull out their non-local pay scale. My
ambient impression from knowledge of a few hiring markets in Southeast Asia is
that $100k is either relatively high or prohibitively high on the local
scales; this is materially untrue of software engineering for companies in the
target set these days, _but_ they are happy to economize at their non-US
offices _if_ they think they can get away with it. (Reporting, not endorsing.)

After that, standard advice for salary negotiation applies, but that's
probably both the most impactful single thing you can do _and_ about all that
is necessary to hit $100k, since that's effectively below the floor for
starting salaries in software engineering in the set of companies described
above.

(At least some companies in that set hire engineers based in Southeast Asia.)

------
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CyberFonic
I have worked with several client organisations who use SEA based outsourcing
companies. The main reason for their choice is the lower costs compared to
using companies with staff based in Western Europe and USA.

So if you are already working for an outsourcing company that has clients in
the USA, then you are most likely working for one of the more respected
companies and thus probably earning near the upper end of the scale for your
location. I doubt that your management will want to pay you more than they
have to, no matter how good you are.

I am assuming that you mean USD100,000 p.a. not HKD. For that level of salary
you will probably need to travel to countries where they do pay that much for
your level of expertise. As @Annatar suggests, 5 years experience with web
software, you probably won't be able to call yourself a senior SE in some
markets.

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Annatar
You need to be a senior programmer: that means 20 - 35 years of experience.
Provided you have that kind of experience you will easily be able to command
that kind of a salary, although only in Western Europe and the United States.
Writing from experience of working in both.

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gigatexal
That’s basically table stakes for a senior engineer no? At that point you
should ask for a bit more salary and a better bonus structure or RSUs

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cyrilbenson47
I actually think that we're underpaid since we live in a country where labor
is cheaper even though we get more and more experience, we can't compete to
get the same compensation as to the Western part of the world. How do you
negotiate something like a raise that much even though there are these
circumstances?

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gigatexal
Where is home? Maybe you compete for other things like better working hours,
more work from home time, more vacation?

~~~
cyrilbenson47
Philippines, I do work as a remote dev. Yes, we do have flexible hours but I
still grind 40hrs/week.

~~~
gigatexal
You might be able to maximize your earnings going independent and becoming a
contract worker.

