
Ask HN: How to get DC rates for remote work? - dcdevthrowaway
Hi guys,<p>I&#x27;m based in the DC metro area and due to general life circumstances (sharing parenting responsibilities while spouse also works full-time, etc) I&#x27;m hoping to find a position where I can work remotely.<p>Thus far, companies I&#x27;ve talked to about remote work have generally not offered what I consider to be competitive salaries in this region.<p>For example, one such company had a remote senior Java engineer position, which apparently topped out around $160k plus stock valued ~$20k.  The recruiter explained that they have a pay range for employees who live in and around NYC and another for &quot;the rest of the East coast&quot;.<p>It seems crazy to me that they play the pay-based-on-location game, but yet would pay the same to an employee in DC or to an employee in Bangor, Maine (nothing against the lovely state of Maine!).<p>I know I&#x27;m not going to get SV rates for remote work here (although I wouldn&#x27;t complain if I did!), but I&#x27;d expect the first digit of a senior Java engineer&#x27;s salary around here to be a 2.<p>Is HN aware of any remote shops offering such rates to DC-area folks?  Or maybe I&#x27;m currently overpaid and my expectations are out of line?
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bradknowles
IMO, if you want to work remotely, then one of the things you have to accept
is that the employer is likely to pay you less. Otherwise, they’d be paying
local salaries to local employees, and you wouldn’t get the job.

Now, in this case, since they already recognize the cost of living in NYC is
different from the rest of the country then you could make the case that you
should be making near NYC level of money, because DC is also extremely
expensive. But I think that’s a real uphill battle, and I think you’d be
likely to lose the offer.

A good employer should be willing to have that conversation with you, but good
employers are more rare than hen’s teeth.

So, I think you have to decide if you want to work remotely and get remote-
work scale pay, or if you want to get DC-scale pay.

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gardnr
In the past, I have negotiated salaries based on what the employee is worth in
the area where they are employed. It would be hard for them to argue that you
are not in NYC and you don't deserve a competative DC salary. If they want you
then they need to offer competative rates that make it easy to decide to join
them. If they can't do that then jog on. As senior talent, the job market is
currently in your favor.

