

Ask HN: How much should I ask for? - aashishkoirala

I am thinking of moving to the Bay Area (Sunnyvale and around). I&#x27;m currently making a base of $125K as a Principal Software Engineer in Boston. Does anyone know what the market rate for that position is in the Bay Area? Given the difference in cost of living and housing, I would hope it was much higher, but it does not seem so. Is it even worth moving to the Bay Area if that&#x27;s the case given the higher taxes?
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gamblor956
The SF Bay Area is a lot more expensive than Boston, even before California
and local taxes. There are cost-of-living calculators you can use, but most of
them have not been updated to take into account the tech industry's effect on
SF Bar Area COL. You should look for a job that pays at least the same after
taxes and living expenses, unless you have non-economic reasons for moving to
SF Bay Area.

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codegeek
I am not familiar with that part of the world but you might want to give more
information before others can try and give you some pointers. Salary is not
just about market rate even though it is a benchmark to start. What do you do
exactly ? What is your experience so far ? What kind of companies have you
worked for ?

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collyw
Sorry, a bit off topic but in Spain the top end of the salary range would seem
to be a fair bit less than half of what you are on. How expensive is it to
live in the States (Boston, rent for example)?

And does anyone want to hire an experienced Django developer remotely?

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epicureanideal
It should be significantly higher. I would think around $200k and possibly
more depending on if you have highly specific relevant experience.

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aashishkoirala
I would have thought so too. But when I applied with a floor of $160K, a lot
of the responses I got claimed they don't pay that high. Then I was quite
floored when a friend of mine who works in the area told me to ask for $135K.
Also, how much does technology matter as long it's mainstream? I'm looking for
.NET openings, but my general impression is .NET is not that popular in the
Bay Area as I see a lot more Java openings. Do Java folks stand to make more
money in the same positions?

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epicureanideal
Can I ask where you've applied so far? Or at least what kind of companies? Are
you applying at large enterprise companies? Startups?

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aashishkoirala
It has mostly been startups. But the figure of $135K I got from a large
company (Symantec). I know they're a Java shop, but they do have .NET teams,
and again - this figure is not "official" \- it was suggested to me by my
friend who works in Symantec when I asked him how much I should ask for.

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namenotrequired
"Is it even worth moving"

That depends solely on your motivations, which you did not specify.

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lingua_franca
depends upon which companies u r going to. if it's Nextflix or Facebook, u
definitely can ask for $200k. if it's a small startup, u won't get any number
close to that.

WARNING: Nextflix and Facebook r both sweat shops.

