
Ask HN: How can I get paid more? - throwAwayLyon42
tl;dr: I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;m paid enough but I can&#x27;t find a better paying job. How can I change that?<p>This thread is somewhere in the intersection of financial advice and career advice.<p>A bit of context, I&#x27;m a 28 years old immigrant in France and a full-stack developer for around 5 years. I have I make about 2300€&#x2F;month (after taxes), of which 700€ goes to rent. With 20K€ in savings.<p>I feel like I&#x27;m in paused state in life where I&#x27;m almost 30, I can&#x27;t afford a car, I can&#x27;t afford to buy a house and I feel like everyone around me is telling me I should get paid more but I&#x27;m not seeing anything in the market.<p>I have ALWAYS gotten stellar performance reviews, however last year my manager got me a ~2% raise.<p>I feel stuck, without options, and far from financial stability. Any and all feedback, opinion and help is much appreciated.<p>throwaway account for obvious reasons.
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Nextgrid
France is the problem and I doubt you'll be able to earn much more there. The
problem isn't your skills or even your education credentials - software
engineering just isn't that well respected in France even if you are the best
developer with both excellent experience and education.

The solution is to either go freelance/contracting, ideally for foreign
companies, or to move abroad in a country where software engineers are paid
more.

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chrisbennet
[I'm a US resident so this may be culturally irrelevant for France.]

Working harder is not really the answer. I never found it useful to bust my
hump to get a 5% raise when I could just go to another company for a 10-15%
raise. I loved my work and the companies I worked for but business is
business.

If they got you cheap initially, they will almost never reevaluate you and pay
you a market rate. 5 years at the same company is forever in the developer
biz.

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Inkydog
To earn more, you have to become more. Increase your value and your service.
Come in early and stay late. Never say no to an assignment. Don’t go to your
boss with a problem unless you also have a suggested solution. Be pleasant to
everyone and make connections with people inside and outside your office. When
it comes time for your review, ask for the amount of raise you are worth and
have a list of your accomplishments (and maybe their monetary benefit to the
company to back it up). If that doesn’t get you the raise you deserve, start
looking for a new job.

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throwAwayLyon42
> start looking for a new job

But that's part of the problem, I have started looking and I can't find
anything better in the french market (besides having to move to Paris). It
seems that every company I go to looks at a grid of diplomas and experience
and gives me very similar numbers.

~~~
Inkydog
My earlier advice was contingent on the possibility that there is upside
opportunity in your field. What you are paid is a function of three things:
the demand for what you do, how good you are at it, and how easy it is to
replace you. Also, is there enough liquid capital in your company, industry,
and country to support the salary you desire?

