

Ask HN: San Fran "Competitive Salary" for Devs - throwaway09810

How much should one ask for for a San Fran "startup" developer position?  Midwest salaries are much lower (due to cost of living and small tech scene) and the avg developer makes around $60k, so my reference point is low.  Moving to the valley and possibly getting a job for an exploding startup, what is a reasonable starting point w/ 3 years of solid experience?
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shazow
Depends on the amount of funding and how much equity you're getting.

If they're well-funded (Series A or later) and you're getting negligible
equity (hopefully not), then you should take the same salary as an established
company like Facebook or Twitter would offer you. Probably a bit over $100k
base for 3 years of experience.

Take that starting point and adjust it for the amount of equity they're
offering and how much you think it's worth. Now your goal is to get them to
pay you no less than you're worth. :)

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throwaway09810
Judging worth is not always easy unfortunately. It varies by need, in relation
to other benefits, region, and more. I wish there was a simple test to take
that would spit out a salary worth... Alas...

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grandalf
I don't think experience matters that much. If you're awesome, you should be
paid $100K or more. If you're awesome, btw, I'd like to make you such a job
offer.

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rick888
are you being serious? How can you be awesome without experience? Otherwise,
why not hire a janitor and pay him 100K as a developer (he's awesome!)

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neworbit
I'm pretty sure he means "can make great things happen" trumps "7 years Java
experience on the resume"

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latch
30 years experience doesn't mean much if it's the same year thirty times.

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bherms
I'm going to use this quote in the future because it's so true.

Hope you don't mind the attribution "a wise man once said [...]"

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latch
I stole it from someone else.

maybe "a stupid thief once said [...]"

