On: How to answer the “What’s your current salary?” job interview question

[fahadkhan]

Do you need any one job that badly? Appreciate I am in a fortunate position but I was under the impression that there is more demand for developers than there is supply.

[chii → fahadkhan]

I think there's more demand for cheap developers. There's almost no demand for expensive ones imho.

[sdoering → chii]

I agree. And I would even go a step further. There shouldn't be demand for "expensive" devs. Because they aren't worth their dime. No one is.

Great devs should receive their worth as compensation. But that wouldn't make them expensive. That would just make them worth their dime.

But I totally get the point you were trying to make. Lot's of employers try to get one over and not pay you what you are worth.

[cachehit → sdoering]

How do you define "their dime", "expensive" and "what you are worth"? Because anyone could agree or disagree with this statement, depending on those definitions.

[fahadkhan → chii]

Interesting, my view has been almost the opposite. It's difficult to get your first developer role. But after a year of that and salaries increase quite rapidly. likewise with contracting / freelancing.

Of course my view of cheap and expensive may be different from yours.

[DoubleGlazing → fahadkhan]

I have found that with a shortage of developer talent companies are quite happy to pay to get staff who have no baggage that can affect productivity. In other words they'll pay you loads, but you better be in the office all the time, and maybe throw in a bit of overtime as well.

Most companies that claim to be family friendly are anything but.