I work in a US metropolis. I don't know any web developers making $100,000 per year. I know seasoned software developers and engineers making that, but that is what experience costs. I can't really speak to the author's experience, but often, this downtrodden treatise on salary disparity tends to come from the younger, less-experienced programmers out there, regardless of nationality.
Ultimately, comparing salary to distant economies is fallacious. This is why things like cost of living should be taken into account. As an example, I'm currently earning less than a similarly-experienced software creator in San Francisco, while also spending at least an order of magnitude less on housing. I don't begrudge my SF compatriots their salary.
> Ultimately, comparing salary to distant economies is fallacious. This is why things like cost of living should be taken into account.
Yes, and it's easy to take things for if you aren't used to different cultural contexts. I know Kiwis who look enviously at Californian salaries without really properly understanding how much of that salary difference may go on e.g. healthcare costs that are taken care of from general taxation in New Zealand.
As another data point: I work in a (non-NY, non-CA) US metropolis, am largely a web developer, make $100k per year, and don't know many who don't who aren't absolutely at the beginning of their careers.
3-5 years of experience seems to be enough for 100k as far as I can tell. I don't think his lament is that far off.
edit: I may just be assuming that my peers make more than they do, though. It might be more accurate to say that it seems like most of the peers I meet socially make as much as me or (sometimes much) more, and when I hear about companies that are looking for someone, it's always in the 100k+ range.
I work in a US metropolis. I don't know any web developers making $100,000 per year. I know seasoned software developers and engineers making that, but that is what experience costs. I can't really speak to the author's experience, but often, this downtrodden treatise on salary disparity tends to come from the younger, less-experienced programmers out there, regardless of nationality.
Ultimately, comparing salary to distant economies is fallacious. This is why things like cost of living should be taken into account. As an example, I'm currently earning less than a similarly-experienced software creator in San Francisco, while also spending at least an order of magnitude less on housing. I don't begrudge my SF compatriots their salary.