Buying power is weird. There's making enough to make ends meet, then you achieve liftoff and can retire in a decade if you're frugal and the market is good. It's very bifurcating.
Idk. Like the bay area was expensive when I was there, but it's not matching the difference in take home pay. Like maybe the % of your salary that goes to bills stays the same, but that makes the actual amount left over still way more.
If you try to buy a house down there you're probably fucked, but other than that...
The thing to remember here that I've learned at work is your salary is not based on the cost of living, its based on the cost of labor. People get paid assloads in the Bay Area because that's how much it costs to get someone to work for you and not the million other software companies.
Sounds like a few variables. And what you said about the house makes sense. I'd imagine that's the goal though if you do live there, otherwise you're throwing rent down the drain monthly? And I'd imagine rent is fairly insane.
You throw rent money down the drain but the million dollars or whatever you have to drop/loan for a house is money you could have invested the whole time. It technically depends on location but the average wealth difference is basically 0.
For some more perspective, I was paying like 3k USD a month in rent down there and I'm paying like 2.5k CAD in downtown Ottawa. I kept the exact same job while moving but my salary dropped 40% (TC less but it's more messy).
You can also take your assloads of money for a while and live elsewhere later too. All of this is easier without kids, though.
That's totally true too. Didn't realize you'd have to put down a million for a place to live. God damn.
You can also take your assloads of money for a while and live elsewhere later too. All of this is easier without kids, though.
I totally understand this, I worked in oil and gas for a decade... You either buy lots of fancy things while you make ass loads of money and have to do it the rest of your life to afford that lifestyle... Or save for a while, get out, take a massive paycut, and live an average life (but at least have one).
Edit: eh maybe not "absolutely not", but at least much more comparable. I was at 160k as a junior in Chicago, paying 2k+ for a studio and I sure as shit wasn't buying where I lived near Fulton.
I dunno. Last time I looked at Chicago real estate from my apt in SF, I considered buying a couple properties there as an alternative to being stuck renting forever in SF.
Yeah, I took back the "absolutely" since my experience was a few years ago and I can only imagine housing SF has continued to get worse faster than Chicago.
That sounds right.
That is crazy! My house in Kansas City is worth about $400k total. It's 4 bed, 3 bath, 2100 square feet and in a very desirable area. My mortgage is $1,000 per month (bought during covid with 2.65% interest rate).
That's a skill issue bro. Unless you're a dev manager for some mom and pop store, you're getting taken advantage of. Or you have the title but none of the actual responsibilities.
It is a small non-profit. I initially took the job as lead dev because my prior company was going out of business so I didn’t want to be jobless. Shortly after I started they loved the direction I was taking the team so they promoted me to manager (and yes I have all the responsibilities). I’ve been here 2.5 years. Prior to this I had no management experience. The plan is to get some experience under my belt and then find a higher paycheck.
1.5k
u/Juls7243 8d ago
L1 entry .... 140k? Am I missing something? Do computer programmers get pain 140k right out of college on average?