Salary-Comparing Survey Identifies Top-Paid Developers, Discovers North America Pays Better (linux.com)

21,000 developers were surveyed for this year's annual survey by VisionMobile -- and for the first time, they were asked about their salaries. An anonymous reader quotes Linux.com: [S]killed cloud and backend developers, as well as those who work in emerging technologies including Internet of Things, machine learning and augmented/virtual reality can make more money than frontend web and mobile developers whose skills have become more commoditized... The top 10 percent of salary earners in AR who live in North America earn a median salary of $219,000, compared with $169,000 for the top earning 10 percent of backend developers, according to the report... New, unskilled developers interested in emerging tech will have a harder time finding work, and earn less than their counterparts in more commoditized areas, due both to their lack of experience and fewer companies hiring in the early market.

Along with skill level and software sector, developer salaries also vary widely by where they live in the world. A web developer in North America earns a median income of $73,600 USD per year, compared with the same developer in Western Europe whose median income is $35,400 USD. Web developers in South Asia earn $11,700 in South Asia while those in Eastern Europe earn $20,800 per year.
For developers who want to move up in the world, VisionMobile suggests "Invest in your skills. Do difficult work. Improve your English. Look for opportunities internationally. Go for it. You deserve it!"

Comments

H-1B Workers

[Anonymous Coward]

This survey proves that American workers aren't being harmed by workers with H-1B visas. In fact, American workers are prospering compared to their counterparts overseas. The real reason there's so much objection to the H-1B program is rampant racism among tech workers in the United States. You don't need to read Slashdot comments very long to see evidence of this for yourself. There are a lot of offensive terms for Indians thrown around casually in comments, such as "indo-chimps," and these terms seem to show up even in articles that are mostly unrelated to H-1B visas. There is no evidence that American workers are harmed by H-1B workers, but American tech workers are far too racist to admit this.

Re:H-1B Workers

[AmiMoJo]

Also, salary is just one factor. Cost of living, especially healthcare, amount of paid holiday, having a "sick day" quota, workers' rights, maternity/paternity rights, employer spying, progressive society...

I get the impression that salaries in the US are high to make up for the lack of other stuff.

Re:H-1B Workers

[dnaumov]

This, a billion times this.

At my level, I could probably make five or more times what I make over here in Europe in the US. Easily. Trouble is, I don't even need the money I make here, so why bother?

But here I get 25 days paid vacation plus sick days on top of that (no, they don't count as vacation days here), perfect healthcare, unemployment benefit should I for some reason get unemployed (not bloody likely unless I want to, but in that case it pays, too), retirement plan, worker's protection (law commands I MUST NOT work more than 50 hours a week and even that only for a very short time, with no more than 45 hours a week on average during the year. Oh, and no more than 10 hours a day).

Try to beat that, US.

You almost had me until the "perfect healthcare" part. Good one!

Re:H-1B Workers

[sg_oneill]

Nonsense. You cannot "prove" anything with statistics. We don't know what the salary range would have been if H1B visas didn't exist. In that alternative universe American tech salaries may have been higher. Or they may have even been lower if entire teams were shifted abroad. We just don't know, and this survey "proves" nothing.

Theres no proofs in science, nor the queen of the humanities, economics. However you can make pretty good inferences, and then look how they couple with the theory. And basically immigration actually creates employment, with iron-wall countries having some of the shittiest economies. Economies need to grow to create employment, and the easiest way to grow them is by generating more mouths to feed. And if those mouths can work in high paid jobs, then their job creation potential increases due to higher consumption.

The high wages compared to europe tell two things. 1) Europes tech industry is in the sink. 2) American tech workers appear to be in high demand. When theres high wages, the bargaining power of american workers improves, pushing the market forces in favor of suppliers (workers).

Its pretty damn obvious that H-1B is not hurting american workers at all.

Self-interest is a more plausible explanation.

Racism is all about percieved self interest (That percieved bit is the operate here). I dont see any reliable evidence that its anything other than xenophobia. The immigration debate seems fueled by nonsense and fear of foreigners more than anything rational.

Re:H-1B Workers

[Fire_Wraith]

If you've got something like the NHS, that doesn't stop you from seeking private care if you can pay. What it does stop you is from going bankrupt if you wind up with a condition that would cost far more than you've got.

Are you going to wait longer than you would if you can pay for it? Yes. Is that any worse than what happens if it's pay-only, and you can't pay?

Re:11K in south asia

[ShanghaiBill]

With 11K in South Asia you can live with the same quality of life as someone making $120K in the US.

Yes and no. You can't afford a car, but you can easily afford a live-in housekeeper and nanny for your kids.

Of course it does

[Anonymous Coward]

North-American employers have to compensate for the fact that quality of life is significantly lower. If they didn't pay more, they would not attract any foreign employees.

Weird stats?

[K. S. Kyosuke]

The top 10 percent of salary earners in AR who live in North America earn a median salary of $219,000,

Is it just me or is that a very convoluted way of saying "95th percentile"?

Re: This is the real reason H1B scares Americans

[Opportunist]

And that's 36000 with housing that cost a tiny fraction of what it costs around here, plus your personal slave if you're so inclined for maybe a buck or two a day.

Remember, it's not what you earn, what matters is how much is left over after you're done living. It means jack to earn 10k a month if you pay 9k for rent.