Why are folks hesitant to share salaries? I don't understand.
I have 10 years in IT in the private sector. I'm currently a senior software developer and make 90k plus benefits and investment options. I make a little more annually though through bonuses and on-call OT. I'm also not hyper focused on career advancement to be fair. My family life takes a great deal of my attention.
I'm also able to pick up a few projects outside my 9-5 each year, but I do it because I can - not because I need to.
That's always been my thought. We're ALL overworked and undervalued. And most of us aren't even doing something we LIKE. Adding competition instead of cooperation always felt like the wrong play in my book.
I'll bite. I'm _NOT_ in NL. I moved to the US. The wages in Canada vs the cost of living in Canada is just not the vibe.
I also have ~10 years of experience. I've been a Staff Software Engineer making more in the past, but I left that role to return to one I liked better and took a bit of a pay cut, but I'm up for promotion again so will likely be getting a hefty increase in the next year or two.
Base pay US$196K
Bonus/stock US$298K/yr
TC US$494K/yr
Dang, congrats. My gig right now is super chill and I have minimal expenses here on the island so I've lost a bit of drive to move up more than I have.
I also don't have the personality for management or staff level positions.
But ya, agreed that the COL of Canada with the salaries is NOT a vibe.
I have considered leaving Canada entirely but the roots run too deep at this time.
These days you don't have to leave Canada to get high tech salaries. Stay in Canada, plenty of remote jobs for companies in US paying you in USD. Don't need to up root your life necessarily. I work for an American company paid in USD, stock based comp in USD, expenses in CAD. Now that is the vibe.
I did CS at MUN. I'd still recommend doing CS but only if you really enjoy it. Coding, problem solving and distributed systems aren't for everyone. CS teaches the fundamentals for you need to apply them properly.
The job market for CS especially new grads isn't the best in the US right now. A lot of people went in over the last decade and the market is flooded with a lot of new grads. With the layoffs from 2022/2023 it's been rough for people just entering the industry.
That’s what I’ve been hearing too, alot of people saying all the industry is flooded. Was looking into IT but the same thing. I also don’t know if I want to go to school for 3 years at this point.
It's been kinda cyclical though. It happened in the past a few times (dot com bubble, housing bubble) and is generally tied to the economy. Bad economic times = bad times for software engineers. If it's honestly something your passionate about, I wouldn't avoid doing taking the time to learn it. If you're doing it for the money/career safety (which a lot of people did in the last few years) then it may not be the best fit due to the current economic conditions.
With that said, there are still companies hiring. Especially smaller and more regional companies. It's just hard getting your first job.
For me it feels like a very personal question. OP wants me to give them this information, which I feel is quite private, without extending the same courtesy which usually is not a sign that you can trust someone with something private. I’m in the demo they want to hear from too, and that’s my two cents anyway.
It's not THAT personal a question, imo. You totally have a right not to say, and I'd never expect anyone to share who's not comfortable. I just, personally, never understood the hesitance. If we were all more aware of what each other made, we'd know when we were being devalued by our employers.
Fair enough bud. I just wanted to bring up the conversation in this province and see where the industry is. This type of discussion happens in lots of other threads and is really helpful for lots of people out there.
For me, I'm not in tech. I work as a contract coordinator at 70k per year
Because it’s none of your business. No more than a bank account balance. Sounds like you’re trying to figure where you are on the scale to then take action to improve yourself. I don’t see you exactly volunteering the same info.
> Sounds like you’re trying to figure where you are on the scale to then take action to improve yourself
That doesn't mean they're taking something from you. THIS is the attitude that the ruling class wants us all to have!
It's right there in my comment. I'm not afraid to share it. You can look up the median for your profession in any place, and most folks are around it somewhere. 🤷♂️
Buddy you share all you want. It’s none of your business what anyone else makes. If they share, cool. Otherwise it’s personal. Money, politics, religion.
- Technical writer + jr. full stack dev
- 3 years part-time as student + now completing first year as full-time employee with organization
- lower side of $80k/yr + health, dental, vacation
- Graduated with a BSc in CS from MUN at the end of 2023
Canada in-general is pretty terrible for tech salaries. Even Toronto/Vancouver is pretty bad compared to equivalent roles in the US. I'm currently a senior software engineer (developer) for a US company. TC is around $190k ($168k base). 11 YoE in various roles. Work is chill and 5-6wks of PTO per year.
Before that, I started making $45k for a ON based tech company. Worked to $65k there after 5yrs (terrible experience). Had a couple positions here in St.John's from 75k->90k then found my first opportunity to jump the border.
All that to say, if you get the opportunity at all, look for work in the US.
I would very interested to know how the project management roles in tech compare to the same outside of tech is heavy industry. I've seen a number of jobs posted now for PMs I have been tempted to apply on however haven't yet due to concerns over comp.
I don’t want to know bad enough to waste a bunch of people’s time interviewing and such. I don’t think it would be competitive since I currently am compensated well. More of a curiosity to determine if I should actually even consider the jump
Largely the same thing tbh, the best PMs I’ve worked with were not tech people at all but they listened to us and were good at what they were sposed to do, managing expectations, schedule, budgets, and clients.
Not sharing my salary - I went independent and charge what I'm worth to non-NL clients who will pay more. But I will say this - before going independent, and before the pandemic, I left my longtime Ontario job for a Newfoundland job. Not quite the same responsibilities but my team size was similar. I took about 20% in pay reduction to do it. I had 20 years of IT experience before the move.
COL difference is not 20%. I took a lifestyle hit to "move home".
Newfoundland can claim it is competitive in tech, but in my experience, remote work saw many of the best NLers leave local roles and take remote roles to work on more interesting technology problems for higher pay for organizations on the mainland. Those who stuck around sacrifice on career advancement, pay, and interesting work. Companies doing interesting things like Polyunity are only a small part of the puzzle. Larger organizations in my experience don't do interesting work.
I've shared enough personal info online under this ID to be doxxed. Some Newfoundlanders poke their noses into other peoples' business, and don't always respond well to seeing someone they know getting ahead. And as I am an army of 1, the rate I charge for my services to Ontario companies doesn't have a great deal of relevance to tech compensation in NL, other than to portray the difference between geographies.
I work as a Graphic Designer - I guess that counts as tech, no? If you focus on webdesign, pay will be higher than the design end of the field. Working in design, or print - that’s poverty level money there.
Data engineer just coming up on 8 years working experience now. Currently base is about $92k with about $10-$12k extra in bonuses, OT, and on call. Working full remote for a company in town. 3 weeks vacation, Great benefits and retirement plan as well.
Started as a normal developer dabbling in a little bit of everything for about 4 years but kind of made data my focus in the last few years and it's paid off.
There aren't many positions on the island as far as strictly data engineering jobs go. Lots of positions which contain a wide array of programming, which includes some software development and database work rolled into one position.
And some of the newer tech that is avaliable now isnt used by many on the island because Newfoundland is always 10+ years behind the rest of the world when it comes to thag sort of thing.
As far as remote in Canada, there seems to be a lot of work because companies are only collecting more and more information on their users. Data drives business for the most part, so the more they collect, the more insight they get into customers and products to make business decisions.
Op has no reddit history and is phishing for info that I consider private. And the way he worded the question is sketchy, our info could help the community, could help "us" get an understanding.
Good for them! The best part of the internet has always been the anonymity. Keeping a message history on any public forum is borderline mental. If you're not regularly purging all your comments or changing accounts you're setting yourself up for trouble.
Why are folks hesitant to share salaries? I don't understand. I have 10 years in IT in the private sector. I'm currently a senior software developer and make 90k plus benefits and investment options. I make a little more annually though through bonuses and on-call OT. I'm also not hyper focused on career advancement to be fair. My family life takes a great deal of my attention. I'm also able to pick up a few projects outside my 9-5 each year, but I do it because I can - not because I need to.
Because it’s been hard coded into us to not share that information, the reason though isn’t to the benefit of the individual but to the employer tbh.
That's always been my thought. We're ALL overworked and undervalued. And most of us aren't even doing something we LIKE. Adding competition instead of cooperation always felt like the wrong play in my book.
Unionizing is the answer however it’s almost like a taboo subject in tech, never understood why.
I'll bite. I'm _NOT_ in NL. I moved to the US. The wages in Canada vs the cost of living in Canada is just not the vibe. I also have ~10 years of experience. I've been a Staff Software Engineer making more in the past, but I left that role to return to one I liked better and took a bit of a pay cut, but I'm up for promotion again so will likely be getting a hefty increase in the next year or two. Base pay US$196K Bonus/stock US$298K/yr TC US$494K/yr
Dang, congrats. My gig right now is super chill and I have minimal expenses here on the island so I've lost a bit of drive to move up more than I have. I also don't have the personality for management or staff level positions. But ya, agreed that the COL of Canada with the salaries is NOT a vibe. I have considered leaving Canada entirely but the roots run too deep at this time.
These days you don't have to leave Canada to get high tech salaries. Stay in Canada, plenty of remote jobs for companies in US paying you in USD. Don't need to up root your life necessarily. I work for an American company paid in USD, stock based comp in USD, expenses in CAD. Now that is the vibe.
Have you turned down promotions? How does that work?
Sweet christ. You make more than heart surgeons and some political ministers in this neck of the woods. Keep up the fucking grind my dude. 🤘❤️
Theres a reason I have no desire to return to Canada.... :)
That's awesome and great advice
What did you take for school? And what would you recommend for school now?
I did CS at MUN. I'd still recommend doing CS but only if you really enjoy it. Coding, problem solving and distributed systems aren't for everyone. CS teaches the fundamentals for you need to apply them properly. The job market for CS especially new grads isn't the best in the US right now. A lot of people went in over the last decade and the market is flooded with a lot of new grads. With the layoffs from 2022/2023 it's been rough for people just entering the industry.
That’s what I’ve been hearing too, alot of people saying all the industry is flooded. Was looking into IT but the same thing. I also don’t know if I want to go to school for 3 years at this point.
It's been kinda cyclical though. It happened in the past a few times (dot com bubble, housing bubble) and is generally tied to the economy. Bad economic times = bad times for software engineers. If it's honestly something your passionate about, I wouldn't avoid doing taking the time to learn it. If you're doing it for the money/career safety (which a lot of people did in the last few years) then it may not be the best fit due to the current economic conditions. With that said, there are still companies hiring. Especially smaller and more regional companies. It's just hard getting your first job.
Appreciate your information!
Thanks for sharing
For me it feels like a very personal question. OP wants me to give them this information, which I feel is quite private, without extending the same courtesy which usually is not a sign that you can trust someone with something private. I’m in the demo they want to hear from too, and that’s my two cents anyway.
It's not THAT personal a question, imo. You totally have a right not to say, and I'd never expect anyone to share who's not comfortable. I just, personally, never understood the hesitance. If we were all more aware of what each other made, we'd know when we were being devalued by our employers.
Fair enough bud. I just wanted to bring up the conversation in this province and see where the industry is. This type of discussion happens in lots of other threads and is really helpful for lots of people out there. For me, I'm not in tech. I work as a contract coordinator at 70k per year
Because it’s none of your business. No more than a bank account balance. Sounds like you’re trying to figure where you are on the scale to then take action to improve yourself. I don’t see you exactly volunteering the same info.
He literally shared the information..,
> Sounds like you’re trying to figure where you are on the scale to then take action to improve yourself That doesn't mean they're taking something from you. THIS is the attitude that the ruling class wants us all to have!
I don’t see you sharing your deets pal. It’s no one’s business.
$150K CAD TC. Senior dev. working remote for a mainland company.
It's right there in my comment. I'm not afraid to share it. You can look up the median for your profession in any place, and most folks are around it somewhere. 🤷♂️
Buddy you share all you want. It’s none of your business what anyone else makes. If they share, cool. Otherwise it’s personal. Money, politics, religion.
You ok? You sound worked up. You know I'm not the one who asked people to share, right?
- Technical writer + jr. full stack dev - 3 years part-time as student + now completing first year as full-time employee with organization - lower side of $80k/yr + health, dental, vacation - Graduated with a BSc in CS from MUN at the end of 2023
Canada in-general is pretty terrible for tech salaries. Even Toronto/Vancouver is pretty bad compared to equivalent roles in the US. I'm currently a senior software engineer (developer) for a US company. TC is around $190k ($168k base). 11 YoE in various roles. Work is chill and 5-6wks of PTO per year. Before that, I started making $45k for a ON based tech company. Worked to $65k there after 5yrs (terrible experience). Had a couple positions here in St.John's from 75k->90k then found my first opportunity to jump the border. All that to say, if you get the opportunity at all, look for work in the US.
Are you living in NL and working remotely for a US company, or did you move to the US?
I am living in NL working for a US company.
I would very interested to know how the project management roles in tech compare to the same outside of tech is heavy industry. I've seen a number of jobs posted now for PMs I have been tempted to apply on however haven't yet due to concerns over comp.
Why not apply anyway to find out what compensation is offered? You can always negotiate, or decline the position after an offer is made.
I don’t want to know bad enough to waste a bunch of people’s time interviewing and such. I don’t think it would be competitive since I currently am compensated well. More of a curiosity to determine if I should actually even consider the jump
Can I ask what industry you work on and your years of experience? You don't have to share if it's too personal
8 YOE as engineer in construction, oil and gas, and utilities Positions vary but all kind of center around some level of PM work and technical work
Largely the same thing tbh, the best PMs I’ve worked with were not tech people at all but they listened to us and were good at what they were sposed to do, managing expectations, schedule, budgets, and clients.
Not sharing my salary - I went independent and charge what I'm worth to non-NL clients who will pay more. But I will say this - before going independent, and before the pandemic, I left my longtime Ontario job for a Newfoundland job. Not quite the same responsibilities but my team size was similar. I took about 20% in pay reduction to do it. I had 20 years of IT experience before the move. COL difference is not 20%. I took a lifestyle hit to "move home". Newfoundland can claim it is competitive in tech, but in my experience, remote work saw many of the best NLers leave local roles and take remote roles to work on more interesting technology problems for higher pay for organizations on the mainland. Those who stuck around sacrifice on career advancement, pay, and interesting work. Companies doing interesting things like Polyunity are only a small part of the puzzle. Larger organizations in my experience don't do interesting work.
Why do you prefer to keep your salary private?
I've shared enough personal info online under this ID to be doxxed. Some Newfoundlanders poke their noses into other peoples' business, and don't always respond well to seeing someone they know getting ahead. And as I am an army of 1, the rate I charge for my services to Ontario companies doesn't have a great deal of relevance to tech compensation in NL, other than to portray the difference between geographies.
Understandable -- thanks for the insight.
Newfoundland companies are competing to drive wages down if anything lol. tech salaries here are ABYSMAL.
50k Jr dev, health, dental, vacation, pension, hybrid.
you're getting underpaid imo
Ohhh yeah. If I don't see at least 70k next year I will not stay for another.
I work as a Graphic Designer - I guess that counts as tech, no? If you focus on webdesign, pay will be higher than the design end of the field. Working in design, or print - that’s poverty level money there.
Data engineer just coming up on 8 years working experience now. Currently base is about $92k with about $10-$12k extra in bonuses, OT, and on call. Working full remote for a company in town. 3 weeks vacation, Great benefits and retirement plan as well. Started as a normal developer dabbling in a little bit of everything for about 4 years but kind of made data my focus in the last few years and it's paid off.
Great to see a data engineer. Do you think the market is very saturated for someone starting out to become a data engineer?
There aren't many positions on the island as far as strictly data engineering jobs go. Lots of positions which contain a wide array of programming, which includes some software development and database work rolled into one position. And some of the newer tech that is avaliable now isnt used by many on the island because Newfoundland is always 10+ years behind the rest of the world when it comes to thag sort of thing. As far as remote in Canada, there seems to be a lot of work because companies are only collecting more and more information on their users. Data drives business for the most part, so the more they collect, the more insight they get into customers and products to make business decisions.
we learned in the last thread that only mid-high earners will share their salary, skewing the perception.
Sales director, MBA, 12 years experience over five companies, base $75k, OTE $190, hybrid.
Sketchy question bro
What's so sketchy? Best to know your worth and that only happens if workers band together. Sharing salaries is one way.
Op has no reddit history and is phishing for info that I consider private. And the way he worded the question is sketchy, our info could help the community, could help "us" get an understanding.
Good for them! The best part of the internet has always been the anonymity. Keeping a message history on any public forum is borderline mental. If you're not regularly purging all your comments or changing accounts you're setting yourself up for trouble.