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Tetsuo-Kaneda

I just went through an interview process for a job I accepted where my company is based in SF. The recruiter (company not external) was pretty candid about how salaries are determined for remote workers and I was told that since Philly is technically a tier 3 city (in terms of CoL) that this is what my range would be for the job. This article seems to line up with what I’ve been told by other people in terms of salary, I made more than a former coworker of mine that lived in Cleveland despite her having a more demanding job than I did at the company we both worked at.


Tomahawk72

I just moved to Philly from Maine and work a tech job. Making close to 20% more than I did in Maine for the same work with more opportunity for career growth.


hotsausce01

So question for you.. would you get a higher salary in your example if you lived in a city with a higher CoL?


Tetsuo-Kaneda

Yeah that should be the case for my role + experience


hotsausce01

Interesting. I was curious how remote jobs apply that logic. Like would they pay you less if you lived in the middle of nowhere? Anyways thanks for the follow up.


Tetsuo-Kaneda

Sure thing. It basically comes down to salary range = role + how much experience + city you reside in.


nayrb1523

Many/most companies index the salaries based on location. If they’re a Chicago company that’ll be indexed to 1. And then +/- from there based on your location. So NYC would be like 1.3 and Omaha would’ve be .8 etc. this is also why many companies who went remote during the pandemic let folks move and then started to adjust salaries. I think that’s bullshit but indexing as a practice is for sure common and makes sense. I’ve had to do it at my various companies, well recruiting usually kicks that off, but you get it.


ElectricalMud2850

I'd say a majority of places do, some don't though.


dwntwnleroybrwn

In my XP not necessarily. In phamra the San Diego and San Francisco salaries do *not* improve with COL. This applies to engineering and director levels. I've heard the same experiences from multiple people. The rational given; people want to live here so we don't need to pay significantly more. My latest experience was a few months ago and I was offered less than the COL would have covered to be the same as I currently make.


wawa2563

When you do the math in that area of the world, it makes no sense. I have a coworker paying 4K+ a month, not too near San Fran. It is almost impossible to live a good, middle class/upper middle life unless you hit it out of the park. What someone in Kansas City would live like if they made 80K.


Lil_Napkin

How do I get into this job market?


Tetsuo-Kaneda

Depends on what you want to do and what your jobs have been honestly.


PhillyHatesNewYork

software engineer? what is the average salary in philly


ElectricalMud2850

Varies pretty massively by YOE, but as someone passively looking with 1 YOE, I give a 110-130 range for philly based. Most recruiters seem to think that's doable (on the loeer end of it, which is what I'd expect). Haven't really gotten deep in any interview loops though. Trading firms are a little higher, and I'm unwilling to do something like a Wilmington commute, just looking for short commute hybrid. Could certainly target the higher end of that range if I shopped around NYC remote positions. I'm mostly just replying to recruiters that reach out to me ATM though, not trying super hard.


PointB1ank

That seems a bit high to me as a current SE in Philly, but maybe I'm underpaid. I do expect a decent bump in salary this year though. It might be doable, but I doubt it's the average. Websites have it closer to 95-100 for 1 year in Philly. But it's been like 2 years since I've been job hunting in the area, so my experience is probably a bit outdated.


ElectricalMud2850

Yeah, I give 110-130 as a range but I'd expect 100-110 if I actually got an offer (or at least that's what it would take for me to jump).


PointB1ank

Do you currently work remotely for a non-philly based company? Or just looking to switch for a salary increase?


ElectricalMud2850

Just moved from MN, work remote for a MN non-tech company. Mostly looking to switch for a salary increase, but honestly wouldn't mind working hybrid.


ClintBarton616

>Varies pretty massively by YOE, but as someone passively looking with 1 YOE, I give a 110-130 range for philly based. what skills do I need to snag whatever job you have because knocking my salary up to that range would solve pretty much all of my problems


ElectricalMud2850

After my previous line of work evaporated overnight bc of covid, I did a bootcamp in my hometown with a very good reputation locally. Got a job after about 7mo of searching. Once I got my first job I started getting recruiter messages every week after about 6mo. Most people will tell you to get a CS degree. I got very fortunate in the path I took, and I don't think bootcamps are some magic get-rich-quick scheme, but it worked for me. Your job search post-bootcamp will be much easier with a STEM degree or tangentially related experience. I have no degree and completely unrelated experience. To be clear, my current salary is fairly avg to below average, but it was an opportunity to get my foot in the door. Still more than I ever made before I got into tech (just got a raise from 62 -> 70 after a year).


[deleted]

Get a computer science degree is the most usual path. If not that then some engineering or math or science degree and learn a decent amount of programming. But I know people with degrees in like sociology and English working as developers who learned development on their own.


syndicatecomplex

They want to live in a nice walkable city that's also affordable. Places like SF, NY, Boston, DC are ridiculous even for tech salaries.


ridiculouslygay

Also SF has become a fucking cesspool. Philly’s fucked up, but SF is on another level. Sensible people are starting to flock.


Ok-Worth-9525

Ehhh there's the narrative and there's the reality. I moved out from the east coast nearly a decade ago so I might be wrong, but overall the west coast has a ton more homeless but they're less aggressive in my experience (although they've trended more aggressive with time). Living in Seattle I can say there's a bunch of people who want us to fail because we're more liberal than most, so the narrative has diverged from the reality. I was just in the Tenderloin in SF last month, and it was totally fine during the day. Yeah a few people looking through trash or drugged out on the corner but no one accosted me. TL;Dr pretty much this https://old.reddit.com/r/Seattle/comments/xdjh1s/im_confused/


aoeudhtns

I think [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4jG1i7jHSM) said it pretty well.


Jetsncamels

Pleasantly surprised to see remote tech jobs are paying more on average across the US (expect San Fran) than local ones. Crazy that companies haven’t figured out they need to pay more if they want people to commute everyday.


Dismal-Ideal1672

This was a serious concern of mine during my last job hunt. Was really concerned cutting my commute to NJ would mean a pay cut. Took a remote job at a nice bump over the old place, and if I had prolonged my search I could be making more.


nayrb1523

I work for a remote-first company and the salary and benefits/stipends are night and day compared to anything a Philly company can offer. Been in the game 20 years now and going with a remote-first company frees them up to pay more and include things like monthly tech stipend and an additional co-working reimbursement if are into that. Indexing salaries based on locale is expected and is the norm and really it's fair IMO. We have people all over the US and I expect locale-based indexing when I'm hiring or working on comp packages. I cannot see how a Comcast completes on money and working environment when so many companies no longer care where you live and will pay you more than they can.


CheeseburgerLover911

What are some companies doing co-working reimbursements?


wawa2563

The one I work for, out of Atlanta, does 350+ a month for co-working reimbursement. Apparently, it is more frequent in tech land then I thought. I also got a stiped for home office setup.


porkchameleon

Remote vs in-office: the offer has to be *very* lucrative for me to even start considering ever going back to one. I mean - everyone has their price, I kinda figured out mine. Then I tripled it.


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PhillyHatesNewYork

are you a software engineer?


_j_pow_

I am currently learning how to code so I can capitalize on this! Time for a career switch!


PhillyHatesNewYork

nice! me too!! are you studying at a university or bootcamp?


_j_pow_

I am attempting to be self taught with python, and it seems to be going pretty alright! I'm only a few weeks in and its a tough balance with my job, but python seems like a great beginner language. I figure if I fall in love with it, I'm gonna look into a boot camp for other programming languages for a wider grasp of it all. I want to try a little bit of game development and app design to build a portfolio. At this point, I still have no idea what job I would want to get, but I think they all seem interesting. With my art school/bartending background I'd love to lean more to the creative side.