What Do the Highest-Paid Programmers Make?

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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May 9, 2000
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If you are presently working in the IT industry and wonder where you fit in the grand scheme of things salary-wise, maybe this information will give you a good idea where you stand. The range of pay depends on many variables such as education, experience and what part of the country you reside.

She said the Java jockeys "seem to be paid the highest and [are] in more demand than C# and ASP.NET.
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Java code monkeys??? I thought java was on the decline...
 
Silicon valley is flourishing??? Yeah maybe 20 years ago it's the equivalent to a tech ghost town now.
 
Somehow I dont think getting a doctorate to make $101k is worth it. I have no degree at all and most of the jobs I've had offers for to match my skill set are in the $95-110k range!
 
Tekara said:
Most graduate degrees aren't worth the investment, PhD more so than a masters. Typically you want to get one after getting a job as a means of moving up or furthering you subject matter expertise.
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It depends entirely on the position. For jobs supporting a business (most of us), it never is. However, research and development jobs, some government jobs, or jobs where that level of experience makes a substantial impact on cost/value, then yes, you will get your money's worth.

And anyway, this article makes it seem like there's only programmer in the country making $400k. Not so -- there are thousands of them, but usually those projects are for relatively short periods, then they go back to normal salary.
 
faugusztin said:
Based on ? On enterprise level, Java is used a lot more than anything else.
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I think people may have thought Java was dieing based of the fact that it sucks from an end-user standpoint. Sluggish, non that responsive, slow. I'm surprised the Garbage Collector hasn't formed into Skynet inorder to eliminate all forms of Java and then eliminate itself.

Har har har, in all seriousness though, I avoid anything Java like the plague. If I saw the exact same application encoded in Java or C++, I'd take the C++ one everyday. Even if it was a different application with less features, I'd take the C++ one everyday. Take for example eMule versus ed2k(eDonkey 2000). Back in the day, I used to ues eD2k and could download at a speed of about 15kb/sec and it would somehow use up 60% of my cpu-usage on a Pentium III-450mhz pc. I know the speed sounds a bit rediculously low but it was the early 90s! ed2k was a fine Java-application. As soon as emule came out a year later, coded in c++, I switched day one. I could do 100kb/sec and cpu usage was only 7% on the same PC. ...Go Java's 'efficiency'. I could actually play Starcraft and download at the same time --shocker--.

I've heard all about how Java just needs to be properly optimized for your system, update your runtime environment, etc etc and Java will be just as fast! Never was able to get Java to run anywhere near as fast as C++ on any PC I've ever used even with the latest runtime environments.
 
WBurchnall said:
I think people may have thought Java was dieing based of the fact that it sucks from an end-user standpoint. Sluggish, non that responsive, slow. I'm surprised the Garbage Collector hasn't formed into Skynet inorder to eliminate all forms of Java and then eliminate itself.

Har har har, in all seriousness though, I avoid anything Java like the plague. If I saw the exact same application encoded in Java or C++, I'd take the C++ one everyday. Even if it was a different application with less features, I'd take the C++ one everyday. Take for example eMule versus ed2k(eDonkey 2000). Back in the day, I used to ues eD2k and could download at a speed of about 15kb/sec and it would somehow use up 60% of my cpu-usage on a Pentium III-450mhz pc. I know the speed sounds a bit rediculously low but it was the early 90s! ed2k was a fine Java-application. As soon as emule came out a year later, coded in c++, I switched day one. I could do 100kb/sec and cpu usage was only 7% on the same PC. ...Go Java's 'efficiency'. I could actually play Starcraft and download at the same time --shocker--.

I've heard all about how Java just needs to be properly optimized for your system, update your runtime environment, etc etc and Java will be just as fast! Never was able to get Java to run anywhere near as fast as C++ on any PC I've ever used even with the latest runtime environments.
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This perception is based on user-oriented applications from 10 years ago. Java is still one of the dominant players in web and large-scale software, where it processes high-volume systems quite effectively. The UI stuff was always fundamentally handicapped because the platform independence requirement meant that UI features couldn't be closely coupled to the OS and accelerated by platform-specific graphics libraries.

C++ and Java really don't compete; they have different purposes. Java and MS .Net do compete for web and server software, although from what I've seen MS has gradually gained a little against Java, but mainly against miscellaneous languages and platforms, especially defunct ones, and organizations that are starting up completely new development groups. Larger, more established organizations that have been using Java appear to be sticking with Java for the foreseeable future.
 
Good read. Here in Oklahoma they don't want to pay programmers crap. It's getting a little better, but still way below the national average in most cases. Cost of living is pretty low though, so it evens out a little bit.
 
hmm i keep hearing about all these "countless" programmers making big bucks yet I never see many right here in So-Cal
 
B2BigAl said:
Good read. Here in Oklahoma they don't want to pay programmers crap. It's getting a little better, but still way below the national average in most cases. Cost of living is pretty low though, so it evens out a little bit.
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Yea but finding an IT job in Oklahoma can take a while, I just graduated from college and looking for a Job in Oklahoma in the support area working on the servers or desktops. Took a few programming classes in college, good for a hobby but not something I would be interested in as a career. :rolleyes:

also a side not on looking for jobs I just started so its send resumes out and play the waiting game.
 
eon said:
hmm i keep hearing about all these "countless" programmers making big bucks yet I never see many right here in So-Cal
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+1 not alot of high paying jobs here in San Diego... :(
 
86 5.0L said:
Silicon valley is flourishing??? Yeah maybe 20 years ago it's the equivalent to a tech ghost town now.
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Uh... what? Pretty much everything major in tech is either located in or has a presence in silicon valley, from startups to fortune 1000 companies.
 
They're getting paid big amounts yet some nerd sitting in his parents basement create malware using their flaws to steal stuff of our pcs.
 
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