I am a software engineer and have been with my company for 10 years. It has not been until the past couple of years where I have been able to focus on a specific set of technology's (C#/MVC web development). I am currently one level below a Senior Software Engineer but have been doing Senior level work on my team in addition to acting as a technical lead....which is highly annoying as everyone else on my team is a Senior Software Engineer. IT salaries have exploded and employer is not keeping pace. My strategy: Spend the next 6 months or so preparing for a job interview so that I can totally nail it when the time comes. My goal is get an offer of no less than $100,000 (I am in the Tampa, FL market). Question: For those that have been in the business for awhile, what advice would you give so I can meet or exceed my goal? My strategy seems straight forward but I want to get others opinions. thanks fan27
Only generic advice as I do not live in the States: Why not shopping for a new job right away as you go forward. Once you are under pressure it will be prospective employers that dictate terms and conditions. And if you need to prepare for 6 months for an interview then that is usually a giveaway that you do not seem to be confident about your skills and abilities. If that is the case then I would rather start with really outlining for yourself what you are good at right now and what you want to ideally be good at. If there is a divergence then I recommend you sit your bums down and learn what is missing. If my hunch is wrong then go out there and start marketing your skill set. 100k is not a whole lot (well not sure in Tampa FL) for a developer. By the way, drop that title talk, who gives a darn, unless you care. But it sounded more like you are about the green. So, know what you have to sell and be able to talk about your strengths. If you lack skills then yes you got a problem and I would tackle the problem with acquiring skills. There are no shortcuts unless you want to become a sucker (or hooker).
I'm sure you've heard of this already, but if not CareerCup is a great tool for training those tricky interview questions.
I'm in the same role, but I am on the contracting side of the business....and I don't see my rates exploding...at all. In fact they continue to decline due to the economy and all of the H1B visa candidates floating around. Also, every where I've been, they treat us contractors like low-level "temps".....and I'm tired of the abuse....both mental and financial. In a couple of cases, I didn't even get paid for work done. IT is only decent if you are on the "inside". So I'm looking to get out and use my skills to start an algo trading business.
I am not sure of the OP's personal situation. But at that pay level, the potential aggravation probably isn't worth the potential 10-15% pay differential. Been through the contractor circuit myself, nothing beats being entrenched in a good organization with an exciting product.
Thanks for the responses. The thing is, I know there are people on my team making 100k who are doing no more work than I am doing and my pay is significantly less. Syswizard, what specific type of work do you do where you see the rates falling? As to xandman, I hear your point. I have my own product that I work on the side that I would love to see take off. Nothing beats working on an exciting product! Until it takes off I need to remain a wage slave. fan27
I have a side project that I have been working the past few years which has taken all of my free time. http://fasterbull.com/