Webmaster Salary

davidjam

I am applying for a webmaster position in Colorado. The first question they ask me is: "What are your salary requirements?". Basically, it is a small-medium size business and the webmaster has to know php, mysql, html, css, cms and some network support. I went to their site. It is not very complex, but does include registration/auth. and on-line conferences.

As for me, I don't have any experience at this except for a few websites I have made over the years, and the past 2 years of intensively training in the aforementioned languages, which includes a couple of object oriented frameworks for interactive web-sites, the front-ends of which I have only made one and the second is in progress.

What should say?? Any ideas? 🙂

pohopo

Go higher then you think you are worth. Something like...

"well, I would love to make 90k a year, but I am negotiable with this"

and they will go...

"well that is a little high, the max for this position is 75k"

and you go

"I can work with that, especially in such a friendly environment as this, so what are your benefits?"

davidjam

Thanks,

I went to monster.com and ran through a salary report questionnaire. But then I was too cheap to pay for the actual final figure, but they said that I was below the average. The cross-USA average for webmaster is: 25th percentile $53,800, Median $64,000, 75th percentile $77,000.

Then I did some other searching and for the location (Colorado) and my experience and your advice (to offer a little high), I just said $50k to $55k, assuming that I am probably below the 25th percentile anyways.

Hey, I need the experience, and that still seems like a lot to me (although the housing prices are at least double what they are here in Montana! :eek: )

vaaaska

"85% of success is showing up" - Woody Allen

davidjam

Well, here is what I got back from that: "Thank you for your response and your interest. We are a small company and looking to fill a soon to be vacant position as soon as possible. We cannot meet your salary requirements, nor do we have the luxury of waiting until June 15. I wish you the best of luck in your job search."

Well, on to the next job...

AstroTeg

What did you tell them were your salary requirements? (if you don't mind us asking - otherwise hush-hush is cool)

Was the June 15th your requirement?

davidjam

50k to 55k
June 15 (I still have work to do on my house to prepare for sale, and I also have a flock of chickens to deal with!)

bpat1434

50 - 55k and they can't support that? What kind of business is it? For what they're asking, that's a good price (considering you probably would be capped there for a few years). I know that I would have said around 100k per year for that position, that's a lot to ask.

And for the chickens.... Catch 'Em, Skin 'Em, Eat 'Em.... SAVE THE COWS!! WE HAVE A MILK SHORTAGE!!! AND THEY'RE MAD!!!

~Brett

davidjam

I asked them what range they are looking for. They said mid-30s! They are located in Denver in the most exclusive area where housing STARTS at $300,000. Even if I wanted a 30-45 min. commute I would still be looking at housing in the $150k - $200k range, or perhaps I could live in a crime infested area for slightly less.

It made me realize what I have here in Billings (though I'm still motivated to move on).

AstroTeg

That sucks... I'd say they're looking for someone entry level which doesn't match up overly well with what they're looking for that entry level person to do.

Sxooter

I know high school kids who would want more than mid-30s. Hell, that's border line poverty. I'd take a part time position (2 days a week or so) for that, but you can make that kind of money manning a help desk or selling aluminum siding.

csn

Wow, PHP+Mysql'ers are making that much? The vast majority I know "learned" it by flipping through one or more of the plethora of PHP+Mysql books available. Forums like Sitepoint are rife with such people, who are one step above script-kiddies IMO. But...huge sites like LiveJournal and Yahoo use PHP and Mysql.

edit - Actually I can't remember if LiveJournal uses PHP, or Perl or Python.

Sxooter

I taught myself Linux, Apache, PHP and PostgreSQL starting about 6 or 7 years ago. Of course, I was also moderately proficient with C for the 8 or so years before that. But still, I was making $68k in Denver as an intermediate level developer. Our entry level positions started at $35k or $40k. Senior developers were in the $85k to $90k range.

$30,000 is what you make working 9-5 at a gas station in Denver, seriously. It's not like it's East Podunk Idaho, the cost of living is fairly high there, at least in the same range as Chicago, where I now live.

Stick to your guns. Tell them they can have you for less, but only part time, and they need to pony up for benefits. No way would I work the 50+ hours a week they're likely to want from you for that measely a sum. There's lots of construction happening on the I-25 corridor right now, and I knew several guys in my apartment complex there that were making about $40k at that.

davidjam

Thanks sxooter for the local perspective. The fact is, I am entry level in this field. But I just can't afford to live in Denver at 35k. It's weird. I really liked the look of the company. If I had my choice I would much rather be a webmaster for one company than for multiple companies. That really suites me.

/me looks in towns around the 100,000 mark...

Sxooter

If you got REALLY good benefits, it might be worth getting your foot in the door at $35. I started many moons ago doing windows desktop and server support for $45, but that was in 1995. I can't imagine paying a developer and sysadmin that little today. let alont $35k

IS there any room for advancement? Keep the company in mind, at $35k they either won't find any takers, or the takers they find will be worthless or get tired of the crappy pay and move on, so they'll be hiring again real soon.

pohopo

You get what you pay for. This company does not seem to want much and that is what they will get. The quality of development work between two people can be enormous and Ipersonally rather pay twice as much for a person that can do better work in a 4th of the time.

Sxooter

And it's not just the initial speed of development, but the maintainability of the code that gets made.

I've seen plenty of guys who could pound out code all day, but when it came time to change anything, you might as well throw it all away.

Weedpacket

Originally posted by Sxooter
If you got REALLY good benefits, it might be worth getting your foot in the door at $35.

That could be it; standard executive practice is to have only a nominal salary (for which income tax has to be paid) and then a whacking big expense account and other goodies that don't count as income but together are large enough that they don't need a big salary to comport themselves in the manner to which they have become accustomed.

Maybe you should have asked if the job came with use of the company jet. Or an office with a door. Or at least a desk that's not right next to the water cooler. 🙂

csn

Or even a stapler.

bpat1434

You see the company switched from the SlimLine stapeler, and I kept the slim line. They won't take my stapeler. And then they moved my desk, and I used to be able to see the squirrels and they were married and now I can't. I swear one day I'm going to burn down this place.

~Brett