Webmaster Salary

[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

[Jason_Batten]

I used to be able to see the squirrels and they were married and now I can't.

Anyone else see these married squirrels? :glare:

[piersk]

I'd be looking to earn aroun £20k-£25k when I finish working for the union next year. I think that works out at about $40k-$50k

Thinking about it, bubblenut started working for audioscrobbler a little while ago... PHP/PgSQL... wonder what he's on. Maybe if I ply him with enough alcohol on saturday then I can find out...

[Elizabeth]

Originally posted by Weedpacket
...Or an office with a door.

The only office I've ever had in my entire life that had a real door (and walls and everything) is the one at home 🙂. I feel like Les Nessman.

[piersk]

Originally posted by NetNerd85
Anyone else see these married squirrels? :glare:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/

[pohopo]

Originally posted by 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

we're gonna need to go ahead and move you downstairs into storage B. We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get. So if you could go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?

That movie is a classic.

[Sxooter]

And, here's some RAID. We've had a lot of problems with cockroaches down here, so we'd like you to spray for them.

Back to the semi serious topic, by benefits, I really meant stuff like education etc...

If the company had full medial and dental with a small deductable, and was willing to work around a school schedule and things like that, then it might be worth looking at for $35k for someone looking to break into web development.

But if they're as cheap as I'm guessing they are, there are no benefits, and you'll be expected to work 12 hour days just keep the job.

Sorry, I've still got a bitter taste in my mouth from my previous employer in Denver, mainly because of how they treat my friends that are still there.

[Elizabeth]

Originally posted by Sxooter
If the company had full medial and dental with a small deductable, and was willing to work around a school schedule and things like that, then it might be worth looking at for $35k for someone looking to break into web development.

... and it's not just the more tangible benefits, it's the unseen benefits as well. I know we've talked about this topic before numerous times, but it's not always about the money. In this job, would you be autonomous? Would you be allowed to develop and implement your own systems with the minimal of micromanagement? Obviously these are things you can't ask outright, but they are subtle nuances you can perhaps pick up through the interview process. I would much rather work for a great smaller company for minimum wage than sell my soul to a large company that thinks they own me because they pay well. You said yourself that you liked the look of the company; I wouldn't automatically discount them or the opportunity because of salary. Especially at an entry level position.

I now make roughly half of what I did when I worked for a large company and I'm roughly twice as happy now, if not more so. So from my perspective, happiness and contentment with life is inversely proportional to salary. But that's just me 🙂

[edit]IMHO just because a company can't afford to pay a lot doesn't necessarily mean they won't have good benefits... just like a large organization doesn't necessarily mean they will have good benefits. My husband works for the state and they have the crappiest benefits around because of budget issues. Also, a company that pays well may be shooting itself in the foot if it can't sustain the sales to cover it... maybe the company is just being conservative? Who knows? I have a friend that started a business and the first thing she did was to get a big fancy office downtown with very expensive furniture because she thought it would impress her clients. Funny thing was she almost went bankrupt because she couldn't afford the overhead. Things are not always what they seem- just keep that in mind.[/edit]

(Hey, I've got to go, I've got a meeting with the Bobs)

[pohopo]

Yeah, salary means nothing if you hate every minute of your job. A big thing for me is how well I talk with the person that is going to be my manager. If we do not click then it is not good for me or them regardless if I might be technically qualified or not.

Right now I have to say I am pretty happy. Good pay, good boss that completely trusts me, and good benefits.

"Absolutely, the pleasure's all on this side of the table, trust me. "