Hi, What is the salary range for an experienced programmer (10 years) who has his SCJP+SCJD+SCEA? I am willing to relocate, and don't mind at all a job that requires travel. Davis
if this is your profile ....... then i think you shouldn;t be concerned of the salary you'll be getting ........ infact you could demand for it from your employers
Davis: I see two possible senarios: 1. SCJP + SCJD + SCJA + USA B.S. COLLEGE + 10yrs EXPERIENCE (with at least 2 yrs Java/EJB/JSP/UML) You should be in the US$100K range for a senior level Java programmer - to the US$150K range for an architect. These are base salary figures only - and do not include bonus or benefits. 2. SJCP + SCJD + SCJA + NO COLLEGE + 10 yrs EXPERIENCE (but all on mainframe side). You should be in the US$80K range to US$100K range - and I am leaning towards the US$80K. But, after working with J2EE for 2 years - your salary will increase another $20K - probably time to look for another company then. For some reason - it's tough to get more than a 10% yearly raise out of a company - and even that is pushing it. If you fit into scenario #2 - but are only getting $65K/YR offers - grab one but don't kill yourself. Get the J2EE experience level up and then go for the major $$$. An in the meantime, keep looking. If you rally have all the above certifications + 2 or 3 years Java experience - I would say look into doing 6 to 9 month contract gigs. And as Raghav said - the $$ will take care of itself quite nicely. ------- My reference points: BS COMP SCI - with/without SCJP - pays US$45K to US$55K MS COMP SCI - with/without SCJP - pays US$55K to US$65K These were the figures I used for 1999 & 2000 This last 2 job searches (Oct '00 & Mar '01) - the offers were in the US$60 to US$70 range (I have MS Comp.Sci.) - except for Hewlett-Packard which utterly blew everyone off the charts. ----------- Time for my weekly rant: The bottom line being - IT (C/C++/Java) salaries have not gone down from what I have seen. I do think there are Java/C/C++ jobs out there - but only if you have the education and experience. And for the college kids reading on this board - you get your experience doing internships/etc. -------- The people getting totally killed in this market - are the entry-level H1B folks still trying to come to USA - and the 18th month tech school kids. And if you were too lazy to grab an internship or other related computer work while in college - well tough!!! John Coxey (jpcoxey@aol.com)
[This message has been edited by John Coxey (edited July 06, 2001).] [This message has been edited by John Coxey (edited July 06, 2001).]