How much does a computer programmer earn?

In this excerpt from
Answercast #28, I look at the wide range of salaries for computer
programmers and the many factors leading into it.

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Programmer’s salary

There is no answer to this question. Or rather, there are as many answers to this question as there are programmers and as there are locations on the planet in which to program.

Salaries in one country will be dramatically different from salaries in another. Salaries may be close to minimum wage in some places. Salaries may be exorbitantly high in another place.

Wage factors

Salaries will depend on:

• Your level of experience

• Your level of competence

• The budget available at the companies where you’re considering getting hired

• Just how good you are

The minimum and maximum?

Oh sure… from five dollars an hour up to half a million dollars a year? I mean, I honestly don’t know; it’s that wide of a range – so wide as to be completely useless to try and answer your question.

Do some research

What I would suggest you do instead is:

• Start talking to some of the companies that you are interested in working for;

• Start talking to some of the people that work for those companies;

• Start talking to some of the recruiting firms that may be in your area, or may deal with those kinds of companies.

Start there, simply to get a sense for the answer to your question. I think that’s probably the best and most qualified way you’re going to get an answer.

Just in general terms… it depends so much on so many different things! Your best bet is to narrow down the focus of your question to a specific place. Then, you can at least start to understand what might be realistic.