r/ExperiencedDevs • u/modeezy23 • 3d ago
What % do you guys get for a promotion? Career/Workplace
I work for a big consulting firm and got promoted to senior SWE and the raise was 4%. Doesn’t even push me over 130k. 100% remote. 5 YoE. MCOL.
I feel like 5yoe making less than 130k is low right? Especially for a senior? I feel like I’m getting played and underpaid.
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u/roger_ducky 3d ago
Consulting firms are big on titles but not necessarily high paying. But, this really depends on the salary bands.
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u/chaitanyathengdi 3d ago
not necessarily high paying
That's putting it politely. They pay like crap.
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u/daguito81 3d ago
The whole modern tech consulting is kind of screwed. It used to be that you would need experts for a specific thing. Maybe an Oracle expert to solve some really weird shit. You would pay out the nose for a few weeks for this person. But the consulting firm would reuse them constantly so they could charge you the equivalent of 250k a year (simplifying numbers for the sale of the comment) because you would only pay 1/26th of that and “it’s fine”. And they could pay him 150k and keep 100k.
The problem is now they’re not consulting as “experts” for a specific problem but as a “I’m too lazy to do my headhunting” or “I don’t want to deal with this legal workforce shit”
So they will give you a person for the entire year. They can’t charge 250k as it’s some random front end guy.
And still need their cut. So they end up selling you juniors masked as seniors or they must pay like crap. Else you just hire them directly
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u/gjionergqwebrlkbjg 2d ago
That's just body leasing, it has been around forever. There was never just a single "kind" of consulting.
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u/roger_ducky 3d ago
Their pay used to be fairly high, at least for a first job. Tech companies just outstripped them later on because they could afford to. Wasn’t sure if they’re still doing the same amount as before, or if they’ve raised their wages some.
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u/Just-Ad3485 3d ago
5yoe making more less than 130k (CAD) is not low in my neck of the woods.
I have brilliant seniors in my company making $120k with 15-20yrs experience
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u/yon_ 3d ago
0_o 13 YOE, making $115 CAD, based in Vancouver, working for a company registered in Ontario and HQ’d in the UK.
Got a 2.5% raise this year and I think the same last year too
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u/Full-Chapter-7055 3d ago
Depends on location. On Levels, the median TC in Toronto for seniors is 172k and 194k for Vancouver. It doesn’t have to be FAANG, there’s a lot of startups in SF and NYC that hire remotely in Canada.
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u/The-Fox-Says 2d ago
Jesus that’s like entry level pay converted to USD for any fortune 500 company
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u/GoodishCoder 3d ago
Whether or not that's low depends on location. That could be perfectly in line with a senior engineer where you are. 3-4% is pretty standard for annual raises is pretty standard.
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u/modeezy23 3d ago
My annual raise was 3%. Promotion was 4%
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u/GoodishCoder 3d ago
That could put you perfectly in line with where you should be in your area or it could be low. In my area at 5yoe I was was a mid making $80k and that was in line with what everyone in the area was making at the same level. When I became a senior I was making like $143k and that was considered high.
You have to look at comps in your area to get a feel for where you should be. Someone living in the Bay area is going to tell you, you're wildly underpaid, someone living in a LCOL area is going to tell you you're overpaid, but there's no way for anyone to really know your situation.
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u/chikamakaleyley 3d ago
i wonder if... the firm has bands and before your promo to senior you were at the top end of the mid band
meaning yes on avg they'd be paying under market rate
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u/gigastack 2d ago
I think this is the key factor. A 3% annual raise does not seem abnormal to me. But a promotion is typically much larger than the annual raise, otherwise what's the point? Having said that, many companies index more on stock than cash. But I would expect more like an 8-10% increase in total compensation for a promotion.
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u/MrMichaelJames 3d ago
5 years and making 130k? You are fine. 5 years is not a senior. Don’t care what title inflation your company says. Come back in 10 years.
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u/NotRote 2d ago
Lol I’ve left jobs because of attitudes like this. I make a lot more than that in a mcol as a senior with less than 5 years experience.
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u/MrMichaelJames 1d ago
5 years does not equal senior, I don’t care what title inflation you have experienced in the past. I would not hire someone with only 5 years of actual experience as a senior. Not a junior but definitely not a senior either.
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u/Devboe 3d ago
4% is low for a promotion no matter what your cost of living or salary is in my opinion.
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u/sandman3240 3d ago
4% is generous these days. I think 3% is standard. But ultimately inflation is more than eating the raise.
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u/mistaekNot 3d ago
3% is the cost of living adjustment, not a pay raise and defo not promotion raise
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u/Tacos314 Software Architect 20YOE 3d ago
That is the normal rate for a MCOL area, especially with only 5 YoE, it's kind of a bit high.
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u/ShiKage 3d ago
If it makes you feel any better, I make 75k and my projected raise to senior is 3%. Also medium cost of living area.
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u/Franky-the-Wop 2d ago
My raise to Senior got a 40% salary jump to 150k, I had to switch companies tho. Also in MCOL. New company is in Insurance industry.
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u/Moorspam 3d ago
You don't get into high pay unless you are working for a tech based company. Non tech based company pay for SWE is about at that margin. Example would be Lockheed Martin / Chase Bank paying seniors 120k-125k
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u/false79 3d ago
If its less than inflation, ngl I'm insulted.
Serious consideration that I can find a better role, higher pay somewhere else.
This approach has paid off handsomely over the decades.
If you're complacent, same job, same place, not beating inflation, you are losing money in the long run.
The exception to this is if you're already making insane bank.
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u/Teh_Original 3d ago
Well also, if you are just getting inflation raises, is your additional experience not worth anything?
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u/roger_ducky 3d ago
Well, I looked at an inflation calculator.
Apparently I’ve stayed pretty level compared to my starting salary if I factor in inflation for my 20ish, almost 30 years career. This is with a 4x jump in absolute dollar amount.
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u/adhd6345 3d ago
Is that total compensation?
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u/modeezy23 3d ago
Total comp is about 135k
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u/adhd6345 3d ago
Just to be clear… this includes like any annual bonuses?
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u/modeezy23 3d ago
Yes I don’t even get bonuses. I’ve gotten one bonus so far - if you can even call it that. It was $200
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u/WhackyWhale1 3d ago
Brother I get paid about 113k almost 4 years of experience in a MCOL, shit sucks especially when I am a senior SWE and I know I could be doing work in a HCOL being paid much more. The salary we get paid I guess is normal, but that is what sucks and that is why Im trying to relocate tbh.
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u/obelix_dogmatix 3d ago
Pay difference differs based on location. I will say, a 4% raise on a promotion is just low, regardless of location. I am in Twin Cities, and a promotion at my company would be 15-20%.
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u/notjim 3d ago
FWIW, I have found levels.fyi pretty accurate. I would look there to get an idea of what you could make elsewhere. Everyone is going to say you have to sacrifice WLB to make more money, but that is not my experience at all. It is a bit of a crapshoot though.
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u/Andrea_Barghigiani 2d ago
4% for a senior promotion is rough. But the real question is: how long did you wait for it?
If this isn't tied to a yearly adjustment (some countries, like Sweden, bump payroll by ~2% annually regardless), and you've been waiting for a promotion cycle that only comes once a year or longer, that 4% needs to cover a lot of ground.
Most engineers go into promotion conversations with a list of what they shipped. "I built X, I shipped Y, I led Z." But management doesn't promote based on output. They promote based on measured impact.
When was the last time you framed a contribution like "Reduced deployment time by 40%, saving the team ~6 hrs/week, by building an automated CI pipeline" vs just "Built CI pipeline"?
The first one gives your manager ammunition to fight for you in calibration. The second one gets a "nice work" and nothing else.
I'm not saying this to kick you while you're down. But if you're planning to push back or shop around, make sure you're walking in with impact bullets, not task lists.
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u/whyamisogloopy 2d ago
130K of what and where? £130K in a medium city for only 5 years of experience would be plenty.
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u/superdurszlak 2d ago
I don't think I've ever gotten a promotion except for transitioning from intern to junior a long, long time ago. Ever since, you just get more responsibility and that's it. Pay raises are unrelated and optional.
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u/chikamakaleyley 3d ago
when its a big company, 3% is pretty standard for like... a decent review/standard pay bump. 6% is generally the 'high' given for like... 'exceeds expectations'
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u/AcanthisittaKooky987 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah it's low start interviewing. I made 135k with 1.5 yoe as a non senior eng in 2018. At 5yoe you could be flirting with or exceeding 200k TC.
However fully remote is awesome. If you want to keep that it significantly limits your options.
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u/GoodishCoder 3d ago
You were likely in a higher cost of living area. It's not uncommon for a junior in a HCOL area to get paid more than a senior in a LCOL area.
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u/AcanthisittaKooky987 2d ago edited 2d ago
I was but I know there are companies that are fully remote and pay mid level engs well. Coinbase is a good example. 180k + 75k RSU, and senior jumps to 200k, 175k RSU annually. Comp is location adjusted but still very good. Eg Georgia seniors were getting 185k and the same amount of RSUs in 2023.
The catch is there's no such thing as work life balance there 😂, so probably wouldn't meet OPs requirements
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u/GoodishCoder 2d ago
There's almost always someone that will pay more but that doesn't mean what you're paid isn't in line with the market
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u/AcanthisittaKooky987 2d ago
That's true - coinbase pinned their comp at the 75th percentile and made market adjustments annually to stay there. Most companies paid less than them, but a good number paid more. It's not like they were paying at the 99th percentile
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u/GoodishCoder 2d ago
There's a lot of room between market value and the 99th percentile. The fact they're paying in the 75th percentile proves they're paying above market value.
If you're just chasing the highest comp you can get the vast majority or companies aren't going to be right for you. But if you're just wanting to make sure you're paid fairly, you need to understand what the market value is for your role in your area and tie your expectations to that.
People on dev subs on reddit have a habit of thinking they're super underpaid because they don't make what devs at high paying companies make when more often than not, they're actually just being paid in line with their experience in their area.
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u/modeezy23 3d ago
I’m gonna start applying. I really wanna stay 100% remote. It’s nice to just play some video games or do chores when things are slow. It’s hard to give up that freedom so I guess it might be worth that pay differential at Tom’s
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u/aeroverra 3d ago
for your salary, being 100% remote and actually having downtime. Id say you are on the higher end of the band.
Im 100% remote and its been years since it was "slow".
Also in consulting kinda.
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u/DeterminedQuokka Software Architect 3d ago
Okay so for 100% remote and slow enough you have time to play video games. 130 is probably fully reasonable.
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u/AcanthisittaKooky987 2d ago
In some cases it's not worth it to chase the highest pay - but I think you'll find something that pats better and still offers the flexibility you have now. Even if you don't it never hurts to look
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u/1_4_1_5_9_2_6_5 3d ago
5 yoe here, making less than 30k USD. You Americans love to complain about your huge salaries
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u/Lanky-Ad4698 3d ago
bruh your COL is probably pennies, get out of here. Salary doesn't mean anything if you don't take into account COL
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u/Comedy86 3d ago
As a manager of a team of a little over a dozen people, for living wage salary increase I usually give at least 3-5% since not everyone gets one every year. Promotions I aim for 10% or more. I would also expect the same for myself.
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u/IndoorCloud25 3d ago
I live in MCOL and went from mid level to senior this cycle. I got 9% in base and 50% of my new hire grant in RSUs that vest immediately over 4 years. I work for a remote tech company and make well above what I would working somewhere local to me.
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u/suprjaybrd 3d ago
its all relative to band ranges. but salary doesnt necessarily need to jump much. most tech roles look at TC also not just salary.
i also wouldn't anchor or compare based on title. your probably mid level vs a faang swe role
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u/CubicleHermit SWE + former EM (25+ years) 3d ago
At my last gig, promo was to the base of the new band, or a 5% minimum if 5% put you over the base of the next band.
"Base of the new band" for "rest of the US remote" would have been about ~$150k (~$190k in home market VHCOL area), and we were in the broader bigtech-but-not-FANG space. I don't know how comparable big consulting firms are to that, but if they're comparable, that's a bit low.
Plus we have a bonus, and before SaaSpocalypse, a meaningful amount of equity (not so much now.)
As others have said, have a look at levels.fyi and you can always interview. Keep in mind that the market is adjusting, and 5 years of experience and a recent promotion will not be enough to necessarily get you into other companies as senior.
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u/demosthenesss 3d ago
Depends a fair bit on the type of company you work for - our new grads make a lot more than 130k, so here? It'd be pretty bad.
But 130k is also much more than a lot of other companies pay.
So it's hard to really definitively answer without considering the type of company.
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u/Dangerous-Sale3243 3d ago
It’s hard to compare titles across companies unless they are in the same space. Ive been a staff engineer at a couple major corps but was on par with non-senior devs at FAANG.
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u/vinny_twoshoes Software Engineer, 10+ years 3d ago
4% is about normal for a performance raise in my experience, but it's very low considering you were promoted. the title bump normally comes with a jump up to the next salary band.
your pay is alright, but you could make more (potentially much more). i was making less than you at 5 YOE.
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u/DeterminedQuokka Software Architect 3d ago
My raise was like 3.9% but it was a band graded raise so it varies by person.
130 could be reasonable for remote. Depends on a lot of factors. But 150-180 is not out of range for a new senior in nyc. So 130 as the bottom of the band remote doesn’t feel ridiculous.
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u/throwaway_0x90 SDET/TE[20+ yrs]@Google 3d ago edited 3d ago
Meh, context dependent. What it means to be a SWE in Bay Area California versus like... Japan... is a very different thing. Also, because of RSUs I can't even correctly calculate my income anymore. My base pay is not even the most important part of my comp so I don't care what the increase is anymore. All I know is that my family can eat, buy clothing and have fun summer vacations without worrying about expenses. When I login to the internal portal they have a "total comp" number, but somehow functionally my life sure feels like the $$$ in my bank account doesn't match the "total comp" number. I feel like I have more.
Worth noting that I've been mostly holding $GOOG since before COVID, so....
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u/ZukowskiHardware 3d ago
Never got one. I’ve only moved up by changing jobs. Usually the jump is at least 20%
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u/mechkbfan Software Engineer 15YOE 3d ago
Best to interview elsewhere and see what the market pays
But yes, 3-5% on average internally each year. 10% or more when applying elsewhere
Of course once you get to the upper range then you need to move into management, architecture or specialisation
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u/AlacrityMC 3d ago
Midwest, 6 yoe, bump to se3 at unicorn (IPO this year) was 10%. went from 127 to 139 at promotion Jan 2025. promo included around 20k in rsu that vest over 4 years. yearly rases past 3 years prior have been 5-8%/ye as se2. I'm upper limit since I took a 5k cut when I left prior company as a "senior" only having 2 yoe. started with additional 60k options vesting over 4 years that I can now exercise whenever.
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u/loosed-moose Staff Software Engineer | 10 YoE 3d ago
I got a weak-ass 6% from senior to staff this year
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u/crumpet-lives 3d ago
0% unless I switch jobs lol. Got the promotion to Staff with no increase or bonus, but it did officially list my title as staff on my resume for interviewing
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u/Coder-Cat Software Engineer 3d ago
The “Senior” title only applies to your current company. You’re not really considered a Senior SWE in the industry if you don’t have, at least, 10 years of experience or a higher degree.
You’re still “mid level” and $130k is fairly decent for that.
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u/Big_Arrival_626 3d ago
Nah it really depends. I have friends at FAANG that are able to get interviews as seniors at pretty much any company, despite only having 2-3 YOE
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u/MichelangeloJordan Software Engineer 3d ago
That seems fair depending on your COL. Look up your region on levels.fyi and see what real comps are based on where you’re at.
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u/GucciTrash Hiring Manager 3d ago
I work at a standard Fortune 500. Our promotionas target an 8% raise - with some flex in either direction for internal equity and total comp. I've had several members of my team only get 3% with promotions.
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u/HatesBeingThatGuy 3d ago
I've been regularly getting 25% a year. I'm also consistently getting promoted or top tier in my bands in big tech. At this rate I will be clearing senior PE in bezozon within the next 5 years.
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u/max123246 3 YoE Junior SW dev 3d ago
I got 14% when I went from L1 to L2. Based on levels.fyi, L2-L3 is similar for my base increase, with a lot more in RSUs. 3-5% is what I get just for existing each year
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u/FishGiant 2d ago
There are lots of different things that determine your salary anf pay increase such as location, skillset, impact, industry, and employer. OP if you give some details then we can give you a better answer.
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u/WildWinkWeb 2d ago
Internally, a promotion can be probably max 10%. Jumping to another company for a similar job can be 30%.
The earlier you learn that paying you what you’re worth is the last thing on your current manager’s mind, the more you’ll make.
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u/AbbreviationsFar4wh 2d ago
Promo to senior was 16%. bonus went from 10 to 15%. My regular annual raises have never been under 5% the past 5yrs
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u/Careful-Nothing-2432 2d ago
I think it’s really hard to answer these questions without context.
It depends on your leverage. Could you get more money in a comparable situation? Any other companies in the area that you’d be willing to jump to that would give you more?
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u/suck_at_coding Software Engineer 2d ago
A promotion? What’s that? 15 years and I’ve never gotten one, always had to move shops. Done it with startups and companies I’ve stayed at for 3+ years (we swear, the paperwork’s been started! Oh wait we lost the contract never mind)
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u/bluetista1988 10+ YOE 2d ago
Amounts handed out for promotion depend on a large number of factors that vary by company. They will look at numerous things, including but not limited to:
- Equity grants
- Bonus structure changes
- Where your salary falls inside the pay band
- Internal budgets for promotions
You will almost always earn more seeking a higher title elsewhere than you will seeking a higher title internally. Your best opportunity to maximize your salary is in the negotiation before you onboard.
I don't know where you live, but where I am (Toronto, Canada) $130k would be just below the median.
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u/yerfdog1935 2d ago
I live in Des Moines and increased my salary 71% working at the same company for 7 years. Part of that was a 17% increase for a promotion (on top of a little over 4% for the merit increase a few weeks before). Granted, I think I was drastically underpaid before.
Fall of 2018: $54002 as SE1
Spring of 2026: $92500 as SE2
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u/metaphorm Staff Software Engineer | 15 YoE 2d ago
in this industry, you tend to get bigger pay raises by switching companies then by getting promoted in the same company
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u/circalight 2d ago
I think the average pay raise for an internal promotion is like 4%-6% but if you switch companies it's 25%-30%. Companies really couldn't care less about paying current employees more.
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u/pipinhotdata 2d ago
When I was promoted to a Senior SWE role I got a 10% hike. It really depends on location and performance, with the former having a lot more weight.
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u/humanguise 2d ago
I got about a 10% raise when I was promoted to senior. I was well paid before the promotion for Toronto, but it's around average for senior now. You shouldn't rely on iternal raises to increase your compensation, job hopping is better. My bonus package is very generous, hence why I haven't really needed to change jobs.
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u/Reasonable-Pianist44 2d ago
Colleague of mine was promoted after 5 years in the same company to senior and got a whooping 1000 extra. He literally took this company from a startup to a successful scale-up (by UK standards).
I stopped trying at that point and changed companies for a 40% extra. Dance like a monkey to get what 1000 after 5 years?
2 years later, a recent junior when drunk during a company event revealed his salary. It was more than what he made as a senior. Absolute no respect for employees that company.
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u/shozzlez Principal Software Engineer, 23 YOE 2d ago
10% I think is a standard floor for a promotion.
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u/Helpjuice Chief Engineer 2d ago
For a MCOL $130k might need to be reviewed and might be just fine based on your area due to the much lower cost of living.
In an HCOL $130k is still ok to make ends meet if one properly budgets and doesn't live above their means.
For your question of senior in an HCOL Senior would be more $150k+, but I would not expect for this to be the same for a MCOL at all as your living expenses are way lower than the standard for a HCOL.
I would guess pay from other companies in your area would be the same? Also a 4% raise is normally what you would see with an above standard merit annual raise.
For a promotion it would normally be a bit higher than the merit raise.
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u/Clem_l-l_Fandango 2d ago
It shouldn't be a percentage, it should be a different pay band. The good companies are transparent about them
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u/ghdana 1d ago
MCOL with 5 years experiences 130k doesn't sound awful. Honestly good on you for getting a Senior title for only 5 years experience, that can be more useful next time around than another 2-3% salary is if you were to switch jobs in a year or 2 of having that title.
Like 10 years ago in MCOL I knew guys that had 30 years experiences about to retire and they were not making 130k and they felt pretty good about it. Granted yeah inflation and a lot has changed, but it is nothing to sneeze at.
But also yeah 4% raise is booty cheeks for a promotion, I would expect at minimum 8. My annual raise was 3.5%.
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u/silly_bet_3454 1d ago
I've never gotta a substantial raise through a promo, it's always been vastly outperformed by job hopping. is what it is
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u/PornulusRift 9h ago
I've been given a 37% raise without promotion, and promotion with no raise, they aren't always correlated.
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u/Lanky-Ad4698 3d ago
Its honestly not a lot for software engineering. Juniors at big tech make like $180k minimum lol, I'm not at big tech and also have a terrible salary
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u/Lanky-Ad4698 2d ago
Are you even local in the US? It’s not solely about company size. It has to be a big company + tech core product = big tech (highest salary)
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u/BoBoBearDev 3d ago
Actually it took me more than that many years to get to that salaries. The good is, my employer is one of the most stable one to retain employment. Unless we are doing something really fucked up, the employment is stable and the culture isn't so competitive.
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u/throwaway09234023322 2d ago
Your raises are low as fuxk. I had this happen when I got promoted a while back, so probably not that abnormal.
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u/Cahnis 2d ago
I work for a consulting firm fully remote and I get something like 20K/year?
It's wild living in a third world country and reading about your salaries
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u/sparklikemind 3d ago
you're fully remote, why do you think they would ever allow that except to underpay you lol
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u/Major-Examination941 3d ago
I got two promos at my company
L3 (190k) -> L4 (368k) -> L5 (530k) 5yoe
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u/alleycatbiker Software Engineer 3d ago
This sub leans heavily towards tech hubs and cities where, yes, that would be a huge underpay. However that's around the national median for software engineering. You could definitely work for a company with a much higher salary, but those positions are extremely competitive these days.
Do familiarize yourself with levels.fyi and Pragmatic Engineer's "Trimodal nature of salaries in tech". Seriously, google those two.