Can anyone outline the progression of SWE from the 90s to present?

Question

Software engineer salaries in the 90s used to be 40k to 50k, which was considered comfortable and similar to an accountant. Now software engineer salaries rival lawyer and doctor salaries and out best many MBAs. Does this sound true?

19g617l4outciu · Accepted Answer

Software engineer salaries in the 80’s were 40-60k, in the 90’s a good engineering on the coasts made six figures. Specialists could make 200k in the 90’s before the dotcom bust.  Outsourcing which really got traction in the early 2000’s crushed the market for a decade.

konpeki · Answer

It definitely sounds true. When I was a kid, I was always like, "If I can earn $50k/year, I'll be set for life" because my Dad made that much to support our whole family.

Nowadays, $100k is like the bare minimum for a comfortable life.

Something to also consider is that salaries for Lawyers and Doctors have also increased (though I don't know by how much).

ahadith · Answer

I feel that there’s higher variance in the field now too. Today, the lowest paid and highest paid engineer can differ by 2-3x, whereas early on with lower supply, compensation was pretty uniform and all within 15-20% of each other.  Would also need to adjust the progression over time for inflation.

BigDudu77 · Answer

In 2000, 65k was a good starting point. The lucky ones were getting 80k and some even 90k

Can anyone outline the progression of SWE from the 90s to present?

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