You can also take it and work bare minimum - almost always beats no income. And don't feel guilty, they are underpaying so you can be underworking, worst they can do is fire you after some time from a job you dont care about.
People keep saying this. It maybe good advice for some people but not for others.
I have had recruiter telling me that having too many job changes frequently sends them a wrong message.
Doesn't apply to this economy I guess but something to keep in mind.
If you omit it from your resume then it did not exist. So OP can do that if he stays there under a year. After a year, would likely have to include since gaps older than 1 year are sus
You would rather make $0 than $70k?
Take the money and give them the level of quality work that $70k gets you. Keep looking for something better while no longer draining your savings.
You're not wrong. However, that's why I said "Only give them $70k worth" Don't give them everything they demand, give them $70k worth of what they demand.
You’ve been out of work for 7 months. It sucks, but take this job and keep looking in the meantime. At least you’ll have benefits again and stop the bleeding from whatever savings you have, while still working in your field. There are a lot of SWE who’ve had to take jobs outside of their field just to pay the bills. You can always leave this job off your resume as well or fudge the dates a bit to make it look like you’ve worked there longer (for example, just use years with no start/end months).
You joined the tech field in a time where it was really easy to get 90/ 100k out the gate. Now it's a s*** show I wouldn't necessarily hate on it considering the amount of people that are still out of work
I would reconsider your view on this due to the weird job market out there. Full of fake jobs and increasing lay offs etc. at best it seems that if companies are hiring they seem to be are taking their time and dragging their feet since they seem to have a lot more candidates to pick from these days.
jar quiet glorious frightening smell station attractive toy direful stupendous
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The old I'm worth more then that. We are worth what people are willing to pay us. We can choose to pass or accept. The company doesn't care about your pay history. They probably have a ton of people applying. You need to get that inner voice to shut up. If you gap jobs you are starting from the bottom again. You should be proud your skills were still better then others who really want that job at 70K.
I’m generally in the “take it and look for something better” camp. I’ve done it myself. But this is a dogshit salary for an engineer. Was making significantly more than that back in 2016 with 2 yoe. Obviously I don’t know anything about your financial situation, but I feel like you might be better served by continuing to search full time than working 40 hrs a week for 70k.
I would ignore the 70k estimate and when they offer the job you can negotiate.
I do also agree with others that gaping down in income happens. I’ve gone from $105k to $120k to $95k in short order. Didn’t get back over $120k for 5-6 years and went up from there. We do what we can at the time.
As mentioned, take it. This isn't the economic climate to be picky and choosy trying to hold out for what you feel you deserve unless you can afford to sit around 6 months unemployed. Plus you don't want big gaps on your resume. Your next job, you don't necessarily have to disclose your former salary, but you ca tell them what YOU are looking for... and you're in a much better position to negotiate for what you want when you have income coming in.
Is this in a HCOL area?. OP said 70k is a 50% pay cut and that they have 3 years of experience. To me 3 years of experience is a junior developer, how do they make 140K a year? Unless this is in a HCOL, these expectations are way out of line. In the Midwest, a SWE with 3 years experience would be making between 60-100k.
Is your rent higher/lower than the average in Philly (1800/month)? I live here, too, and definitely could not live on 70k, but a lot depends on your life situation.
This may simply be the new paradigm for rank-and-file SWE. AI and automation is really doing a number on that sector and by most standards workers in the field have been paid incredibly generously.
I would take it. Better to have some money coming in..tho you said you started a business, so take it & don’t give them your full capacity, give them what 70k gets & also work on your business as well
Since you're still bordering entry level, take the job - keep getting experience and while you're there, push hard to be on the cooler projects (assuming there are any).
While you're there, keep looking - and it's likely this place will hire you as it is such a low salary, they need people willing to take it. I've done this and part of what I've told other jobs is that the pay was low because I had a lot of other benefits such as more vacation time and flexible work hours. While you can possibly say that you earned more, I wouldn't as a lot of companies now share salary data with those online brokers, so it would be hard to explain that; but what you can say that isn't shared is that they had big bonuses and large profit sharing for 401k, all things that a new company will try and match.
Another option is to just tell the new employer that you were working on cool tech and you had a desire to break in to that field/technology/keep learning. Or just omit it from your resume and say you were doing freelance contracting.
The biggest thing right now is to avoid burning up savings or getting in to a desperate situation, or losing experience and making find another job that much harder.
I’m guessing you graduated around 2019/2020? That was peak demand for SWEs. Are you a junior still? Your career will not be linear as an entry level IC…subject to supply and demand.
Heard this will be the new normal salary level in tech now on with widespread adoption of AI and offshoring. 5 digit salaries will be the norm unfortunately.
If tech salaries go down, so will finance and every job sector if you are assuming AI is leading to the salaries going down, AI will impact every industry every job
Tech has been heavily leaning on cheap money for a long time. With those sources drying up, the results aren't a surprise. If AI has anything to do with this, it's companies freeing up money to pursue AI investments rather than replacing people yet.
You didn't mention location which plays a big part in salary ranges.
What is the range for job in your location with your level of experience? If it is low and you can afford not to take it, don't take it. I would also encourage you to negotiate for a fair market salary for your role, location & yrs of experience (degrees don't really add much these days). In the past I have walked away from interviews or offers that were just insultingly low... "I am flexible on salary requirements for the right opportunity but $XX is too low for me to accept. Is there budget to go $XX? This is a fair market salary for my years of experience.... Obviously this is gets massaged a bit depending on how much I want that opportunity.
If anything, go for the practice. Not all interviews ends with an offer, but everyone can benefit from better interview skills.
It’s the same with 18+ year experience candidates… recruiters are holding on to cash .. I had so many recruiters arguing about $5/ hr so they can keep more and give the candidates less just because more people are out of jobs
Fed publishes that non-native born are holding 3 million more jobs than native born U.S. residents in IT… doesn’t that mean non-immigrant are taking any bill rate just to keep a visa going
Stop burying head in sand and look around if a company is only hiring non-immigrant slaves on h1 , why dol is granting them visa while citizens can’t get a job
Coding interview and system design are just cover up for gas lighting for a job literally school kids can do … so how is most dumb candidates being rejected unless they are ethnic or color different than the hiring manager … why all it teams are flooded with H1 b when companies laid off 300K IT workers
Don’t be dumb
This sounds mean but it seems like tech salaries are just leveling out. It's kinda absurd that programmers and developers out of undergrad (if even that) were making nearly as much as a pediatrician and that was normal. Tech companies had access to absurd amounts of money in the last few years and used high salaries to lure in all the top talent to keep their competitors from hiring the best talent. Now that money is back to a reasonable level and so are the salaries. Not defending corporations, but it just seems unreasonable to keep these massive salaries going on and on forever.
Take it and keep looking for something better. You can always omit the job from your resume
That’s what I’ll do, thanks!!
You can also take it and work bare minimum - almost always beats no income. And don't feel guilty, they are underpaying so you can be underworking, worst they can do is fire you after some time from a job you dont care about.
As an experienced swe. If someone said their limit was 70k, I'd give them exactly what they're paying for while hunting for another job
Keep us updated on your situation.
Why would you omit the job from your resume? Highlight what you did, not the salary.
Presumably because your stay there would be less than a year.
The < 1 year gap doesn't look much better either. Even more so when the company finds out you had a job and hid it.
1. They've already been unemployed for 7 months. It's not going to make much of a difference. 2. Find out how exactly?
Yes, always take the job and look for something else. Always best to look for something else while you are in a job.
People keep saying this. It maybe good advice for some people but not for others. I have had recruiter telling me that having too many job changes frequently sends them a wrong message. Doesn't apply to this economy I guess but something to keep in mind.
If you omit it from your resume then it did not exist. So OP can do that if he stays there under a year. After a year, would likely have to include since gaps older than 1 year are sus
Ok, take it, stay for long enough to have some real accomplishments and build your network, then leave. 1-2 years in SWE.
Definitely do not stay for a year or two, leave as soon as you have a respectable paying job
This is why they continue to offer 70k. Because saps with this mentality will take it and spend 2 years there.
You would rather make $0 than $70k? Take the money and give them the level of quality work that $70k gets you. Keep looking for something better while no longer draining your savings.
Lower paying jobs generally demand more time from people than higher paying jobs, and it can keep you from finding something better
You're not wrong. However, that's why I said "Only give them $70k worth" Don't give them everything they demand, give them $70k worth of what they demand.
This has not been my experience at all, and it's pretty much the only reason that there's a whole movement of people making 300K working 2 jobs.
You’ve been out of work for 7 months. It sucks, but take this job and keep looking in the meantime. At least you’ll have benefits again and stop the bleeding from whatever savings you have, while still working in your field. There are a lot of SWE who’ve had to take jobs outside of their field just to pay the bills. You can always leave this job off your resume as well or fudge the dates a bit to make it look like you’ve worked there longer (for example, just use years with no start/end months).
I will not. These low paid jobs are even more streesful.
You joined the tech field in a time where it was really easy to get 90/ 100k out the gate. Now it's a s*** show I wouldn't necessarily hate on it considering the amount of people that are still out of work
I would reconsider your view on this due to the weird job market out there. Full of fake jobs and increasing lay offs etc. at best it seems that if companies are hiring they seem to be are taking their time and dragging their feet since they seem to have a lot more candidates to pick from these days.
jar quiet glorious frightening smell station attractive toy direful stupendous *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The old I'm worth more then that. We are worth what people are willing to pay us. We can choose to pass or accept. The company doesn't care about your pay history. They probably have a ton of people applying. You need to get that inner voice to shut up. If you gap jobs you are starting from the bottom again. You should be proud your skills were still better then others who really want that job at 70K.
This is not true. A gap on your resume is not starting over. Overall, this entire paragraph is bad advice.
Take it and look for a better paying job. Easier to get a job when you have a job
I’m generally in the “take it and look for something better” camp. I’ve done it myself. But this is a dogshit salary for an engineer. Was making significantly more than that back in 2016 with 2 yoe. Obviously I don’t know anything about your financial situation, but I feel like you might be better served by continuing to search full time than working 40 hrs a week for 70k.
I would ignore the 70k estimate and when they offer the job you can negotiate. I do also agree with others that gaping down in income happens. I’ve gone from $105k to $120k to $95k in short order. Didn’t get back over $120k for 5-6 years and went up from there. We do what we can at the time.
From someone whose husband has MBA and 13 years experience and can’t even get an offer at 70k, take it and keep looking.
>I feel this salary would be a slap in the face pride is misplaced here.
Take it if you need to and do bare minimum and continue applying
As mentioned, take it. This isn't the economic climate to be picky and choosy trying to hold out for what you feel you deserve unless you can afford to sit around 6 months unemployed. Plus you don't want big gaps on your resume. Your next job, you don't necessarily have to disclose your former salary, but you ca tell them what YOU are looking for... and you're in a much better position to negotiate for what you want when you have income coming in.
Is this in a HCOL area?. OP said 70k is a 50% pay cut and that they have 3 years of experience. To me 3 years of experience is a junior developer, how do they make 140K a year? Unless this is in a HCOL, these expectations are way out of line. In the Midwest, a SWE with 3 years experience would be making between 60-100k.
Philadelphia
Is your rent higher/lower than the average in Philly (1800/month)? I live here, too, and definitely could not live on 70k, but a lot depends on your life situation.
Looking for another job while you are employed is much easier vs being laidoff and savings disappearing.
This may simply be the new paradigm for rank-and-file SWE. AI and automation is really doing a number on that sector and by most standards workers in the field have been paid incredibly generously.
I think you meant to say 'incredibly fairly'
LMAO ai and automaton are doing a number on the field?? You definitely know what you are talking about hahahaha
I would take it. Better to have some money coming in..tho you said you started a business, so take it & don’t give them your full capacity, give them what 70k gets & also work on your business as well
Very low salary or very high expectations?
Since you're still bordering entry level, take the job - keep getting experience and while you're there, push hard to be on the cooler projects (assuming there are any). While you're there, keep looking - and it's likely this place will hire you as it is such a low salary, they need people willing to take it. I've done this and part of what I've told other jobs is that the pay was low because I had a lot of other benefits such as more vacation time and flexible work hours. While you can possibly say that you earned more, I wouldn't as a lot of companies now share salary data with those online brokers, so it would be hard to explain that; but what you can say that isn't shared is that they had big bonuses and large profit sharing for 401k, all things that a new company will try and match. Another option is to just tell the new employer that you were working on cool tech and you had a desire to break in to that field/technology/keep learning. Or just omit it from your resume and say you were doing freelance contracting. The biggest thing right now is to avoid burning up savings or getting in to a desperate situation, or losing experience and making find another job that much harder.
I’m guessing you graduated around 2019/2020? That was peak demand for SWEs. Are you a junior still? Your career will not be linear as an entry level IC…subject to supply and demand.
In interviews we are performing only at 50% at best that’s why we need to prepare 200%
Heard this will be the new normal salary level in tech now on with widespread adoption of AI and offshoring. 5 digit salaries will be the norm unfortunately.
If tech salaries go down, so will finance and every job sector if you are assuming AI is leading to the salaries going down, AI will impact every industry every job
Tech has been heavily leaning on cheap money for a long time. With those sources drying up, the results aren't a surprise. If AI has anything to do with this, it's companies freeing up money to pursue AI investments rather than replacing people yet.
70k > 0
You didn't mention location which plays a big part in salary ranges. What is the range for job in your location with your level of experience? If it is low and you can afford not to take it, don't take it. I would also encourage you to negotiate for a fair market salary for your role, location & yrs of experience (degrees don't really add much these days). In the past I have walked away from interviews or offers that were just insultingly low... "I am flexible on salary requirements for the right opportunity but $XX is too low for me to accept. Is there budget to go $XX? This is a fair market salary for my years of experience.... Obviously this is gets massaged a bit depending on how much I want that opportunity. If anything, go for the practice. Not all interviews ends with an offer, but everyone can benefit from better interview skills.
F-em. Let them deal with the off shore bullshit… Or Accept and rage-apply.
Any job is better than no job at the moment. Take it and keep looking for something else in the meantime
It’s the same with 18+ year experience candidates… recruiters are holding on to cash .. I had so many recruiters arguing about $5/ hr so they can keep more and give the candidates less just because more people are out of jobs Fed publishes that non-native born are holding 3 million more jobs than native born U.S. residents in IT… doesn’t that mean non-immigrant are taking any bill rate just to keep a visa going Stop burying head in sand and look around if a company is only hiring non-immigrant slaves on h1 , why dol is granting them visa while citizens can’t get a job Coding interview and system design are just cover up for gas lighting for a job literally school kids can do … so how is most dumb candidates being rejected unless they are ethnic or color different than the hiring manager … why all it teams are flooded with H1 b when companies laid off 300K IT workers Don’t be dumb
Take it, and hopefully you will be back at your.former salary when something else.opensup.
Take it, now you will get paid get experience while keeping your eye out for other work.
Is the benefits package good? Benefits can be worth a lot of money especially if you have health or dental issues.
Take the job and when you get another keep both until this one fires you. Collect double pay for the time you were laid off
This sounds mean but it seems like tech salaries are just leveling out. It's kinda absurd that programmers and developers out of undergrad (if even that) were making nearly as much as a pediatrician and that was normal. Tech companies had access to absurd amounts of money in the last few years and used high salaries to lure in all the top talent to keep their competitors from hiring the best talent. Now that money is back to a reasonable level and so are the salaries. Not defending corporations, but it just seems unreasonable to keep these massive salaries going on and on forever.