Average Salary - Junior Developer

[Thor]

Time to move to a different job

 

[Thor]

It's scary, because you have to do something way outside your comfort level - giving up security, but I promise you it will be worth it in the end, 7K is not worth it you can't live like that, that's just plain surviving

 

[zizo911]

I should quit teaching and move into the private sector!!!

 

[DA-LION-619]

I should quit teaching and move into the private sector!!!

Imagine how much kfc you could afford

 

[zizo911]

Imagine how much kfc you could afford

Then I would have to pay for it....

 

[^^vampire^^]

It's not the agency, it's usually the company that's only willing to offer 10% more than your current salary. The agency usually gets between 10% and 15% of your annual CTC as commission, so it's in their interest to get you the highest salary they can.

You'd think, but they go for quantity rather than quality and will try push you into any crap where you will stay at least 3 months so they get their cash - then they're gone.

I'm looking currently but will only move for a 25% increase. The amount of bull**** that comes out of the recruiters mouths like the companies won't pay that or I must take less because of the "experience you will get".

They forget the part where I don't need a new job but if I can find something that suits me then fine. It currently takes me 12 mins to get to work and I spend like R1000 for petrol to get to work and back so a change in job would mean a huge increase in travel time and travel costs which I need to be compensated for above and beyond an actual increase to move. That and if a company wants someone who can actually contribute positively to the business they need to pay my worth, not current salary + 10%.

@OP - move now. I've spent the 7 years of my working life moving every 1-1.5 years and I earn decently now. I want to make one more move so I can get to a really good salary then I'm going to stick it out properly for a while. Loyalty is dead unfortunately, you need to operate in your own best interest. I was earning R22k after 2 years of working as a developer 5 years ago, you're getting shafted bud. If you're confident in your skills you'll have no problem finding somewhere that will pay you decently. Also don't take the first job that comes along just because it's an increase.

 

[Chevron]

You'd think, but they go for quantity rather than quality and will try push you into any crap where you will stay at least 3 months so they get their cash - then they're gone.

I'm looking currently but will only move for a 25% increase. The amount of bull**** that comes out of the recruiters mouths like the companies won't pay that or I must take less because of the "experience you will get".

They forget the part where I don't need a new job but if I can find something that suits me then fine. It currently takes me 12 mins to get to work and I spend like R1000 for petrol to get to work and back so a change in job would mean a huge increase in travel time and travel costs which I need to be compensated for above and beyond an actual increase to move. That and if a company wants someone who can actually contribute positively to the business they need to pay my worth, not current salary + 10%.

@OP - move now. I've spent the 7 years of my working life moving every 1-1.5 years and I earn decently now. I want to make one more move so I can get to a really good salary then I'm going to stick it out properly for a while. Loyalty is dead unfortunately, you need to operate in your own best interest. I was earning R22k after 2 years of working as a developer 5 years ago, you're getting shafted bud. If you're confident in your skills you'll have no problem finding somewhere that will pay you decently. Also don't take the first job that comes along just because it's an increase.

Very, very well said.

 

[oomjan]

...I've spent the 7 years of my working life moving every 1-1.5 years and I earn decently now...

This is the worst advice you can give anyone. When I get a CV on my desk where a guy has jumped around like that, it goes directly to the bin. You will soon find that your possible earnings will hit a plateau. Trust me loyalty does pay, but it takes time.

Also, be picky when selecting a new company to work for. Don't just move for money, be strategic. I have moved for less money, and it paid off! Don't be afraid to say no. I have declined a lot of jobs for a lot more money because I couldn't see myself working there for a long time or it didn't fit my career aspirations. Remember, you are your own brand, and believe it or not, the industry is small. Over time, you will soon run into ex colleagues and bosses.

 

[Lupus]

This is the worst advice you can give anyone. When I get a CV on my desk where a guy has jumped around like that, it goes directly to the bin. You will soon find that your possible earnings will hit a plateau. Trust me loyalty does pay, but it takes time.

Also, be picky when selecting a new company to work for. Don't just move for money, be strategic. I have moved for less money, and it paid off! Don't be afraid to say no. I have declined a lot of jobs for a lot more money because I couldn't see myself working there for a long time or it didn't fit my career aspirations. Remember, you are your own brand, and believe it or not, the industry is small. Over time, you will soon run into ex colleagues and bosses.

9 years ago I was earning more than that and it was in a call center. Move now also I've been sitting for the last 9 years here, loyalty actually sucks as you generally get a cost of living increase.

 

[oomjan]

9 years ago I was earning more than that and it was in a call center. Move now also I've been sitting for the last 9 years here, loyalty actually sucks as you generally get a cost of living increase.

Agreed, loyalty sucks when there is no growth opportunity in a company. Move for growth, not for money. With growth, comes money. Patience and hard work is key.

You can't expect to earn exponentially more if you sit in the same role for 10 years.

 

[Sodan]

Started at 10k pm ctc, 15 years ago. Moved job every 10 months to 2 years for the next 8 years (not always by choice: retrenched once, and early termination of contract another time when the company was getting rid of all its contractors due to aggressive cost-cutting).
Except for when I lectured (one semester only), and my last move where I also relocated from Gauteng to CT, I always had a handsome increase when moving job. The other times my increases were somewhere between pathetic and inflation based, and when I moved to CT I took a slight decrease. In fact, 16 months later I'm still earning less than I did in Gauteng.

If you're able to learn really quickly, you're able to amass a vast amount of varied experience over a few years. But as oomjan pointed out, building up such a track record does have its drawback, as prospective employees then place a big question mark over your head as to how long are you realistically going to work for them.

 

[Kilgore_Trout_Redux]

It is a difficult balance to strike. I think an average of 2-3 years per company shows that you lasted long enough that you weren't rubbish and contributed to the company.

 

[cguy]

A little off topic, but has some interesting points and data:
http://fundersandfounders.com/software-engineer-salary-2014/

 

[iAmThePope]

Definitely start looking around. When I started as a developer out of varsity 2 years ago I was getting double that.

 

[froot]

I am not a developer but I have 1 years experience in IT and I get R380k CTC. I think the others recommending you leave are correct.

Are you being paid for any other skills?
And what in IT exactly? R380k isn't a bad figure for only 1 year experience.

 

[ActivateD]

Are you being paid for any other skills?
And what in IT exactly? R380k isn't a bad figure for only 1 year experience.

I'm in security doing vulnerability assessments

 

[S1ght]

R7.5k net for 2 years experience? First off if you're still a Junior after 2 years there's something wrong there?

Secondly like most said the average for new developers straight out of varsity is normally between 15k-20k. Or you get the odd people who'll land up in the big corporates and get closer to R25k. Or even sometimes the really small places offer a lot more but the generally expect you do the work of a senior and you don't often grow in a nice structured way.

 

[JackWhite]

I'm in security doing vulnerability assessments

Interesting. How much do you think a person with 5 years in your specialisation would earn?

 

[noob_saibot]

Interesting. How much do you think a person with 5 years in your specialisation would earn?

Broadly speaking, you're looking at a minimum of R600K after 5 years.

It can go well over R1million if you're a specialist, but then you'd probably be working for an overseas firm and dealing with complex security (although we do have a few security firms in SA).

 

[kianm]

Broadly speaking, you're looking at a minimum of R600K after 5 years.

It can go well over R1million if you're a specialist, but then you'd probably be working for an overseas firm and dealing with complex security (although we do have a few security firms in SA).

/considers security specialisation