How do you judge skill level and wage for self?

Friends, a genuine question.. need your suggestions... How can one know if he/she is paid reasonably, or underpaid or overpaid? I try to analyse my peers network, but I always find people of similar work experiences having similar skills getting salaries higher than me as well as lower than me.. It's kinda distributed.. So how can one evaluate or know the correct salary for a given person? Any idea? I think this will be helpful for everyone during salary negotiations. Note : I'm a software developer majorly backend with a slight hold of frontend. Also have done a few projects on data science. Around 4-5 years of work experience.

I see jobs being there, but even the entry level jobs are requiring experience. I saw a associate level job posting on linkedin for a startup asking for 4-6 years experience. This is in line with the recent article at The KEN. Are people really ready to work for low salary for high skills? What does this mean for the freshers, job switchers/career switchers? Are we all doomed for now? What's your take on the market?

Let's talk about being highly underpaid. It's a reality many of us face, yet it's often shrouded in silence. Whether you're in a corporate job, a creative field, or any profession, feeling undervalued and underpaid can be demoralizing and unjust. It's not just about the numbers on our paycheck; it's about the recognition of our worth, our skills, and our contributions. Too often, we find ourselves in situations where our hard work and dedication are not adequately compensated. We put in long hours, go above and beyond our job descriptions, and yet, when it comes time to discuss salaries, we're met with excuses or paltry raises that barely keep pace with inflation. It's a cycle that perpetuates feelings of frustration, resentment, and even imposter syndrome. But here's the thing: We don't have to accept being undervalued. We can speak up, advocate for ourselves, and demand fair compensation for our efforts. It might be uncomfortable, and it might require us to challenge the status quo, but it's essential for our well-being and the integrity of our professions. Employers need to recognize the importance of fairly compensating their employees. It's not just about the bottom line; it's about fostering a culture of respect, appreciation, and mutual benefit. When employees feel valued and adequately compensated, they're more engaged, productive, and loyal. So, if you're feeling highly underpaid, know that you're not alone. It's a widespread issue that deserves attention and action. Whether it's through salary negotiations, seeking out better opportunities, or advocating for change within our organizations, let's stand together and demand the compensation we deserve. Because when we value ourselves, others will too.

Just looking at all the tc related posts, asking if they are underpaid or over paid or at par, be good at what you do and Always assume you are underpaid and always ask the employer for more? What's there to lose? Why even ask in public forum?

Indian job market looks at YOE more than skills. I am working as SDE 1 pulling in SDE 2 tasks for a while. Declined promotion as have only 16 months of experience and not getting shortlisted for SDE 2 in other companies as well. What can someone do in this type of scenario.

Hiring for a bunch of roles for an early stage startup. Salaries of people who have been laid off is through the roof 2-3 years experience asking for 30-40l and while we chose not to judge the experience and spoke to a few of them, most of them are not even worth half of the pay. Many are jobless since last 2-3 months and none of them are willing to take a paycut of even 5-6L and are willing to stay jobless ( probably have a ton of savings ) Market correction is necessary. Roles : PM, software engineers, generalists

Professional career related advice

It was interesting to see in a previous post that many people thought that the OP was ‘overpaid’ Two things: 1. The market pays what the market pays 2. Stop assigning true value to human time (its not a T-shirt that you can assign a true value to) In my POV the guy/girl is making more than the average person his or her age. Kudos and Congratulations. Now you go do the same. End of rant.

Hi! So I had been interviewing for a startup and I finally heard back from them with an offer but the numbers are way below my expectations. I had quoted a 25% raise from my prev pay of 1.5 years — which I know from folks around would have been their budget for the role as well. But they have lowballed me offering me a 10% increase on my base pay + no ballpark on the variable bonus. Now I am confused about a few things 1. They said they normally just offer a 10% hike on prev salary to all new joinees (which is a little shady to me bec I’m sure they had a budget of their own for each role) 2. They are saying my year end bonus will be based on performance but are not even giving me a ballpark (bonus could be a 10K INR also and a month’s salary also. The range is huge) 3. They are saying the reason they don’t offer market standard right on joining is because in the past even after rigorous rounds of interviews, they have seen poor performers in the team despite the good pay. (My question is: how is that my problem and not your hiring manager’s? Because you have been historically bad at setting up a good hiring process and judgment - is not MY PROBLEM. This just reeks of your low trust in me even before I have joined. And I don’t know if that’s a great thing) Final question: is this giving 🚩🚩? Please help me assess + also any other reccos on how to handle or negotiate this bec as much as the role is exciting to me, the numbers are just not pleasant

Quoting from The Ken (which btw I would highly recommend). How many of you think this is true for Bangalore and problems that we are facing now with this generation. +++++++++++++ Between 2020 and 2022, investors pumped billions of dollars into startups whose founders and leaders offered up the mythical “hypergrowth” narrative. Those startups, in turn, pumped money to hire and grow a layer of mid-level and senior-level executives whose job was to deliver on that hypergrowth narrative. And salaries went through the roof. Hikes of 50% and above were par for the course. Cut to the present. If overvalued startups are widely recognised as a problem, can overvalued employees escape the same fate? A CEO of a prominent company estimates that “in product and tech, 20-30% are in this category”. - Extract taken from Ken