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Yep, and this really becomes a problem has you advance in years. I'm a programmer and have been for almost 20 years. When you're younger, you are always negotiating upwards. When you're at a job making 70k and you leave, you go to a new job and ask for 80k. But then you're 40 and making a lot more. Now the question as to what you are offered is different. If they're paying you to be a "programmer", can they really justify that huge salary? They can hire multiple college grads for what they're paying you. So it's not so much about your direct programming skill, but your experience/knowledge/wisdom that they are paying for. And each company is going to value that differently.

Your options really come down to whether you want to truly remain a "programmer" in which you may have to make some concessions to compete with the other programmers in the market. Your responsibilities remain that of a programmer. Or you have to take on a manager/director/architect role which is less programming skill and more people management skill with a lot more responsibility.



Arguably, with that much experience, you would make more money consulting.

Instead of being seen as a curmudgeon who could be replaced by four college grads, you're an external, automatically-trusted authority who commands a healthy day rate.

It's just a matter of optics. Though that life isn't for everyone.




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