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Mike Chen
@chenmike.com

I send the same 5 blog posts to pretty much every new software engineer I mentor. They're all articles I wish I'd read when I started my career, about salary, priorities, and decision-making. Sharing here in case they're helpful: 🧵

Mike Chen
@chenmike.com

1/5 Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/s... Long read but worth it. It highlights how companies approach salary totally differently than employees, and what to do about it It also has strong tactical advice on how to approach your salary conversation.

kalzumeus.comSalary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued | Kalzumeus Software Salary negotiation advice, mostly for engineers. Running total of raises negotiated due to this essay: $15M+.

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Mike Chen
@chenmike.com

2/5 The Trimodal Nature of Software Engineering Salaries blog.pragmaticengineer.com/software-eng... Title says "in the Netherlands and Europe" but applies everywhere. This article will really help you understand the tech job market, which is critical for knowing whether you're being paid fairly.

blog.pragmaticengineer.comThe Trimodal Nature of Software Engineering Salaries in the Netherlands and EuropeThis article was originally written in April 2021. In July 2024, I published an updated version with more data and new observations: The Trimodal Nature of Tech Compensation Revisited. Update: dozens...
Mike Chen
@chenmike.com

2/5 (cont) Note: there's an updated version of this article, but paywalled. newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/trimodal-n... The free version gets the main points across, but this newsletter is well worth the subscription.

newsletter.pragmaticengineer.comTrimodal Nature of Tech Compensation RevisitedWhy does a similar position have 2-4x compensation differences, in the same market? A closer look at the trimodal model I published in 2021. More data, and new observations.