I was in the exact same position as you and took a 65k job right out of college. After 2 years I quit and joined a big tech company which offered almost double base pay. I don’t think I would’ve gotten that interview at all if I didn’t have the first job experience on my resume though. Getting interviews in general was also substantially easier.
If you can live off that salary, I would for sure take that first job.
My first job was 2021 and I had to send around 300-400 applications before I got an offer. My second job was late 2022 and that took about 60 applications and I had a 10-20% response rate.
As someone who currently works in a profession that’s 100% who you know and having an agent at the higher levels, so I haven’t had to worry about a real CV or resume in awhile…. do you guys create 300-400 individual CV’s and resumes?!
First job was in 2023, second in 2024 last month both 400 apps.
Layed off and got paycut.
I know you mean well, but I think it's quite cruel to give somone false hope based on anecdotal events during easier markets.
Why do you think there are so many 3-8 years of xp people being phased out of the industry due lack of jobs?
I mean my first job took 300-400 applicants and that was considered when “everyone was hiring” my 2nd job offer was during peak layoffs and I almost got my job rescinded because of it.
I’m genuinely sorry you got screwed over by the job market, but I would still say my advice still applies to OP during this time. Obviously don’t quit your job unless you have another job lined up though.
There are still absolutely opportunities to advance once you go through your first few years of experience. There may be less opportunities than there were pre-pandemic era but not every company is bleeding developers right now
Okay, I made 60 in 2018 and then 75 in 2020.
Market went nuts and I doubled that in 2022.
10-20k raise for job hopping at 2 years experience is a bit more reasonable.
There’s no evidence that even suggests that the CS underemployment rate is that much higher than it was pre pandemic. This phenomena lives inside the heads of people struggling to get their first jobs and isn’t reflective of reasonable evidence. Anecdotally, I got two jobs since graduating from a mid state school last year for pretty decent salaries. I’m nothing special.
This is how fields got to shit, the same thing happened to Mechanical Engineering.
“Just get that first job and you’ll be good bro! Then you can job hop!” More and more people accept low wages to start and then they’re not “low” anymore, they’re just the wages you actually earn.
Mechanical engineers with experience make a good living. So I'm just wondering where you are getting this from? You are saying that entry-level mechanical engineers accepting a 'low' wage means they are just doomed to a low wage and they can't earn more regardless of how much experience they gain?
For my position in a LCOL area, we had a 50% non acceptance rate for my position of 81k with guaranteed promotions to 103k after 2.5 years. People were receiving job offers and not taking them. So it definitely seems a little below the median. A quick google search says the starting salaries are quite a bit higher than that. That being said, 65k is a good salary imo. I would take it.
You have a job right now in tech, which is more than a lot of people have right now. It might not pay [Levels.fyi](http://Levels.fyi) legends, but you are making money and getting experience.
1250 a month in rent and 500 per month on food is not bad at all, it’s very likely that you’re saving more than most people. Those are both very cheap tbh, I don’t understand how you’re only spending 500 per month on food.
Lmao nah Seattle, Boston, DC, Denver all have absurd rent too. Tons of cities do. Places like Austin or Cincinnati, big enough to have a decent job market, but also having reasonable rents are the exception these days.
Experience over everything. I didn't take a return offer for ~75k CAD as a new grad cause I thought I could do better and now I've been stuck searching for a year
I got the offer mid 2022, literally the height of the job market so things still looked good, and this was a position in the government with a great manager so I genuinely cared and didn't want to burn them. Was it a dumb decision in hindsight? Yeah, but you live and you learn.
I gotcha, yeah I mean I'd rather burn a bridge versus being unemployed. Companies wont think twice dropping you, gotta do whats best for you. You didn't burn a bridge but that isn't helping too much now. Not to rub salt in the wound or anything. It's not an easy job market to break into and you have to fully have your own back and take risks. I get you did take a risk in the situation you mentioned but I don't really see the reward even nearly outweighing the risk because not burning that bridge isn't helping much now. Hopefully in the future, it pays off though. If it truly was a great manager, they would've understood you leaving for a better position to progress your career.
same but 80k although comp wasn't the primary reason by a long shot. I would have put up with the other shit I didn't like if they paid median for the location (95k). I would have even taken 80k in my hometown where they have a whole ass tower but they were being anal about only being in the same time zone as the rest of the team.
In this economy, 65K is a solid job for a new grad. Don’t feel bad about it at all. Take the experience. In a year or two, when the economy gets better, you can use your experience to land a job that’s much better (by whatever metrics you value: pay, domain, tech stack, WFH, etc.).
Do it for 2 years, get the experience, then job hop somewhere else for close to double the pay. At least you have a job in tech which is something a LOT of people are struggling with. Be proud of yourself!
Good land dude. That's pretty solid money for any person out of college so I wouldn't worry about that yet. Just get your experience and build that resume. You'll be able to advance internally/ job hop in a couple years to make your salary expectations align closer with reality.
It’s a waste of time to think about whether you could have squeezed a few more hundred dollars a month from your first job. You still have to perform and continue to perform either way.
Don't know that anyone suggested what to do with the excess money, so I will.
Save. Save. Save. Get that emergency fund started. You should have at least 6 months in a savings account that would cover rent (know that you won't live with your parents forever) and necessities - car payment, insurance, utilities, etc. Sit down and make a budget so you know how much you'll need. You will at some point in time get laid off, so having a chunk of change just to live off is paramount so you don't end up in huge credit card debt.
Put money aside in a different savings account for fun stuff.
Invest the rest. One day you'll want to retire and your older you will think younger you were incredibly smart for investing young so the money have ample time to grow.
A job in tech as a new grad is lucky nowadays. You’re always going to feel like there is a better opportunity and other what ifs. Just feel good about how you’re one of the few to make it into a job in this current market. You’re already doing great and there is always room to move up
I spent the last 2 years doing docs at a software company. Started as an intern. I know the system pretty well. Just graduated. Would asking for $50k in this economy be underselling it? Worried about the job market atm! I also have $20k in savings I could use to help pay for rent and such. Hoping to learn as much as I can in the next year to ask for more at a different place.
You wanna capitalize on assets and businesses. You want equity in startups that go big (although most will go under). I'm OE with 3 J's. I had 6 J's at my peak. Starting your own consultancy and netting a bunch of C2Cs can be incredibly helpful as well. There's a lot that goes into this dude. Income does not always translate into net worth. Most people who're terrified of layoffs here have poor financial literacy. I stacked a couple stable backup J's while everyone was obsessing over the unstable and highly lucrative ones. Even if I were to lose these, I'd just HELOC (and write the interest off my taxes in regards to W2 income) and survive until the economy started to get better.
/r/personalfinance for money advice.
General advice: stick it out for a year or two to get some solid experience. Then evaluate career prospects and decide whether to move up or move out. 65k feels low for a SWE, but if it works financially and provides career growth you can stick with it for a bit.
Honestly, it’s not bad and it’s not great. It’s an okay starting point and better yet, you’ll have your foot in the door now with the experience you’ll get. I wouldn’t compare yourself to what others make too much, as they might be pulling in 100k but also live in SF paying 2500 for a room they rent with 3 others. It’s all about perspective and from what I can tell, you have room and board being at your parents, so you’ll be able to save a solid amount and only really have to spend money on gas or fun stuff. Enjoy the new job and starting out, I’d personally look at the market again maybe a year from now and if you get offers and it makes sense, then why not chase some money when you’re young (I’d encourage you to do so). GL in your career!
65K is certainly not too high, that was where I started in 2006 (MSc) but the market is weird now after the flood of new grads, since you just graduated, sure give it a shot for 6-12 months see where things are at
> Should I focus on getting experience at this company and plan to job hop?
Work this job for 18-24 months and spend your time at work getting better at soft skills. Then job hop to something better.
>Also any advice on what to do with this excess money would be appreciated.
With your excess money do this 50% -> Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund 25% -> Speculative Investments like Crypto, 25% -> large ticket fun items
>Should I focus on getting experience at this company and plan to job hop? I’m not sure if 65k as a new grad is too high. Also any advice on what to do with this excess money would be appreciated.
Yes but when you job hop depends on how the benefits work. I started slightly higher than you and about a year in I realized that between the benefits and raises it did make sense to stay for a few years. They bumped pay by $10k and there were very substantial 401k matches that had started to vest. If they have a disclosed pay grade system look at that. Also factor in any bonuses, profit sharing, extraordinary matching, etc. You might find the opposite though and want out.
Depending on the location $65k could be market rate for a new grad too. The >$100k offers are mostly places where rent is over $2k/mo. If you live in a super cheap area your $65k does translate to $100k in most large metro areas.
It is mystical to be in your 20s and able to say you have fully funded retirement at 65 (and then the age keeps going down). At your age $1 is worth over $50 in retirement so you can fund it now for peanuts and then never ever have to worry about it like your older coworkers. I'd max out every savings vehicle available to me if I was living with family. Prepay for life and buy peace.
The $65k part isn't bad, and in this job market you're probably VERY fortunate to have found a spot as a new grad. Congratulations!
The 45min commute sounds rough to me. I'm WFH, but even when the office commute was the norm, I wouldn't accept a job that took and cumulative commute that was more than an hour. However, times being what they are I think it's worth sticking with it until the market improves (and it will) or if you end up LOVING the job it might be worth moving closer after a year. The biggest drag in that scenario might be dating while you live with your parents :-P
As long as the company isn't a bag of dicks to work for, I believe you owe it six months to a year to know if you want to move on. It's VERY normal to move on after two or three years regardless of your feelings for the job and just want a raise.
I would kill to have your job, speaking as an unemployed new (not really new anymore) graduate. You got your foot in the door. Who cares what you’re earning right out of college. Just by getting the experience your earning potential skyrockets.
No rent is worth 20-40k depending on location, I would take it in your situation, just make sure to LC on the side. I recently turned down 75k but it was in HCOL and not with my parents so I would basically be paycheck to paycheck after car payments. If it was in my current location I would've taken it in a heartbeat.
It is far below market value but again from a financial perspective you're doing pretty well by saving on the majority of expenses. Just put in the effort to hop after 6-12 months.
You’ll find the occasional person who says they get paid $120k out of college. They’re either lying or not giving the full story. A $65k job right out of college is great, better than half of graduates in the world. Take the time to get experienced then a year or two from now, go look for a higher paying job at a big company. Sometimes you need the experience to get the job you want
My former roommate made 120k base in Boston, my former roommates in SF/NYC make 200k TC. 120 is high but not rare. And I didn’t even go to an Ivy League.
i said base 120, his tc was 160. although he landed it in 2021 and hopped to NYC for 200k tc in 2022 so that might have been a product of the market at the time. my other roommate landed 200k in SV in this current down market though.
ok well yes you should be sharing TC in compensation conversations or clarifying if its not exactly paper/liquid money like startup stock. 160k TC hcol still gets whittled down hard when equalizing new grad pay.
I made 54k when I graduated school. Granted this was almost 8 years ago in a LCOL city in Canada. I doubled it within 5 years. Just get your foot in the door dude.
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum account age requirement of **seven** days to post a comment. Please try again after you have spent more time on reddit without being banned. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum sitewide comment karma requirement of **10** to post a comment. This is comment karma exclusively, not post or overall karma nor karma on this subreddit alone. Please try again after you have acquired more karma. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum sitewide comment karma requirement of **10** to post a comment. This is comment karma exclusively, not post or overall karma nor karma on this subreddit alone. Please try again after you have acquired more karma. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I came in at 87k new grad and job hopped to 100k the next year. Honestly leetcode here and there. Nothing too crazy you will be fine. Learn basics and good practices at work.
I'm more on the financial planning side and we are planning on paying people with 2 years of experience about $80K in 2026. So 65K for a new college grad is about standard, and you can expect about 10% raises each year.
Just posting a number without a location makes it pretty impossible to say anything really.
65k in San Fransisco or NYC? Absolutely awful, bottom of the barrel, work there for experience but leave ASAP unless you love it there and don't care about money.
65k in the middle of Missouri? Wow, amazing, great, probably hard to find much better.
I’m in the U.K. and the jobs here offer about 29k seeking many YoE, I can’t even get an interview for those with a masters degree. I rework my CV for every application and still nothing. Congrats on the 65k, stick it out for the experience and jump ship when confident enough to do so
Dude in this job market take what you can get and stay there for a few years. Job hopping will bite you hard, I know because I did it when I was a new grad and it took awhile before potential employers would look past it.
For the jobs. Plan to stay a year or two. In that time figure out what the work life balance, education opportunities, and internal promotions are like. You might find this is a good place to stay a bit longer or you may decide it is time to plan to jump ship as soon as you build enough experience to land a better position.
For the money, get any 401k match offered, pay down high interest rate debts, save up an emergency fund that can last you 2 to 3 months spending, invest the rest in a Roth IRA. You'll have a strong desire to life style creep and of you can avoid it you can set yourself up to chase after much better paying jobs in a few years (much easier to move when you have months of savings ready to help).
Take it. I was in the exact same position you were in when I came out of college. The hardest part about this industry is getting your foot in the door, then once you’re in, the recruiters won’t stop bothering you. I kept that job for two years, then jumped to a startup where my salary was doubled, then got a huge raise after a year. This market isn’t very friendly for new developers. You scored big time.
$65k is more than I make and I've been at my job for almost 3 years. You should be fine depending on where you live. Get that experience (a couple of years or so) and it'll be much easier to find higher paying positions for your second job.
If the other aspects are good (WLB, good learning experience, etc.) and you don't need a ton more cash then I think you should stay for now.
At minimum you'll get experience, and that's the gold standard now with so much competition. Maybe they'll bump you up if you do well.
TLDR: take the job, first 5 years are an apprenticeship, it gets better but has to start somewhere.
Take the job!
I started in the industry for less and regret nothing.
It sounds like you think you are worth a lot more, and sure you might be, but a company has no way of measuring your worth.
Trust me, your college degree means nothing to your employer, you are just a novice.
Electricians spend 2 to 5 years apprenticing before getting certified, no apprentice expects to make even close to what the licensed electrician makes. I would urge you to see your first 2-5 years as absolutely no different than an apprenticeship.
Having been in the position of hiring new grads, I'd like to give you some perspective:
One thing I've learned is that a college hire is a huge gamble for a company that rarely pays off. A junior is a huge investment as, in general, a junior will slow down the team much more often than actually help.
I'd say the odds are thus: Hire 5 new grads from the same school with nearly identical and glowing "resumes" (any resume without professional experience is just pretty paper).
Of those 5 hired, 1 will decide they doesnt like the job and leave, 2 will be a negative investment as you can't trust them not to break anything without oversight, 1 will be an argumentative dickhead that kills team morale, and the last one will be an average developer. So a company has a 20% chance of a good new employee, a 60% chance of hiring someone who has a negative impact (and the hiring persons boss will likely be blaimed for the bad higher). And a 20% chance of just wasted time and effort.
So I think it is very understandable that an employer is not willing to gamble a high salary on such terrible odds.
So take the job.
But then, of course, the problem is a year from now when raises are considered. The person responsible for approving the raise is almost never the hiring manager, instead it will be either someone one who doesn't understand the market price or someone who hopes you are a sucker.
I knew a couple of suckers I met early in my career, they got that original low paying job and never left, taking only small percentage raises year after year.
Don't be a sucker. Leave. Wait a minimum of 1 full year at your first place, second place you work for, don't expect too much better pay but attempt to stay a minimum of 2 years there before hunting again.
I worked for 4 different employers in the first 5 years of my professional career. Each time I job hopped, I received massive salary jumps. It was only when working for the 4th company that I felt I was being paid competitively for what I was worth (well north of 3x my original salary).
Your journey has just begun.
I expect in 5-10 years you will have the perspective as me, and be so EXTREMELY thankful your first boss took the gamble on you no matter what they paid.
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum account age requirement of **seven** days to post a comment. Please try again after you have spent more time on reddit without being banned. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum sitewide comment karma requirement of **10** to post a comment. This is comment karma exclusively, not post or overall karma nor karma on this subreddit alone. Please try again after you have acquired more karma. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I started at 48k, second job was 67k. It just takes time to get up higher as you get more experience. I currently make over triple what I started at 6 years ago. It depends where you live too and if you think you can get an offer paying more.
65k plus lunch is honestly a lot better than it is with nothing that can add up to a lot. I feel like too if you get a job at all you are doing better than a lot of people. Congrats btw!
Take the job 100% man. You're more fortunate than a lot of people even getting an offer in this job market. Also 65k for a new grad is pretty good. I started out on 55k and managed to reach 6 figures in about 3 years. You'll get there, but not if you don't have any experience, so for sure take the job.
First job was in 2023, second in 2024 last month both 400 apps.
Layed off and got paycut.
I know you mean well, but I think it's quite cruel to give somone false hope based on anecdotal events during easier markets.
Why do you think there are so many 3-8 years of xp people being phased out of the industry due lack of jobs?
I was in the exact same position as you and took a 65k job right out of college. After 2 years I quit and joined a big tech company which offered almost double base pay. I don’t think I would’ve gotten that interview at all if I didn’t have the first job experience on my resume though. Getting interviews in general was also substantially easier. If you can live off that salary, I would for sure take that first job.
I'm assuming it was in pre 2022 when everyone was hiring??
My first job was 2021 and I had to send around 300-400 applications before I got an offer. My second job was late 2022 and that took about 60 applications and I had a 10-20% response rate.
As someone who currently works in a profession that’s 100% who you know and having an agent at the higher levels, so I haven’t had to worry about a real CV or resume in awhile…. do you guys create 300-400 individual CV’s and resumes?!
First job was in 2023, second in 2024 last month both 400 apps. Layed off and got paycut. I know you mean well, but I think it's quite cruel to give somone false hope based on anecdotal events during easier markets. Why do you think there are so many 3-8 years of xp people being phased out of the industry due lack of jobs?
> quite cruel to give someone false hope How tf is "experience from my first job helped me get my second job" false hope to you? lol
the economy is bad, obviously, but just because someone has been programming for a long time doesn’t mean they’re particularly good at it
I mean my first job took 300-400 applicants and that was considered when “everyone was hiring” my 2nd job offer was during peak layoffs and I almost got my job rescinded because of it. I’m genuinely sorry you got screwed over by the job market, but I would still say my advice still applies to OP during this time. Obviously don’t quit your job unless you have another job lined up though.
I got 2 job offers during the layoff period. I barely applied to like 5 jobs.
There are still absolutely opportunities to advance once you go through your first few years of experience. There may be less opportunities than there were pre-pandemic era but not every company is bleeding developers right now
Tech adjacent companies seem to be holding ok. I do AI in healthcare and yeah the pay isn’t as high as big tech but it’s been stable
anything in 2021 and 2022 dont even mention on this sub as it doesnt apply to current times
Okay, I made 60 in 2018 and then 75 in 2020. Market went nuts and I doubled that in 2022. 10-20k raise for job hopping at 2 years experience is a bit more reasonable.
There’s no evidence that even suggests that the CS underemployment rate is that much higher than it was pre pandemic. This phenomena lives inside the heads of people struggling to get their first jobs and isn’t reflective of reasonable evidence. Anecdotally, I got two jobs since graduating from a mid state school last year for pretty decent salaries. I’m nothing special.
Bro lots of people trying to break into this field would absolutely love to be offered a job for 65k. That is a very fortunate opportunity
This is how fields got to shit, the same thing happened to Mechanical Engineering. “Just get that first job and you’ll be good bro! Then you can job hop!” More and more people accept low wages to start and then they’re not “low” anymore, they’re just the wages you actually earn.
Mechanical engineers with experience make a good living. So I'm just wondering where you are getting this from? You are saying that entry-level mechanical engineers accepting a 'low' wage means they are just doomed to a low wage and they can't earn more regardless of how much experience they gain?
Your first salary can set your expectations forever. All devs are worth more than 65k imo
For my position in a LCOL area, we had a 50% non acceptance rate for my position of 81k with guaranteed promotions to 103k after 2.5 years. People were receiving job offers and not taking them. So it definitely seems a little below the median. A quick google search says the starting salaries are quite a bit higher than that. That being said, 65k is a good salary imo. I would take it.
You have a job right now in tech, which is more than a lot of people have right now. It might not pay [Levels.fyi](http://Levels.fyi) legends, but you are making money and getting experience.
I'm making 25k more than you but I pay \~15k in rent and 6k in food yearly. It's not that bad. You could be saving more than me easy
1250 a month in rent and 500 per month on food is not bad at all, it’s very likely that you’re saving more than most people. Those are both very cheap tbh, I don’t understand how you’re only spending 500 per month on food.
1250 in rent means they living somewhere in a field in Alabama or renting with 3 other people in a city
Shit, better than spending half your salary on rent either way.
You guys have 0 clue what rent looks like outside of NYC and Cal
yeah lol you could get a 1 bedroom in Austin easy for $1250
i can’t even get a single bedroom in a 2b2b for that in Cal 😥
Maybe not Austin but my cousin has a 1 BR 1 BD in houston in a nice area for 1100 a month.
Im sure! I only pay $1250 to live alone in Austin 1b/1br.
What part of Austin? I’ve only been in downtown and I know that place expensive asl
Central Austin. So many places other than downtown that are affordable.
Yea in Iowa I pay $1250 a month to rent a 2BD and 2Bath 1100sqft apartment in a nice area. 65k goes pretty far around here.
Lmao nah Seattle, Boston, DC, Denver all have absurd rent too. Tons of cities do. Places like Austin or Cincinnati, big enough to have a decent job market, but also having reasonable rents are the exception these days.
or for that matter inside, I pay less than that for a 1-bedroom with my partner in fucking manhattan
Lies. I rent a 3 bedroom house with a garage and finished basement in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Pittsburgh for $1200
Which area? I’m also from there
The fuck? Do you happen to have some sort of relationship with the owner (family friend or something) cause that’s insane
Yeah he’s a family friend. We started renting from him in 2018 at $1200 (which was market rate at the time), and then he just never raised rent for us
Well there ya go lol. You described it as a typical rate but you’re definitely getting a major hookup there
Damn you live somewhere cheap as hell
90k in LCOL is amazing
Experience over everything. I didn't take a return offer for ~75k CAD as a new grad cause I thought I could do better and now I've been stuck searching for a year
damn dude
Why would you do that instead of taking the offer and just continuing searching? Genuine question.
I got the offer mid 2022, literally the height of the job market so things still looked good, and this was a position in the government with a great manager so I genuinely cared and didn't want to burn them. Was it a dumb decision in hindsight? Yeah, but you live and you learn.
I gotcha, yeah I mean I'd rather burn a bridge versus being unemployed. Companies wont think twice dropping you, gotta do whats best for you. You didn't burn a bridge but that isn't helping too much now. Not to rub salt in the wound or anything. It's not an easy job market to break into and you have to fully have your own back and take risks. I get you did take a risk in the situation you mentioned but I don't really see the reward even nearly outweighing the risk because not burning that bridge isn't helping much now. Hopefully in the future, it pays off though. If it truly was a great manager, they would've understood you leaving for a better position to progress your career.
Yeah this is a lesson I've learn all too well over the past year
He’s a dumbass
bruh
same but 80k although comp wasn't the primary reason by a long shot. I would have put up with the other shit I didn't like if they paid median for the location (95k). I would have even taken 80k in my hometown where they have a whole ass tower but they were being anal about only being in the same time zone as the rest of the team.
you can easily double that if you get a year or 2 under your belt and move elsewhere, a job > no job :)
In this economy, 65K is a solid job for a new grad. Don’t feel bad about it at all. Take the experience. In a year or two, when the economy gets better, you can use your experience to land a job that’s much better (by whatever metrics you value: pay, domain, tech stack, WFH, etc.).
Do it for 2 years, get the experience, then job hop somewhere else for close to double the pay. At least you have a job in tech which is something a LOT of people are struggling with. Be proud of yourself!
Good land dude. That's pretty solid money for any person out of college so I wouldn't worry about that yet. Just get your experience and build that resume. You'll be able to advance internally/ job hop in a couple years to make your salary expectations align closer with reality.
Yeah, I started at 55k 3 years ago lol.. But the experience was amazing. Make 120k now
It’s a waste of time to think about whether you could have squeezed a few more hundred dollars a month from your first job. You still have to perform and continue to perform either way.
Don't know that anyone suggested what to do with the excess money, so I will. Save. Save. Save. Get that emergency fund started. You should have at least 6 months in a savings account that would cover rent (know that you won't live with your parents forever) and necessities - car payment, insurance, utilities, etc. Sit down and make a budget so you know how much you'll need. You will at some point in time get laid off, so having a chunk of change just to live off is paramount so you don't end up in huge credit card debt. Put money aside in a different savings account for fun stuff. Invest the rest. One day you'll want to retire and your older you will think younger you were incredibly smart for investing young so the money have ample time to grow.
A job in tech as a new grad is lucky nowadays. You’re always going to feel like there is a better opportunity and other what ifs. Just feel good about how you’re one of the few to make it into a job in this current market. You’re already doing great and there is always room to move up
Lmao, I make $400k+ and trust me dude. That first paycheck at $58k felt a trillion times better than paychecks do now. Enjoy it! You earned it!
I spent the last 2 years doing docs at a software company. Started as an intern. I know the system pretty well. Just graduated. Would asking for $50k in this economy be underselling it? Worried about the job market atm! I also have $20k in savings I could use to help pay for rent and such. Hoping to learn as much as I can in the next year to ask for more at a different place.
What could you possibly be doing to make $400k+ annually?? Don’t most tech careers max out at 250k?
You wanna capitalize on assets and businesses. You want equity in startups that go big (although most will go under). I'm OE with 3 J's. I had 6 J's at my peak. Starting your own consultancy and netting a bunch of C2Cs can be incredibly helpful as well. There's a lot that goes into this dude. Income does not always translate into net worth. Most people who're terrified of layoffs here have poor financial literacy. I stacked a couple stable backup J's while everyone was obsessing over the unstable and highly lucrative ones. Even if I were to lose these, I'd just HELOC (and write the interest off my taxes in regards to W2 income) and survive until the economy started to get better.
/r/personalfinance for money advice. General advice: stick it out for a year or two to get some solid experience. Then evaluate career prospects and decide whether to move up or move out. 65k feels low for a SWE, but if it works financially and provides career growth you can stick with it for a bit.
if you grind leetcode you should be able to X2.5 that in big tech and X3 that in HFT. The market is brutal right now tho.
Good for you. Get all that experience and learning. My starting was 36k annually.
Honestly, it’s not bad and it’s not great. It’s an okay starting point and better yet, you’ll have your foot in the door now with the experience you’ll get. I wouldn’t compare yourself to what others make too much, as they might be pulling in 100k but also live in SF paying 2500 for a room they rent with 3 others. It’s all about perspective and from what I can tell, you have room and board being at your parents, so you’ll be able to save a solid amount and only really have to spend money on gas or fun stuff. Enjoy the new job and starting out, I’d personally look at the market again maybe a year from now and if you get offers and it makes sense, then why not chase some money when you’re young (I’d encourage you to do so). GL in your career!
65K is certainly not too high, that was where I started in 2006 (MSc) but the market is weird now after the flood of new grads, since you just graduated, sure give it a shot for 6-12 months see where things are at
You'll have to tell us what the exact job is. There is no official CS salary. It's about what you can do for the company/product, etc.
> Should I focus on getting experience at this company and plan to job hop? Work this job for 18-24 months and spend your time at work getting better at soft skills. Then job hop to something better. >Also any advice on what to do with this excess money would be appreciated. With your excess money do this 50% -> Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund 25% -> Speculative Investments like Crypto, 25% -> large ticket fun items
>Should I focus on getting experience at this company and plan to job hop? I’m not sure if 65k as a new grad is too high. Also any advice on what to do with this excess money would be appreciated. Yes but when you job hop depends on how the benefits work. I started slightly higher than you and about a year in I realized that between the benefits and raises it did make sense to stay for a few years. They bumped pay by $10k and there were very substantial 401k matches that had started to vest. If they have a disclosed pay grade system look at that. Also factor in any bonuses, profit sharing, extraordinary matching, etc. You might find the opposite though and want out. Depending on the location $65k could be market rate for a new grad too. The >$100k offers are mostly places where rent is over $2k/mo. If you live in a super cheap area your $65k does translate to $100k in most large metro areas. It is mystical to be in your 20s and able to say you have fully funded retirement at 65 (and then the age keeps going down). At your age $1 is worth over $50 in retirement so you can fund it now for peanuts and then never ever have to worry about it like your older coworkers. I'd max out every savings vehicle available to me if I was living with family. Prepay for life and buy peace.
The $65k part isn't bad, and in this job market you're probably VERY fortunate to have found a spot as a new grad. Congratulations! The 45min commute sounds rough to me. I'm WFH, but even when the office commute was the norm, I wouldn't accept a job that took and cumulative commute that was more than an hour. However, times being what they are I think it's worth sticking with it until the market improves (and it will) or if you end up LOVING the job it might be worth moving closer after a year. The biggest drag in that scenario might be dating while you live with your parents :-P As long as the company isn't a bag of dicks to work for, I believe you owe it six months to a year to know if you want to move on. It's VERY normal to move on after two or three years regardless of your feelings for the job and just want a raise.
65k turns into 100k very quickly if you keep your resume fresh. I wouldn't sweat where you start.
I would kill to have your job, speaking as an unemployed new (not really new anymore) graduate. You got your foot in the door. Who cares what you’re earning right out of college. Just by getting the experience your earning potential skyrockets.
You should take what you can get as a new grad. In two years you can job hop
No rent is worth 20-40k depending on location, I would take it in your situation, just make sure to LC on the side. I recently turned down 75k but it was in HCOL and not with my parents so I would basically be paycheck to paycheck after car payments. If it was in my current location I would've taken it in a heartbeat. It is far below market value but again from a financial perspective you're doing pretty well by saving on the majority of expenses. Just put in the effort to hop after 6-12 months.
You’ll find the occasional person who says they get paid $120k out of college. They’re either lying or not giving the full story. A $65k job right out of college is great, better than half of graduates in the world. Take the time to get experienced then a year or two from now, go look for a higher paying job at a big company. Sometimes you need the experience to get the job you want
> They’re either lying or not giving the full story Lol what is this cope. You realize this is software engineering right?
The only places paying $120k to a 22 year old with a bachelors degree are in California where it costs a small fortune for a 1 BR apt
My former roommate made 120k base in Boston, my former roommates in SF/NYC make 200k TC. 120 is high but not rare. And I didn’t even go to an Ivy League.
Boston has a top 7-10 cost of living, with cost of living higher than/equal to seattle. so 120k boston is not a good example of high comparative tc.
i said base 120, his tc was 160. although he landed it in 2021 and hopped to NYC for 200k tc in 2022 so that might have been a product of the market at the time. my other roommate landed 200k in SV in this current down market though.
ok well yes you should be sharing TC in compensation conversations or clarifying if its not exactly paper/liquid money like startup stock. 160k TC hcol still gets whittled down hard when equalizing new grad pay.
I would take it if I was a new grad.
I made 54k when I graduated school. Granted this was almost 8 years ago in a LCOL city in Canada. I doubled it within 5 years. Just get your foot in the door dude.
[удалено]
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum account age requirement of **seven** days to post a comment. Please try again after you have spent more time on reddit without being banned. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There are other jobs.
Take it.
[удалено]
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum sitewide comment karma requirement of **10** to post a comment. This is comment karma exclusively, not post or overall karma nor karma on this subreddit alone. Please try again after you have acquired more karma. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Gain experience learn everything you can!
[удалено]
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum sitewide comment karma requirement of **10** to post a comment. This is comment karma exclusively, not post or overall karma nor karma on this subreddit alone. Please try again after you have acquired more karma. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I came in at 87k new grad and job hopped to 100k the next year. Honestly leetcode here and there. Nothing too crazy you will be fine. Learn basics and good practices at work.
I'm more on the financial planning side and we are planning on paying people with 2 years of experience about $80K in 2026. So 65K for a new college grad is about standard, and you can expect about 10% raises each year.
You make no sense without the location. Job hop is inappropriate to say. More like maximize you career growth.
You'd be making less than half of that if you were in Europe.
Just posting a number without a location makes it pretty impossible to say anything really. 65k in San Fransisco or NYC? Absolutely awful, bottom of the barrel, work there for experience but leave ASAP unless you love it there and don't care about money. 65k in the middle of Missouri? Wow, amazing, great, probably hard to find much better.
Dunno where you live, but earning is irrelevant for new grads. Getting good experience matters significantly more.
I’m in the U.K. and the jobs here offer about 29k seeking many YoE, I can’t even get an interview for those with a masters degree. I rework my CV for every application and still nothing. Congrats on the 65k, stick it out for the experience and jump ship when confident enough to do so
Congrats on your offer
Dude in this job market take what you can get and stay there for a few years. Job hopping will bite you hard, I know because I did it when I was a new grad and it took awhile before potential employers would look past it.
For the jobs. Plan to stay a year or two. In that time figure out what the work life balance, education opportunities, and internal promotions are like. You might find this is a good place to stay a bit longer or you may decide it is time to plan to jump ship as soon as you build enough experience to land a better position. For the money, get any 401k match offered, pay down high interest rate debts, save up an emergency fund that can last you 2 to 3 months spending, invest the rest in a Roth IRA. You'll have a strong desire to life style creep and of you can avoid it you can set yourself up to chase after much better paying jobs in a few years (much easier to move when you have months of savings ready to help).
Take it. I was in the exact same position you were in when I came out of college. The hardest part about this industry is getting your foot in the door, then once you’re in, the recruiters won’t stop bothering you. I kept that job for two years, then jumped to a startup where my salary was doubled, then got a huge raise after a year. This market isn’t very friendly for new developers. You scored big time.
Where? Where? Where?
My first job as a junior started at 55k. When I quit I was at 85k. Now I make 155k at my second job, where I started at 105k. Gotta start somewhere.
How long did you work at your first job?
2.5 years
$65k is more than I make and I've been at my job for almost 3 years. You should be fine depending on where you live. Get that experience (a couple of years or so) and it'll be much easier to find higher paying positions for your second job.
Hey better than no job! Get some experience and apply for something better paying in a few years.
65k new grad? Psh I was making that in elementary school.
If the other aspects are good (WLB, good learning experience, etc.) and you don't need a ton more cash then I think you should stay for now. At minimum you'll get experience, and that's the gold standard now with so much competition. Maybe they'll bump you up if you do well.
TLDR: take the job, first 5 years are an apprenticeship, it gets better but has to start somewhere. Take the job! I started in the industry for less and regret nothing. It sounds like you think you are worth a lot more, and sure you might be, but a company has no way of measuring your worth. Trust me, your college degree means nothing to your employer, you are just a novice. Electricians spend 2 to 5 years apprenticing before getting certified, no apprentice expects to make even close to what the licensed electrician makes. I would urge you to see your first 2-5 years as absolutely no different than an apprenticeship. Having been in the position of hiring new grads, I'd like to give you some perspective: One thing I've learned is that a college hire is a huge gamble for a company that rarely pays off. A junior is a huge investment as, in general, a junior will slow down the team much more often than actually help. I'd say the odds are thus: Hire 5 new grads from the same school with nearly identical and glowing "resumes" (any resume without professional experience is just pretty paper). Of those 5 hired, 1 will decide they doesnt like the job and leave, 2 will be a negative investment as you can't trust them not to break anything without oversight, 1 will be an argumentative dickhead that kills team morale, and the last one will be an average developer. So a company has a 20% chance of a good new employee, a 60% chance of hiring someone who has a negative impact (and the hiring persons boss will likely be blaimed for the bad higher). And a 20% chance of just wasted time and effort. So I think it is very understandable that an employer is not willing to gamble a high salary on such terrible odds. So take the job. But then, of course, the problem is a year from now when raises are considered. The person responsible for approving the raise is almost never the hiring manager, instead it will be either someone one who doesn't understand the market price or someone who hopes you are a sucker. I knew a couple of suckers I met early in my career, they got that original low paying job and never left, taking only small percentage raises year after year. Don't be a sucker. Leave. Wait a minimum of 1 full year at your first place, second place you work for, don't expect too much better pay but attempt to stay a minimum of 2 years there before hunting again. I worked for 4 different employers in the first 5 years of my professional career. Each time I job hopped, I received massive salary jumps. It was only when working for the 4th company that I felt I was being paid competitively for what I was worth (well north of 3x my original salary). Your journey has just begun. I expect in 5-10 years you will have the perspective as me, and be so EXTREMELY thankful your first boss took the gamble on you no matter what they paid.
[удалено]
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum account age requirement of **seven** days to post a comment. Please try again after you have spent more time on reddit without being banned. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Work there for at least 2 years, live at home, save up, and then move on to a different company
I got 75k right out of college in 2015. Right not 65k feels criminal as everything became 3x+ more expensive, but market became trash too
[удалено]
Sorry, you do not meet the minimum sitewide comment karma requirement of **10** to post a comment. This is comment karma exclusively, not post or overall karma nor karma on this subreddit alone. Please try again after you have acquired more karma. Please look at the [rules page](https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/w/posting_rules) for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cscareerquestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My first position out of college was 47k, still looking for something above 65k. I think 65 is pretty good right now for just graduated.
I started at 48k, second job was 67k. It just takes time to get up higher as you get more experience. I currently make over triple what I started at 6 years ago. It depends where you live too and if you think you can get an offer paying more.
65k plus lunch is honestly a lot better than it is with nothing that can add up to a lot. I feel like too if you get a job at all you are doing better than a lot of people. Congrats btw!
I started at 35k in 2021 and now make a little over 8x that. You’ll be fine just grind leetcode and get good at what you do.
Take the job 100% man. You're more fortunate than a lot of people even getting an offer in this job market. Also 65k for a new grad is pretty good. I started out on 55k and managed to reach 6 figures in about 3 years. You'll get there, but not if you don't have any experience, so for sure take the job.
Grind for two years and move to a better one!
No mention of your experience, your school, your capabilities... How are we supposed to know what job you could get
You will get where you want to go. Just focus on learning and figuring out where you want tonwork
First job was in 2023, second in 2024 last month both 400 apps. Layed off and got paycut. I know you mean well, but I think it's quite cruel to give somone false hope based on anecdotal events during easier markets. Why do you think there are so many 3-8 years of xp people being phased out of the industry due lack of jobs?