Question about salary for entry level front-end developer

[CrazyPanda]

Hey guys, I'm wondering what I should be looking for in terms of salary for a front-end web developer in the north east US.

I've tried doing salary searches but there isn't much data for that region, and the results that come back seem to be generic "web developer" results rather than specific to front-end.

Any idea what the going salary is for a front-end developer with 6 years of CSS/HTML/js/design would be?

[httpwebwitch]

Oh CrazyPanda, it varies so much. Not only does it depend what you mean by northeast (NYC? Bangor? Concord?) but very much what company you get in with, what product they produce, and your role in the company.

When I say it varies, I mean really you can't say whether 6 years of front-end experience will earn $25K, or $95K.

Not only that but as a front-end UI designer, you might have a day job hupping together HTML layouts, but you can also easily pick up freelance jobs on the side which are more lucrative & are taxed differently.

You can get more specific answers by contacting a recruiting agency from the region you're looking for.

[skunker]

Hi Crazy Panda, I'm a front-end developer for a government agency, but am looking at going as a contractor for one of the big defense firms that support the government. In the US government, front end developers are rare, however, they get paid about 60-75k (cost of living adjustment not taken into consideration) whereas as a cotractor, they generally get about 10-20k more. I normally see contract jobs (generally last about 3 years) looking for people like you with a pay of about 80k STARTING. More if you have a top secret security clearance. One thing to keep in mind is that this does not include benefits. If you work for a government agency, your benefits often are one of the best in the business with health insurance premiums very low and a very generous retirement package. Contractors have to pay a bit more than their federal government counterparts, but that is offset by the higher salary. All in all, it's about equal pay/benefits at the end of the day...however, if you're a contractor, you often have to work overtime and the weekends (which you will not be paid). A government employee's work ends by 4-5pm and no weekend work. Boss can't force you to work overtime (and if you decide to do so, you can be paid in a form of time off or overtime pay).

I know this is probably more info than what you want, but I often do this because there are several people on this forum that are very talented and would make great employees as a fed eployee/contractor. Maybe they will find this post of interest. As a federal employee, I also have time to work on side projects. Having two jobs this way, I find that I have more time to spend on family and vacation AND make more money.

Successful work about 50-60hrs and 6 days a week, anyways.

[blend27]

Look at what is posted on DICE as far as the rates go for North East, US.

Depends on what you've done in the past 6 years... if you've been sitting as an employee at a small shop(could be a big company with one webmaster), then your skills are most likely stale...

North East is rough. Companies here will most likely want some type of ServerSide codding knowledge under your belt.

The DEV market is extremely saturated with Chinese/Indian/Russian folk, most contractors, where the Indians(Temp work visa, any .Gov agency will have more that 50% of staff) will work for peanuts. Its kind of SAD though... Many are very bright people. Also AVOID them as Recruiters, lots of middle-men in this game.

What ever you do don't get a Job at the .Gov agency. Pay is moderate, but the tech level of people surrounding you is less than exciting(Union Baby! 50+), thus you are less likely progress as far as the knowledge goes and within a few years be looking at CSS(4 :)) as it is a rocket since.

6 Years Exp, sharp mind, motivated, self starter, and most important with communication skills, you are looking at 80k...90k. State your ground and stick with it.

Progress!

p.s. been an employee/contractor(with clearance) here for 15 years.

[skunker]

If you have a good eye for design, you will find no problem getting a job anywhere. Of course, if you can find someone that can do both (design and backend development), that is the golden egg....