Ask HN: Why is it so hard to get a good job as a junior developer?
I think it would be useful to take a step back first and look at the bigger picture. Looking at most jobs in general you will find they have wildly differing salaries between different geographical regions worldwide. A shop clerk here will bring home a different salary from a shop clerk there. The fact that there&#x27;s a chance to compete for a job offer globally is a perk that nearly no other industry offers. With that in mind, it isn&#x27;t very useful trying to contextualize salaries and compare your income to salaries at hyperscalers, or more broadly to salaries in the US. Both of those groups are supreme outliers not only in their industry, but in the job market globally. Most salaries (although not all) are based on your geographic location and are in very broad strokes cost of life times some modifier depending on your profession.<p>With all of that in mind, some advice from someone who has emigrated abroad for reasons similar to yours. Firstly, the fact that you&#x27;re currently employed and gaining experience is great — you&#x27;re already considerably ahead of everyone else trying to break into the market. Take the opportunity and suck in every bit of knowledge you can. From my personal and very subjective experience, having junior developers on-site is valuable for exactly that reason: knowledge transfer. Remote work works when people already know how to do their job, teaching someone over the net is a whole different ballpark altogether. While you might not agree, I invite you to think back and ponder on this point a few years down the line when you&#x27;ve had the chance to coach people with little experience yourself.<p>As for the meat of your question, how do you land a better paying job, I think the most straightforward path is pretty clear: use your current employment to make yourself more valuable as a knowledge worker. See what your superiors do, ask them if they can teach you to do those things. Take courses or trainings when they&#x27;re on offer. Etc. Then find better opportunities either locally or globally. Do apply to jobs even if you don&#x27;t tick all or most of the boxes, getting experience in interviews and navigating the corporate world is also very valuable. As a word of warning, while there are companies that do fully global remote with remote first, those are very, very rare. In most cases, you are expected to hold a visa or a working permit or be sponsored&#x2F;vetted by the company and then emigrate. Emigration is hard, but it is doable. Beware of finances, if you&#x27;re emigrating into a country that&#x27;s considerably more expensive you may end up saving money for a long time to get a shot or two abroad — make them count. Best of luck.