Base salaries offered to software engineers in SF, NYC, and Seattle
I&#x27;m in Boston &amp; went through an intensive FT job search here about 18 months ago. I&#x27;m a mobile developer with 20+ years total experience in desktop, backend, web+mobile, product management, started my own company, etc.<p>Worked with lots of recruiters, personal network etc., felt like I really got a sense of what the salary landscape is here. Some facts:<p>- I was leaving a job at a hot unicorn startup that paid $125K base and I was told I was one of the highest paid engineers on staff (20+ engineers)<p>- I received 2 offers during this job search (was very selective else could have gotten many, many more)<p>- First offer: IOS developer at very large consulting firm for $120K base (with possibility of small bonus).<p>- Second offer: IOS developer position that was comparable in interest to first. Decided to &quot;shoot for the moon&quot; and ask for $145K. They agreed, and that&#x27;s where I&#x27;m (happily) working now.<p>According to this study, SW engineers with my level of experience in these cities are making $181K on <i>average</i>! From what I could see that&#x27;s just not available here to the rank and file, &quot;average&quot; experienced sw engineer. That salary would be more like top-of-range here.<p>Am I doing something wrong? Is Boston really that different than Seattle&#x2F;NYC&#x2F;SF?