{"id":219191,"date":"2021-04-05T11:00:45","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T08:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/developers-heres-how-you-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay\/"},"modified":"2021-04-05T11:00:45","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T08:00:45","slug":"developers-heres-how-you-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/developers-heres-how-you-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"#Developers, here&#8217;s how you negotiate for manager-level pay"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2ef67a87bf0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2ef67a87bf0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/developers-heres-how-you-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay\/#Be_a_10x_developer\" >Be a 10x developer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/developers-heres-how-you-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay\/#Learn_how_to_negotiate\" >Learn how to negotiate<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/developers-heres-how-you-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay\/#Develop_a_negotiation_strategy\" >Develop a negotiation strategy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/developers-heres-how-you-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay\/#Go_for_it\" >Go for it<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Developers, here&#8217;s how you negotiate for manager-level pay<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<i><span>This article was originally published by Neil Green on <\/span><\/i><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cult.honeypot.io\/reads\/how-a-developer-can-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay\/\"><i><span>.cult by Honeypot<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, a Berlin-based community platform for developers. For the latest updates, follow .cult by Honeypot on <\/span><\/i><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/honeypotio\"><i><span>Twitter<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, <\/span><\/i><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Honeypotio\/\"><i><span>Facebook<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, <\/span><\/i><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/honeypot.cult\/\"><i><span>Instagram<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, <\/span><\/i><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/honeypotio\/\"><i><span>Linkedin<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, and <\/span><\/i><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/honeypotio\"><i><span>YouTube<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>As you continue in your career, you might want to stay in your specialization as a developer without moving into management, but it seems like you\u2019d miss out on the same salary increases. How can you negotiate that?<\/p>\n<p>According to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/insights.stackoverflow.com\/survey\/2020\">Stack Overflow\u2019s 2020 survey<\/a>, which covers <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/insights.stackoverflow.com\/survey\/2020#work-salary-by-developer-type-global\">global developer salaries<\/a>, an Engineering Manager makes $92K, while the lowest-paid developer makes $43K. For the sake of simplicity, let\u2019s say that your goal is to negotiate for doubling your pay.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Be_a_10x_developer\"><\/span>Be a 10x developer<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To have any hope of negotiating for double your salary, being recognized by management as a top-performer by a wide margin is a minimum requirement. Such recognition gives you leverage in a negotiation, as no manager wants to lose their top performer. In software development, we use the term \u201c10x developer\u201d to describe a top performer who greatly out-performs their peers.<\/p>\n<p>The term \u201c10x developer\u201d became a dirty word among software developers who came to associate it with unsustainable practices, unrealistic expectations, and elitism. However, when looked at objectively, a 10x developer is nothing more than someone who produces 10 times the work of their peers. Therefore, the term \u201c10x developer\u201d relates to comparative productivity, not innate skill or ability.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most common ways a developer earns the label of 10x is when they are an expert on a team of novices. Experts are masters of productivity, where beginners can barely get anything done at all. In situations such as this, there is nothing insidious or elitist at play, just a natural consequence of experience.<\/p>\n<p>To achieve 10-times the productivity of your peers, you must produce 10-times the amount of work. Opinions vary on what constitutes \u201cwork,\u201d but an expert software developer should define \u201cworking\u201d as follows:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Working is contributing deployable code that directly impacts achieving business outcomes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This definition can be expanded as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<strong>Contributing code:<\/strong> Meaning only time spent coding is productive, with all other time being a temporary halt to productivity.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Deployable:<\/strong> Meaning the code has met all business requirements, has passed all code reviews, has no bugs, and is ready to be delivered to customers.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Direct impact:<\/strong> Meaning that the work does not merely enable other work, as does refactoring, bug fixing, or other maintenance tasks. While each is necessary, they tend to impede current productivity even though they enable future productivity.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Achieving:<\/strong> Meaning that the work is universally recognized as being done by everyone and is currently being used in production.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Business outcomes:<\/strong> Meaning that business outcomes are the only outcomes that drive business productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now consider the following facts of the software development industry:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Most <strong>business managers<\/strong> would agree with this definition of \u201cworking,\u201d as that is what they are paying you to do. Therefore, they like to see people \u201cworking\u201d and will tend to reward the hardest workers.<\/li>\n<li>Most <strong>software developers<\/strong> would agree they spend little time \u201cworking\u201d and are instead flooded with distractions. Therefore, to achieve 10-times the productivity of your peers, the first step is to eliminate distractions and focus exclusively on \u201cworking.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your peers are hardly ever working, but you are working all the time, achieving 10-times their productivity is practically guaranteed. Whether this situation is fair, however, is another matter entirely. Still, it plays to your favor in gaining leverage in a salary negotiation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Learn_how_to_negotiate\"><\/span>Learn how to negotiate<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While this might seem obvious, the fact is few people dedicate themselves to actually learning how to negotiate. They instead believe that only a lucky few are born negotiators and that everyone else has to take the first offer.<\/p>\n<p>Negotiation is a skill that can be learned by educating yourself and honing your negotiating skills through consistent practice. However, the target of doubling your salary is going to require advanced negotiation skills that far surpass what is needed for typical salary negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>Here are two expert negotiators whose books I recommend to make sure you have a rock-solid educational foundation in negotiation:<\/p>\n<p>Cohen and Voss offer different perspectives on negotiation, which reflect the difference in how they each learned to negotiate: the former in business, the latter in law enforcement. In recommending these books over the years, I have found people with a high \u201cemotional IQ\u201d prefer Cohen\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach, while those who are highly analytical prefer Voss\u2019s. I believe both are perfectly valid and complementary, and therefore recommend reading both.<\/p>\n<p>As with most things in life, education without practice holds little value in developing a skill, and negotiation is no different. Fortunately, a software developer has no end of opportunity to practice negotiation in every facet of their job.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Negotiate with your development team on estimates<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate with your peers on code reviews<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate with project managers on deadlines<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate with product managers on feature requirements<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate with testers on bug reports (only if appropriate)<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate with architects on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> adoption<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate with managers on meeting necessity and frequency<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate with DevOps on tooling and deployment procedures<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate with office admin for better snacks in the break-room<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once you realize every \u201cNo \u2013 that will never happen\u201d is an opening to negotiate, you should be ready to approach doubling your salary. Suffice to say, expect to be told, \u201cNo \u2013 that will never happen\u201d several times until you get the pay you\u2019re after.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Develop_a_negotiation_strategy\"><\/span>Develop a negotiation strategy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Negotiating to double your salary will be a battle, and every battle needs a strategy. That is not to say that you should make a plan, as plans tend to be too rigid to adapt to a negotiation\u2019s fluidity. Consider the following famous quotes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<em>\u201cPlans are useless, but planning is indispensable\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Dwight Eisenhower<\/li>\n<li>\n<em>\u201cNo plan every ever survives contact with the enemy\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Helmuth von Moltke<\/li>\n<li>\n<em>\u201cEveryone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Mike Tyson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These all warn against creating a firm plan. Still, a flexible strategy thought-up in advance will allow you to adjust your approach quickly in the middle of a tense negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>A flexible negotiation strategy should have answers to at least the following questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is your win-condition?<\/li>\n<li>When will you begin the negotiation?<\/li>\n<li>How will you initiate the negotiation?<\/li>\n<li>What is your timeline?<\/li>\n<li>What is your justification for deserving double your current pay?<\/li>\n<li>What are do you have to offer in exchange for double your salary?<\/li>\n<li>Will you walk away if you don\u2019t get what you want?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If I were developing a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cult.honeypot.io\/reads\/how-a-developer-can-negotiate-for-manager-level-pay\/cult.honeypot.io\/reads\/negotiate-salary-tech-interview-different-situations\">general negotiation strategy<\/a> for myself, here is how I might answer these questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<strong>Win-condition:<\/strong> At least double my salary or an equivalent compensation package that includes equity, bonuses, and perks such as extra vacation days.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>When to begin:<\/strong> Shortly after a major delivery of a mission-critical feature that is universally recognized as having immense value to the business. After getting recognized by the CTO for being a top performer, I will invite them to lunch.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>How to initiate:<\/strong> At a no-agenda \u201ccatch up\u201d 1-on-1 lunch with the CTO where we talk about the company\u2019s vision and how I might help achieve that vision.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Timeline:<\/strong> I\u2019ll keep going until I get what I\u2019m after, no matter how long it takes.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Justification:<\/strong> I am a strategically important resource to the business that is a bargain at twice the price.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>What I can exchange:<\/strong> This is tricky out of context, but whatever it is, it would be what they value the most that would cost me the least to give.<\/li>\n<li>\n<strong>Will I walk away:<\/strong> Only if I have a better offer at another company.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That said, if some twitch of body language, change in inflection, or thinly veiled threat were to tell me I was on the wrong track, I might change any of these answers on the fly. Negotiation is a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>, and if I am losing, I will change something to increase my odds of winning.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Go_for_it\"><\/span>Go for it<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Wait for your moment and execute your strategy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. What have you got to lose? A company that won\u2019t pay you what you want? You already have that!<\/p>\n<p>In all seriousness, while it may seem completely counter-intuitive: have fun. If you are tense and totally obsessed with winning, you will be a poor negotiator. It is always easier to negotiate for someone else than it is for yourself, so think of yourself as a dispassionate 3rd party not tied to a specific outcome. If you win, you win. If you lose, you lose. At least you can look yourself in the mirror and know you had the self-confidence to advocate for yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, it\u2019s only money, and money comes, and money goes. If you fail miserably, you probably learned valuable lessons that set you up for future success. If you get what you\u2019re after, great, but remember that money can\u2019t buy happiness.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter lazy lazyLoaded lazy is-passedTop is-passedBottom lazy\" data-offset=\"4992.640625\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-16-at-12.42.31-PM.png\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script data-src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;appId=378011798897423&amp;version=v2.6\" id=\"socialSrcFacebook\" type=\"text\/template\"><\/script><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/growth-quarters\/2021\/04\/05\/developer-negotiate-manager-level-pay-without-managing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Developers, here&#8217;s how you negotiate for manager-level pay&#8221; This article was originally published by Neil Green on .cult by Honeypot, a Berlin-based community platform for developers. For the latest updates, follow .cult by Honeypot on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. As you continue in your career, you might want to stay in your specialization&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":219192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/growth-quarters?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/04\/developer-salary-manager-gq.png&signature=1140c9fe939741b35d0a14f295c696ff","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}