Advanced Developer Average Salary

Hey Everyone, I recently took my CF 7 test and got an 88% (I used the CFMX Exam Buster sold by centrasoft.com which really helped in case anyone is planning on taking the test soon). Anyway, I was wondering if anyone can point me to any resources that I can use to show my boss what the average salary is for Coldfusion Developers.  I work at a higher education institution and salaries right now are kind of low, and they know it but it's a struggle to get them to do anything about it.   So if anyone knows of any reputable statistics I could use to show my boss what the range should be I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Peter

I used salary.com... the salaries there seem pretty reasonable...

You think so? I thought that they looked on the high side. I checked my field there, for my area and I don't know anyone who says they're making those figures. <!----------------//------ andy matthews web developer certified advanced coldfusion programmer ICGLink, Inc. andy@icglink.com 615.370.1530 x737 --------------//---------> I used salary.com... the salaries there seem pretty reasonable...

Search the job sites for coldfusion jobs and see what they are paying. Hey Everyone, I recently took my CF 7 test and got an 88% (I used the CFMX Exam Buster sold by centrasoft.com which really helped in case anyone is planning on taking the test soon). Anyway, I was wondering if anyone can point me to any resources that I can use to show my boss what the average salary is for Coldfusion Developers.  I work at a higher education institution and salaries right now are kind of low, and they know it but it's a struggle to get them to do anything about it.   So if anyone knows of any reputable statistics I could use to show my boss what the range should be I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Peter

> -----Original Message----- To be blunt I wouldn't hold your breath.  Companies, in general, are going to pay as low as they can and stick with it.  If you're accepting that paycheck then they have no reason to move. I've been with the same company for over 10 years now... but the only way I've ever gotten substantial raises is to leave the company (at a raise) for a few months and then get hired back (at another raise) or move on. I've only made this cycle once (I'm quite comfortable where I am now) but I know others, especially management, that has bounced in and out upwards of 3-5 times. It takes a decade and can be really painful (moving, learning new cultures, etc) or so but you can end up at a much higher salary point than you would have been had you stayed pat.  Of course it's also a huge gamble... so you could end up a swing-shift manager at McDonald's. Jim Davis

Sounds like a fun option. I'm not really holding my breath.  It's my first job and I'm using it mostly to gain experience.  There is a lot of flexibility and freedom to use time to learn new technologies and languages.  Right now they are paying for some .NET training for me as well and need me to work on a new portal they bought using c# so I'm considering staying at least a year to get some good experience doing that. However, none of that helps when you have to pay living expenses in South Florida.  As soon as we launch our new site I'll be ready to move on but if I can negotiate a better salary I would be content for a little longer. Thanks for the sources... monster.com has a little salary wizard and I had used salary.com in the past.  I guess I was hoping for anything more specific to CF programming since the recent certification is my biggest ammo.   Thanks again, Peter Sheats Webmaster Palm Beach Atlantic University peter_sheats@pba.edu 561.803.2033 "Maturity comes from obedience to Christ, not necessarily from age." -- Leonard Ravenhill Developers. > I > work at a higher education institution and salaries right now are kind > of low, and they know it but it's a struggle to get them to do > anything about it. To be blunt I wouldn't hold your breath.  Companies, in general, are going to pay as low as they can and stick with it.  If you're accepting that paycheck then they have no reason to move. I've been with the same company for over 10 years now... but the only way I've ever gotten substantial raises is to leave the company (at a raise) for a few months and then get hired back (at another raise) or move on. I've only made this cycle once (I'm quite comfortable where I am now) but I know others, especially management, that has bounced in and out upwards of 3-5 times. It takes a decade and can be really painful (moving, learning new cultures, etc) or so but you can end up at a much higher salary point than you would have been had you stayed pat.  Of course it's also a huge gamble... so you could end up a swing-shift manager at McDonald's. Jim Davis

> I guess I was hoping for anything more > specific to CF programming since the recent certification is my biggest > ammo. I think you'll find that a certification doesn't get you as much as you might hope.  All it says is that you memorized a book; it doesn't speak anything about how you apply that knowledge to solving real-world problems.  If you've got no experience, it can help a resume, but I'm personally inclined to "penalize" a resume that lists certifications too prominently, as it indicates a focus on the wrong thing. cheers, barneyb On 8/1/06, PETER SHEATS <Peter_Sheats@pba.edu> wrote: -- Barney Boisvert bboisvert@gmail.com 360.319.6145 http://www.barneyb.com/ Got Gmail? I have 100 invites.

Thanks everyone! Dan On 8/1/06, PETER SHEATS <Peter_Sheats@pba.edu> wrote:

yeah, PBC Florida has skyrocketed in housing prices.  I'm originally from there, my family has seen their property values triple in the past 4 years alone.  Where PBA is located, well, good freakin luck finding anything affordable, with a view of Palm Beach across the way everything is costly. Used to see Trumps, now Ivanan's, yacht there quite a bit.  Of course there is always tamarind ave area... ;) DK On 8/1/06, PETER SHEATS <Peter_Sheats@pba.edu> wrote:

Yeah, the average price of single family homes in PB county was around 400K a few months ago.  Right now the market is dead though, like most of the country - we'll see what happens. I agree that getting my CF Cert isn't all that big of a deal - even if I had failed the test I would have been glad I did it because it made me learn about a lot of the things in CF that I have never needed to use. However, my boss and HR and the VP of Business don't know anything about web programming so I'm using the Cert as a way to prove to them that I do know what I'm doing - since this is my first job out of College. And for any of you who may have checked out www.pba.edu please don't judge me based on that horrendous site, I inherited.  The new one can be found at www1.pba.edu - I started the project about 2 years ago and we're hoping to launch this month.  I can't believe how slow things happen at Higher Education institutions. Thanks for the survey and for everyone who responded, Peter Sheats Webmaster Palm Beach Atlantic University peter_sheats@pba.edu 561.803.2033 "Maturity comes from obedience to Christ, not necessarily from age." -- Leonard Ravenhill yeah, PBC Florida has skyrocketed in housing prices.  I'm originally from there, my family has seen their property values triple in the past 4 years alone.  Where PBA is located, well, good freakin luck finding anything affordable, with a view of Palm Beach across the way everything is costly. Used to see Trumps, now Ivanan's, yacht there quite a bit.  Of course there is always tamarind ave area... ;) DK On 8/1/06, PETER SHEATS <Peter_Sheats@pba.edu> wrote:

For living in PBA you should be making a TON more...especially when you're working at such an expensive school. I used to have lots of friends that went there. Outrageous how much they charge. <!----------------//------ andy matthews web developer certified advanced coldfusion programmer ICGLink, Inc. andy@icglink.com 615.370.1530 x737 --------------//---------> Yeah, the average price of single family homes in PB county was around 400K a few months ago.  Right now the market is dead though, like most of the country - we'll see what happens. I agree that getting my CF Cert isn't all that big of a deal - even if I had failed the test I would have been glad I did it because it made me learn about a lot of the things in CF that I have never needed to use. However, my boss and HR and the VP of Business don't know anything about web programming so I'm using the Cert as a way to prove to them that I do know what I'm doing - since this is my first job out of College. And for any of you who may have checked out www.pba.edu please don't judge me based on that horrendous site, I inherited.  The new one can be found at www1.pba.edu - I started the project about 2 years ago and we're hoping to launch this month.  I can't believe how slow things happen at Higher Education institutions. Thanks for the survey and for everyone who responded, Peter Sheats Webmaster Palm Beach Atlantic University peter_sheats@pba.edu 561.803.2033 "Maturity comes from obedience to Christ, not necessarily from age." -- Leonard Ravenhill yeah, PBC Florida has skyrocketed in housing prices.  I'm originally from there, my family has seen their property values triple in the past 4 years alone.  Where PBA is located, well, good freakin luck finding anything affordable, with a view of Palm Beach across the way everything is costly. Used to see Trumps, now Ivanan's, yacht there quite a bit.  Of course there is always tamarind ave area... ;) DK On 8/1/06, PETER SHEATS <Peter_Sheats@pba.edu> wrote:

yeah right, you pay dearly for all that holyness.  :)   That and wonderful FAU is around the corner ...my ug alma mater!  go Owls!  lol! ww1 looks much better Peter. DK On 8/1/06, Andy Matthews <andy@icglink.com> wrote:

Looks pretty nice. Loads a little slow, but our connection at the office is crap. Transitions in that initial Flash movie on the home page appear to have a lag, but you may be using loadMovie() to bring in the pics (rather than having them in the file), and with my connection here that may just be load time. You might want to make that 'location' DHTML drop down menu swing left, rather than right like the others, so that the menu stays within your 'page'. Cutter ____________ http://blog.cutterscrossing.com PETER SHEATS wrote:

It's either careerbuilder.com or monster.com...one of the 2 has salary estimator. Eric Hey Everyone, I recently took my CF 7 test and got an 88% (I used the CFMX Exam Buster sold by centrasoft.com which really helped in case anyone is planning on taking the test soon). Anyway, I was wondering if anyone can point me to any resources that I can use to show my boss what the average salary is for Coldfusion Developers.  I work at a higher education institution and salaries right now are kind of low, and they know it but it's a struggle to get them to do anything about it.   So if anyone knows of any reputable statistics I could use to show my boss what the range should be I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Peter

Well monster.com is actually based on the average of the area. They've probably have either used census data or surveyed a small sample group. And if I was making what they say I should be making I'd be one happy camper... Cheers, !k It's either careerbuilder.com or monster.com...one of the 2 has salary estimator. Eric Hey Everyone, I recently took my CF 7 test and got an 88% (I used the CFMX Exam Buster sold by centrasoft.com which really helped in case anyone is planning on taking the test soon). Anyway, I was wondering if anyone can point me to any resources that I can use to show my boss what the average salary is for Coldfusion Developers.  I work at a higher education institution and salaries right now are kind of low, and they know it but it's a struggle to get them to do anything about it.   So if anyone knows of any reputable statistics I could use to show my boss what the range should be I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Peter

Kevin Aebig wrote: > Well monster.com is actually based on the average of the area. They've > probably have either used census data or surveyed a small sample group. > > And if I was making what they say I should be making I'd be one happy > camper... No doubt.  I put in "web software developer, Sr." in my area, and the median salary was quite a lot more than I'm making =)  I'm 9 years into CF, I think I've earned "Sr." =) Oh well, I guess I have good retirement benefits.  That's what I keep telling myself! Rick

If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt On 8/1/06, Eric Roberts <owner@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote:

I would be interested. ...................... Ben Nadel www.bennadel.com If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt On 8/1/06, Eric Roberts <owner@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote:

I'll answer it if it'll help someone out. --Ferg If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt On 8/1/06, Eric Roberts <owner@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote: Buster > sold by centrasoft.com which really helped in case anyone is planning on > taking the test soon). > > Anyway, I was wondering if anyone can point me to any resources that I can > use to show my boss what the average salary is for Coldfusion > Developers.  I > work at a higher education institution and salaries right now are kind of > low, and they know it but it's a struggle to get them to do anything about > it. > > So if anyone knows of any reputable statistics I could use to show my boss

ok If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt On 8/1/06, Eric Roberts <owner@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote:

I'll go 'yes' on that one. Be good to see general stats... Cutter _______________ http://blog.cutterscrossing.com Matt Williams wrote: > If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick > anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, > country, years with CF, and comments.

I'm in. Terrence Ryan Senior Systems Programmer Wharton Computing and Information Technology    E-mail:    tpryan@wharton.upenn.edu If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt

How many yes's would you like, I got a couple to get you started: yes yes yes yes yes yes. Mingo. Matt Williams wrote:

Sure..I'll answer. <!----------------//------ andy matthews web developer certified advanced coldfusion programmer ICGLink, Inc. andy@icglink.com 615.370.1530 x737 --------------//---------> If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt On 8/1/06, Eric Roberts <owner@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote:

Alright, I'm working on it. Link coming soon... Matt On 8/1/06, Andy Matthews <andy@icglink.com> wrote:

Wow, all this for me?  Thanks =) I don't think I should answer it since it'll bring the average way down... Peter Sheats Webmaster Palm Beach Atlantic University peter_sheats@pba.edu 561.803.2033 "Maturity comes from obedience to Christ, not necessarily from age." -- Leonard Ravenhill Alright, I'm working on it. Link coming soon... Matt On 8/1/06, Andy Matthews <andy@icglink.com> wrote:

No, you should do the survey.  A good survey captures as much of the population as possible, and while this is not going to be scientific, more data is always better.  Especially since he lets you put in how many years you've worked, if your's is low, then that would match the low pay.  I didn't get paid at my first 'CF job' (a university), and my second only paid me about $36k/year. This transmission may contain information that is privileged, confidential and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the information contained herein (including any reliance thereon) is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. If you received this transmission in error, please immediately contact the sender and destroy the material in its entirety, whether in electronic or hard copy format. Thank you. A1.

My first CF job was for 20,000 a year. Man was I dumb.

mine was 28,800 sucked. post funding... 250% INCrease :) naaaaaaaaace On 8/1/06, loathe <loathe@speakeasy.net> wrote:

4 months in mine doubled when they realized I was gonna leave. I got certified two weeks after I started there.  Course I had been doing CF (CF Express, remember that?) for about a year on my own.

There should be another column for total years programming, since a 10 year developer with 2 years coldfusion experience is usually going to make considerably more than a 2 year developer with 2 years of coldfusion.

I'm currently working at an educational service center in Kansas and get paid little over double that.  At first I found it difficult to take such a huge pay cut from the mid 90k range and move to the country, but the freedom and respect I get at this job makes up for it.  I was originally on the lookout for another position, but the wife refused to move because she's not into the city life anymore.  There is a lot to be said about the freedom at the work place and not slaving away.  Used to live in Nashua, NH and commute into Boston every freakin day...now I just come in when I want to and drive through corn fields :) Also gives me a chance to play around with new stuff without having to stay up to the wee hours of the morning.... Matt ----- Original Message ----- From: "loathe" <loathe@speakeasy.net> To: "CF-Talk" <cf-talk@houseoffusion.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 1:38 PM Subject: RE: Advanced Developer Average Salary > My first CF job was for 20,000 a year. > > Man was I dumb. >

Matt Williams wrote: > Alright, I'm working on it. Link coming soon... I'll respond too.. be interested in seeing the results too. =) rick

It seems like a lot of employers are still very interested in the location of CF developers. Is there a google map where you can plug in your location for this very purpose? Would this help with the employment matching process? On 8/1/06, Andy Matthews <andy@icglink.com> wrote:

There is a google map, forgotten the URL for it but remember when it floated through this list. On 8/1/06, Dan Plesse <dan.plesse@gmail.com> wrote:

Is this the one?? http://www.frappr.com/cfdevelopers ...................... Ben Nadel www.bennadel.com There is a google map, forgotten the URL for it but remember when it floated through this list. On 8/1/06, Dan Plesse <dan.plesse@gmail.com> wrote:

http://www.frappr.com/cfdevelopers Dan Plesse wrote: > It seems like a lot of employers are still very interested in the location > of CF developers. Is there a > google map where you can plug in your location for this very purpose? Would > this help with the employment matching process?

Mingo Hagen wrote: > http://www.frappr.com/cfdevelopers It's unfortunate that frappr (thanks to google) is so painfully slow.

http://www.frappr.com/cfdevelopers It seems like a lot of employers are still very interested in the location of CF developers. Is there a google map where you can plug in your location for this very purpose? Would this help with the employment matching process?

I certainly get a lot of calls about contract gigs outside the Chicago area...despite my note about not being interested in positions outside the Chicago area (I guess reading English is not a requirement for being a tech recruiter these days heheh) Eric It seems like a lot of employers are still very interested in the location of CF developers. Is there a google map where you can plug in your location for this very purpose? Would this help with the employment matching process? On 8/1/06, Andy Matthews <andy@icglink.com> wrote:

Yes If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt On 8/1/06, Eric Roberts <owner@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote:

I think it would be useful to include a means of determining what benefits you get if any.   This can quickly grow out of control, but some indicator would be nice. $72k no benefits $58k w/benefits $58k w/ medical, dental, employer retirement contribution Yes If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt On 8/1/06, Eric Roberts <owner@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote:

Would be as simple as having two fields, one for monetary compensation and one for non-monetary compensation.  So if your employer kicks in $200/mo for insurance and $50/mo for retirement, then your non-monetary benefits would be $3000/yr.  Not real precise, grant you, but it'll curtail the complexity cheers, barneyb On 8/1/06, Ken Ketsdever <ken.ketsdever@bloodsource.org> wrote:

True, plus you have whether doing 1099, W-2, or whatever work.  I know when I was W-2 I made a bit less yearly but the money in my pocket at the end of the year was more than I get doing 1099 right now due to the tax monster. On 8/1/06, Ken Ketsdever <ken.ketsdever@bloodsource.org> wrote:

It gets even more complicated if you want to make that universal, here in Holland the system is quite different... Ken Ketsdever wrote:

Here's a few more things to consider. - Cost of living I can move to another city, double my salary, but the cost of real estate is insane and would alter my monthly spending habits. - Current exchange rate Though I'm sure many subscribers to the list are American, there are a number of us from Canada and abroad. Cheers, !k I think it would be useful to include a means of determining what benefits you get if any.   This can quickly grow out of control, but some indicator would be nice. $72k no benefits $58k w/benefits $58k w/ medical, dental, employer retirement contribution Yes If people are interested, willing and not offended, I'll set up a quick anonymous poll so people here could enter their annual salary, city, state, country, years with CF, and comments. It wouldn't be scientific by any means, but it could be some interesting data. A few yes's and I'll get it going. Matt On 8/1/06, Eric Roberts <owner@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote:

Isn't that what frappr is for? "This e-mail is from Reed Exhibitions (Oriel House, 26 The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1DL, United Kingdom), a division of Reed Business, Registered in England, Number 678540.  It contains information which is confidential and may also be privileged.  It is for the exclusive use of the intended recipient(s).  If you are not the intended recipient(s) please note that any form of distribution, copying or use of this communication or the information in it is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.  If you have received this communication in error please return it to the sender or call our switchboard on +44 (0) 20 89107910.  The opinions expressed within this communication are not necessarily those expressed by Reed Exhibitions." Visit our website at http://www.reedexpo.com -----Original Message----- From: Dan Plesse To: CF-Talk Sent: Tue Aug 01 17:12:52 2006 Subject: Re: Advanced Developer Average Salary It seems like a lot of employers are still very interested in the location of CF developers. Is there a google map where you can plug in your location for this very purpose? Would this help with the employment matching process? On 8/1/06, Andy Matthews <andy@icglink.com> wrote: