Curious Programmer Wannabe

[laiason5]

just out of sheer curiosity how much would an average programmer make straight out of college? how much would the average programmer make with 5 or 10 years of experience behind him?

thanks for the enlightenment,
L5

[valiant]

I have a buddy who graduated this spring and is starting with Exxon for around 50K working in Texas. I am self taught and a consultant with around 5 years experience but only 1 year "formal" experience. I will make about 60 - 65K this year and expect to make well over 70 Next. programmers with 10-15 years experience can expect to make 70-110K. Oops I am talking about C/C++ and for the big bucks you need project/personnel management experience too. It varies alot with specific skills and location - the coasts tend to be higher than the middle of the country (of course so are living expenses)