Why wouldn’t “make more money” for a software engineer with 12 years of experience by changing jobs be his first action?
1) changing jobs is a slow process, with lots of communication delays likely to stretch over days / weeks. Putting your finances in order takes a couple hours from scratch. They really arent mutually exclusive options
2) you should streamline your finances before looking to switch jobs so you can better assess your needs and what you are willing to sacrifice when evaluating market nuances.
3) He doesnt actually have any guarantee of another job. He should see what it takes to get out of paycheck to paycheck living at his current wage because that is his current reality. If he wants to prioritize saving money, he needs to start now by making any sacrifices he can. Those sacrifices become a motivational tool to increase his income in order to buy back the conveniences if he still wants them.
You would be surprised about how fast recruiters start spamming you once you change your LinkedIn status.
2. At $110K in NYC as a developer with three kids, he can’t be too picky about what he is willing to sacrifice.
3. As a software developer with 12 years of experience in the US in 2022, unless he is “eat the chalk” dumb - and I doubt he is - he is basically guaranteed another job paying more.
2. this is true, but with kids there is also extra risk in changing jobs. not enough to say dont do it - but it's a consideration.
3. he is a web developer turned tech director, not a software developer. without formal education in the field. We do not know his situation, and this type of thinking is what gets people into the most trouble. that 12 years of experience might not be fully industry relevant.
Overall I do agree with you, it sounds like it is definitely worth the effort for him to find a new job. But it is a common trap to shulk responsibility for your current situation by thinking things will be different after some specific life event. that said, he posted info baout his situation after my initial post and yeah he should find a better job if he can but i dont even think hes in trouble.
TBH I think OP was either just venting or baiting for someone here to hook him up with a web-dev side gig.
Also, He is isnt even living paycheck to paycheck.. hes paying off a mortgage so he's investing in real estate around NYC, which has increased a lot over the past year alone so odds are this guy is far from debt.
Even though I personally avoid the clusterf%%% of the modern front end development ecosystem like the plague, I would never say that “web development” is not “software development”.
As far as his lack of a formal education, with 12 years of experience, it doesn’t matter.
It’s not like my degree in 1996 from a no name school had anything to do with me getting a job in 2008.
I had a feeling you might take this point of contention. I know I did not phrase it in the most sensitive way, but I was trying to highlight that his journey was different than a typical C# developer, for example. A minimum wage web-dev is not expected to know what an algorithm is, how anything is stored in memory, uncommon data structures, etc. And a tech director has a wide range of options but likely is more about managing other people than being a highly skilled individual contributor who can go make 200k easy at another job. Maybe all he did was update wordpress templates. Maybe in 12 years he has specialized in something worth $110k to this company but barely applicable anywhere else. We have no clue
All I know is that the OP didnt mention feeling underpaid, and the question was not about how to find a new job
I'm not trying to bait someone, or trying to get help from someone.
You're right, real estate is one of the best investments I've ever done, with the situation with covid and inflation real estate prices went up a lot since I purchased the house, and I already have about $100K in equity.
The baiting comment was because the goal of your post seemed unclear to me, but it did come off more as a vent for watching paychecks come and go
Keep an eye on the market, you might be able to increase your paycheck. alternatively, start a passion project that might be able to generate some side income. Also consider if there is more opportunity with your current employer. it is mildly annoying, but ask for more responsibility and then after you are handling it well ask for a raise. it is annoying because ideally you get the raise and responsibility at the same time, but it is very rare to see it happen that way