Coders who work as computer programmers, developers, and software engineers, are known as the construction workers of the digital world.
Coders write and test computer code that allows software programs and applications to function. They take the ideas and specifications for a piece of software, and use programming languages to turn those ideas into a working product. They are crucial to our prevalent digital world, so they often make decent salaries.
“It’s different in Reno,” says coder Nathan Mausert who worked in web development previously in California and moved here in May 2022. “It’s a lot of mid and senior positions, not a lot of junior positions. Looking at Seattle and San Francisco, those are emerging, need small talent and can’t afford experience. That’s why there’s a lot of junior positions there. As for here, the large name companies need the old talent.”
Pay tends to shift quickly, says another coder, who wanted to remain anonymous.
“Average pay can vary from company to company. $70,000 is a lower starting level, but the moment you work for at least a year, you become more valuable,” he said. “Mid-level developers can make as much as $120,000 to $140,000. When you’re taken on while your pay is lower, you’re viewed as an investment.”
This upward trend in salaries has helped local coders deal with inflation and rising rents.
Mausert breaks it down even more: “The reason they’re paid so much [here] is because they know most of these systems that almost no one knows how to maintain, and do a lot of work to mentor and train others. Your job boils down to this one thing. Here’s a problem we don’t have an answer for, you have to find a way to solve it.”
It’s a rocky industry though with fast swings. Tech stocks sank in 2022, after rising in 2021, which eventually has repercussions in Reno.
“A great example is the stock price of Shopify,” a female coder who also wanted to remain anonymous said. “Within the course of one week, it dropped by 80% in stock value. This has been happening to a lot of companies. Snapchat fired 10,000 employees.” She pauses, and gives air quotes: “I mean, ‘LAID OFF’. Google has plans to do the same. Meta (that Facebook thing) downsized, as well. Apple is in a hiring freeze.”
This trickles down to local affiliates and other lesser know companies, and signifies potential troubles up ahead in the coding space.
Mausert isn’t too worried though. For those interested in a coding career he suggests not being afraid to move with the ever changing state of technology. He says your own knowledge, hustle and staying up to date with coding abilities is more important than any degree.
“There is definitely a coding culture, and it is a hit or miss. On one hand, the ‘old guard’ of sorts – “You need a college degree” sort of deal – is dying out. Google and Apple don’t require that anymore because they know it’s one of those fields where you can be self-taught and amazing at it.”