I live in NJ near NYC. A quick google search tells me that the average SWE salary in NYC is around $132k. Looking at the current "Who is hiring" thread, at a glance, it seems that most salaries range from $75k to $250k+ from just the few that list them.
I want to work these same jobs at minimum wage, meaning around $27k.
Why? Because I want things to be "calmer."
I want to know that I'll have an easier time applying and getting hired faster than other applicants at my same skill level because I'm willing to work for much less than expected.
I want to know that I'll be less likely to be let go during downsizing because I work at less pay than others at the same level. I want to know that I'm more valued at a company because the cost to keep me around is so low that if they have a bad quarter, they think of me last to get rid of.
I want management to know that I will not jump ship as soon as someone else offers me higher pay; I love stability and consistency. By asking for lesser pay, I don't want to communicate that I'm going to slack off but that I want to work at a lower salary in exchange for work to be "calmer," like being able to afford to work my own pace just a little bit. And by working at my own pace, I'm not trying to phrase getting distracted playing games on the job as working at my pace but that I'm taking some more time to read, take notes, and planning things out more to make the process "calmer."
I know a lot of people who work at a high salary (for example, say $90k, to me already a lot of money, but I know it's not enough to some), who spend most of the day doing "nothing." Like getting a mouse jiggler to simulate that they're at meetings. Or they spend most of the time watching shows or playing games while doing the occasional ticket (but are the most likely to be let go when the company has a bad quarter or during a recession).
If I'm willing to work the same way and things are "calm" enough, why not just go for the extra money? Because I want the guarantees of everything to be "calmer," and I'm more than happy to forgo any extra pay for more "calmness."
At the onset of applying, I never had the opportunity to phrase this as a competitive advantage, so I'm competing as if I want that higher pay, but I don't.
I love the structure and feel of these jobs (I don't want to freelance or anything similar). How can I convey these feelings without causing people to think I'm being silly? Or to even suggest this without causing hiring to think I'm unqualified/have imposter syndrome or whatever?
I'm writing this at 3 am and trying to brainstorm better ways to express myself than a weird-sounding email that will probably get ignored saying, "hey, that job you posted, I'll do it for min wage."
This is not a thing. There's no reason why min wage should make things calmer. If you manage to get it (and that's a big if), you'll have the same working conditions as everyone else but at a lower salary. Companies/manager don't adjust their expectations that way.
Look for companies/teams that are super chilled out in general (they exist like you said); if you go for the salary angle, you'll most likely come across weird and probably won't get the job at all.
> I'm writing this at 3 am
Because who in their right mind thinks "minimum wage people are having it great, they're the ones treated the best by their employers".
A boss can't go 'Well, we are only paying person y a third of what we would normally pay so that deadline can be extended by 3x'. Even if they opted to employ a total of 3x minimum wagers that does not equal 3x ability nor 3x the output.
In short - All that you would be doing is experiencing the same pressures of deadlines and performance reviews as your peers for a fraction of what your colleagues are earning but with all the same pressures.
And the next guy? He'll do it for $26K. And the next guy (or gal) desperate for a job will do it for $25K. A lot of places in the US don't even have minimum wage!
It'll be a race to the bottom, it's already a struggle competing with developers in countries with lower living costs.
How are you going to support yourself or a family on minimum wage? And wtf does 'calmer' even mean? You've either no experience at all in industry or you're burnt out, either way you need professional help (counseling) to help recognize your worth.
~90% of the hiring managers looking at your suggestion (me included) will not see any value in this. Having somebody working at minimum wage / under market value (besides unethical) creates all kinds of inequities and weird work place dynamics. For me it would not be worth it.
And the 10% who would actually entertain the notion: would you be ok working for people happy to exploit employees? That's setting yourself up for a burnout.
The best way to guarantee the things you want to guarantee is to do due diligence yourself and research the place you are applying to. Look for red flags. Be critical.
It doesn't seem to work -- not sure why
Prob just hard to get thru
Maybe try to be super over the top on your resume and cover letter and see what happens
Like
Big font top of your resume
I AM WILLING TO WORK FOR $65K/YR FOR A 40-HR WORK WEEK.
last time I tried to take a lesser job to de-stress it almost killed me, so I'm not sure this type of thing can work outside special companies like
4-day work week companies
Nonprofits
Smaller family-oriented companies like smaller web agencies that pay a fraction of what a typical megacorp would pay
In any case, it seems that it would take a fair amount of effort to convince a potential employer that this isn’t a weird stunt or scam.
Your stated goal is to have a ‘calmer’ hiring experience, but this idea seems like it will have the opposite result.
A mostly copmpatible way to accomplish this is to ask for 2 or 3 days of week at what salery they offer, however those days might still be stressful. Only working 4 hours a day, 5 days a week with some flexibleness might also be possible. In either configuration you can not "hang out" at the office as this time will need to be paid because of anti-exploitation laws.
In many bigger companies there are salery ranges and bureaucracy like that. Fighting to overcome them is not worth the savings for the company. Companies also pay a lot of non wage costs to keep seats filled, such as IT support, licenses, hardware, health insurance ... All those can impose constraints which make it impossible for you to be hired. Good health insurance might be unavailable for people with little income. The internal procedural cost of hiring a person might be bigger with your special needs, so hiring will not be quicker.
Look for smaller companies/NGOs <<50 employees. It is easier to talk to an actual human there vs talking to internalized procedures.
Look for cooperatives. There any management structure is more likely aligned with the employees. If a majority of employees is sympathetic with your constraints management (in so far there is one) can easily adapt.
> I know a lot of people who work at a high salary (for example, say $90k, to me already a lot of money, but I know it's not enough to some), who spend most of the day doing "nothing."
Often those people are kept on staff for peak times by wanting things to be calmer at peak times you would reduce your utility a lot.
- You might need to bypass formal mechanisms through the same mechanism cronyism usually uses to bypass formal mechanisms. This could involve knowing people before you apply. Just walk in and talk to someone (viable for < 20 people companies). Maybe know the owner beforehand. Meetups and social gatherings relevant to your industry are a place i would frequent. Yes, that will take effort.
- If possible give presentations (if you are not bad at presentations) about stuff you worked on in the past in front of an technical audience. This is a social proof of competence to the attendees. Recordings are a bit less powerful proof of skill and getting people to watch those recordings might not be easy.
- Challange a few head hunters with your request, most will be irritated but maybe someone knows someone how knows someone who would be worth a talk.
- Assuming you are talking to an actual human (vs a procedure) To overcome the "unqualified hypothesis" you need to have a CV, demos and a presentation (not a slide deck but how you speak and behave) which oozes the premise: "I am competent. I can demonstrate you i am competent. I like office culture over remote work (if that's true). However i require some special accomodations." I would not make "and i get paid less" part of your pitch. You mentioned your special needs and ask whether the other side can accomodate them and insists on getting them in writing in your employment contract.
- Communicate clearly that you are not disabled. You do not want the other side expecting or assuming that you are.
- Why not bring up the reduced salery yourself? If they are unwilling to accomodate your needs and would have been convinced to by the lower salery they would not respect your needs. Anyone who tries to accomodate your needs and hire you would do think about bringing a salery reduction up themselves. Do not say "minimum wage", just negotiate on the accomodations and see how the other side wants to reduce the salery in turn once you shown some flexibility with the wage after they asked you whether you would be willing to reduce the wage.