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simulate
7y

!rant
How to earn a lot of money as a programmer?

So this question might sound a little naive and too simple, but earning a lot of money is what we all want after all right? Collecting experiences from people in the business should be a good idea.

So this is the position I am in:
I am a German student in my 13th year of school (which means I will graduate this summer) and I am very interested in information technology. I know C++ pretty well by now and I have built a rendering engine for a game I want to make using openGL already, which I am very proud of.
I would love to turn this passion into my profession and thats why I plan to attend a dual course of computer science next year (dual means that I will be employed at a company (or similar) in parallel to the studying course).

But what direction should I be going in if I want to make big money later on? I am ready to spend a lot of time and work on this life project but I don't know which directions are the most promising. I hate being a tiny gear in a huge machine that just has to keep spinning to keep the machine alive, I want to be part of a real project (like most people probably) and possibly sell a product (because I think that is how you really make money).

Now I know there is no magic answer to this, but I bet many people here have made experiences they can share and this could help a lot of people directing their path in a more success oriented way.

I personally am especially interested in fields which are relatively low-level and close to memory (C++), go hand in hand with physics and 3D simulation and are somewhat creative and allow new solutions. (These are no hard lines, I just thought I should give a little direction to what I know already and what I am interested in)

But really, I am interested in any work you are likely to earn a lot of money with.

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life

guide to wealth

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  • 3
    7y
    If all you're interested in is the money, learn COBOL and go work in bank and other financial monoliths on their stone age servers
  • 0
    7y
    @jens-peter
    I just don't want to have to spend my life on having to think about work and money. And since this business is still changing a lot (I guess) I know very few people who can give me the insight I need to find the right thing for me...
    Of course money is not everything, but I don't want to be stuck with the same job all my life because I studied the wrong things...
  • 2
    7y
    Like in every other job, there are some income-improvements with skill and experience - more or less, depending on sector you work in. But the big steps are made when you move towards personnel responsibility. And therefore when your move away from doing the actual work you're doing right now and tend more towards managing people/projects. Which is what I would never want to. And therefore I will always pinch pennies. :D
  • 0
    7y
    @Atlas
    So you are saying to get a lot money anywhere, you have to be the manager of a department and are not actually the one doing the work anymore?
  • 1
    7y
    @stimulate There is a platform for personnel recruitment and jobs search which is called "stepstone". For germany, they release a report every year with its main focus on average income/wage of different sections of the economy.

    They list a +10% for the IT-Section on average if you have personnel responsibility. A big +25% for Fincance & Controlling. So if you are that rational and non-emotional about your work, the best would be to get professional in IT-specialized services for finance and controlling companies (a bit like @gummy suggested). And then get personnel responsibility.
  • 1
    7y
    @stimulate also, be prepared to start code in a very strict, bone-dry environment with a lot of restrictions. And if not working in a fintech startup and want to take on personnel responsibility be prepared to work together with people whos pupils are made out of dollar-bills. Loyalty to the bull, death to the bear.
  • 1
    7y
    @Atlas thanks for the insight and guidance. I will keep my eyes open in the future and I will see if this kind of work will work for me. Also I will try to practice these skills whenever I can to be able to get as much from the cake as I can while still meeting my individual working pace and style as much as possible.
  • 1
    7y
    You will never make the big money if you are hired or you are a freelancer, because others will make the profit.
    To be the one who gets the profit you must have an own software company with a profitable product. But then you will spend a lot of time with business stuff and your personal risk will be very high!
    Maybe you make more money, but you will not have a better life...
    To get to this point it takes a long time. You must learn, get experience, you need business talent and of course you need a good product that fits in the market.
    So many variables...
    Start with a hired job, learn and wait for your chance.
  • 1
    7y
    @DivByZero
    Yes, this is very true. Anyone would only employ you if he earns more for your work than he has to pay you.

    So start working for someone else, learn from the business, observe and be ready to learn, work yourself up to learn from the big ones and as soon as you have an idea for a product, invest in it.

    The risk is definitely the big problem with this, but even if the project fails, you can still take a hired job and have a lot of experience.

    I guess the key is to work more than thinking about the work. You just have to take the time it takes.
  • 2
    7y
    The great advantage in our market is that we dont have to invest much money for creating products and that we can copy and distribute them very easy. Ok, time is money, but you dont need big financial resources to run the business.
    If I had to restart again, I would work as a freelancer, analyze the software market I am working in and talk to the clients as often as I can.
    They are the ones who the software is made for and they know much more about their market than we do.
    Sooner or later you will find out that a product is missing or that a bigger player offers a totally outdated and overpriced product that should be replaced.
    Thats strategy is not as spectacular as having that "billion dollar idea", but its much more likely that you have success.
  • 1
    7y
    @stimulate what's "a lot of money" to you? but in any case: first you gotta know your shit, then you have to have some goals or know what you expect from life, if you want to become a millionaire IT might not be the answer. But I would say that in general it provides a good income, and if you're smart investing your money you can live a good life.
    Also, you probably heard this before: but money isn't all, unless you really just want to become rich, then just use it as your choosing factor. In other cases you might better adjust money with your other interest, it's not an easy task, but it's possible.
    Since you're young try to learn a bit about investing, the earlier you start the better. First step: have at least 3 months of salary in a high liquidity investment, this way you are prepared for any "oh shit" scenarios, or be able to say fuck off to a bad job or whatever. After that start saving at least 10% of your income to invest, compound interest is your best friend xD
  • 1
    7y
    @mrbongiolo
    No, I don't just want to become rich and then sit on my money, I want to work, but not have to worry about money. I want to build my own house in about 12 years and that will take a lot of money. I want to be able to travel now and then and other things.
    Probably I just want to realise the goals most people have.

    And since IT is very asked for nowadays and good programming skills can be very valuable, I figured it is possible to earn enough money there to realise goals like these.
    But how much do you typically earn as a programmer and how much can you earn if you work yourself up?
  • 1
    7y
    @stimulate in this case I think that IT might be OK, even more as you really seem to like it. It's hard to say how much, its different from country to country. In US I think it starts at 60k/y then some average around 80-100k/y, but there are outliners there making 300k+, so who knows.
    If you get good in the areas that you said you have interest I'm almost sure you won't have trouble finding good paying jobs/opportunities.
    In any case I still think that you should learn on how to invest, it isn't hard, if you do it correctly in 12 years you will be able to build your house and even more without a sweat. Your future you will be very pleased with you :)
  • 1
    7y
    @stimulate A 12 years plan...! I'm impressed that you have such detailled plans about your future. Most others at your age (and above) seem to be more interested in stupid jokes and funny pictures than to think about important decicions..
  • 1
    7y
    Thanks a lot for the kind and motivating words :)

    Yes, it's great.. since I've begun working on this coding project I've become much more confident and optimistic since I have learned how many things are actually more doable than I thought. As a child I've always wanted to create my own game but everybody told me that you can't do it alone.
    And now I am doing it and I am making constant progress. It does take a while but you just have to take the time it takes and one day you are done. Same thing with a house or basically any project. If you do the work, the work will be done.

    So now let's hope everything works out as planned and then I can be a proud man sitting in my garden watching the clouds go by 😍 haha
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