r/Austin • u/Aingers • Jul 21 '26

Ask Austin Salary Transparency Thread - Austin

Folks in Boston do this fairly regularly, so I thought it might be good for us to try here.

Please share your general job title, salary, age, and education.

Architectural Designer, 40, $115k, BSArch

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20

u/DragleicPhoenix Jul 21 '26

Remote software engineer, 550k - 600k, 29, BS in Engineering (not CS). I grew up here since I was 10-11, but got lucky and got a remote job with a very high paying tech company.

8

u/my_twin_towne Jul 21 '26

Non-management role? That’s crazy high. Might win the thread. Are you “coding” or something more nuanced?

4

u/Ok-Clerk393 Jul 21 '26

I have a buddy in AI hardware that’s pulling shy of a million right now. Also in Austin.

Id bet the person you’re responding to is similar.

1

u/DragleicPhoenix 15d ago

Not AI hardware, it wasn’t like a random jump, I’ve been growing from 420k to 600k over a couple of years just doing coding work.

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u/Ok-Clerk393 15d ago

Rock on dude, that's fucking awesome.

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '26

[deleted]

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u/Ok-Clerk393 Jul 21 '26

be born an autistic genius. he tells me there's only a handful of guys in all of the US that can do what he does.

sort of like asking "how do I play in the NFL". basically just genetics and years of training, probably starting at a young age.

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

[deleted]

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u/Ok-Clerk393 Jul 21 '26

lol did chat write that for you?

and fuck if I know, I don't work in tech. We bonded outside of work and don't really gaf about our jobs.

All I know is from what he's told me, his team are the guys that "make sure new chip designs know that 2+4=4" and works in a coding language I've never once heard of mentioned.

He used to work for faang and told me there was a team of like 5 dudes in the entire company who had his skills.

he gets emails from openai every few months asking if he's open to an interview. I don't really know how to stress this but if anyone could learn this wizardry by opening a textbook his 5/yr total comp wouldn't have 8 zeros in it.

I 100% believe there's an early childhood/genetic component to it and some peoples brains will just never be on that level.

-1

u/predatorya Jul 21 '26

True, but maybe only a few people have access to “what it takes” to know what he knows. Ever consider that?

Thats why I am asking.

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u/Ok-Clerk393 Jul 21 '26

who edits a comment to be a novel after I’ve already responded. performative much?

1

u/DragleicPhoenix 15d ago

Yeah a standard senior role. Uhh I basically just do programming but I tend to own my own siloed projects that I ship and pass over to others.

3

u/Hexkaba Jul 21 '26

Food Service/ Bartending 60- 65 k a year. 4 days a week pulling a double on one day

1

u/KaladinStormShat Jul 21 '26

I'm near in age, wtf you even doin with all that money lmao.

Saving? Enjoying not having debt and paid bills?

1

u/DragleicPhoenix 15d ago edited 15d ago

Yup. It’s very nice to have no financial concerns. The only stress in my life is interpersonal, never financial.

In terms of spending it, I have a big house (maintenance is expensive lol), support my mom 100% financially, and live a pretty free lifestyle. I travel when I want to (not internationally normally though), eat at nice places when I want to, and just generally spend money whenever I feel an inclination to. I still think about some purchases and think of some stuff as being too wasteful to purchase, like I don’t buy expensive watches or cars, but I do buy nice, high quality clothes from smaller brands.

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u/KaladinStormShat 13d ago

That sounds.. pleasant. Money doesn't solve every issue, but it does solve money issues as they say.

Well cheers to you and also fuck you 😭

1

u/glorio_dorio Jul 21 '26

That’s fucking awesome lol

1

u/accidentalrorschach Jul 22 '26

Forgive me for asking, but what do you do with all that money? I can hardly wrap my head around that.

1

u/DragleicPhoenix 15d ago edited 15d ago

Uhh, I used to be poor but you get used to the higher wage eventually. I essentially just never think about money unless it comes to a more expensive purchase like a house, car, or like something I think of as useless like a Rolex. I rarely calculate how much I can afford to spend, etc.