This Conference Will Pay For Itself: Salary Negotiation for DevOps

“I’m sure if I work hard, my contribution will one day be recognized and I’ll get a raise.” – Everyone At Some Point In Our Careers. The world is unfair; this talk won’t do much to fix that– but it will give insight from a hiring manager on how to maneuver within the world we currently inhabit.

Discussing compensation is a taboo for many of us. We consider it “rude,” “not other people’s business,” or just not a comfortable conversation to have. Unfortunately, information asymmetry around how others are compensated enables many of us to be drastically underpaid compared to what we could be earning.

In this talk, a hiring manager gives profoundly honest advice on how to ensure you’re being paid fairly for the market in which you work, how active career management is critical to your future, and why so many of us find the entire subject so uncomfortable. Topics covered include how to figure out what “market rate” for your area is, why it’s probably considerably more than you think it is, and selected techniques to help you earn more sooner rather than later without having to change your personality to do it.