I have been doing a lot of research as far as figuring out what I am worth as far as a developer.
One area that I feel like I have made a huge mistake in my professional career is that I accepted a salary without realizing that the salary offered was not the base salary. Based on the research then, $65K for a junior developer with previous experious in Southern Calofornia sounded right and I went with it.
It is only after a couple of years with no career progression, no feedback, and no raise that I am realizing that I didn't understand the offer.
Is it the case that when a salary is generated on a website like Glassdoor that they are referring to take home pay? Because, if that is the case, I have screwed myself out of more money than I expected.
I didn't get into this career for the money; I love it, I am good at it, and I only want to get better. However, I feel like I let myself get taken advantage of.
Are my expectations unrealistic? I am leaving the company due to lack of career growth and I want to get it right this time.
Thanks.
The separate question of whether you are being taken advantage of is very contextual. Relevant questions include:
Is my salary not improving even though my skills and domain knowledge are dramatically different?
How does my salary compare to other developers at other companies in my city/state/region with similar skills, experience and responsibilities?
How does my salary compare to other developers and/or other roles within my own company - is their evidence that it is unfair?
Compensation information at the appropriate level of specificity [role, training, skills, domain knowledge, location, industry and company size] is rarely available at all to individuals at least at a reasonable cost. Sometimes it is available through HR benchmarking companies that sell the information to employers.
This information asymmetry tends to give negotiating advantage to the employer.