How can you raise your developer salary?

Looking for a bump in your developer salary? In this interview with Artisan Développeur, Christophe Hébert, developer and CEO of Bluecoders, shares his tips for earning more!

Our advice: be good!

Companies are looking for specialists and they're willing to pay top dollar to get the best. But take it from an expert: "you have to keep progressing and find the jobs where you'll actually grow your skills", because the more skills you build, the more your salary will follow!

So before dreaming of a six-figure salary, focus on rounding out your skills and giving everything to become the all-around expert. Managing a team, knowing how to recruit, putting development processes in place — these are just as important if you want to reach senior roles like CTO or VP of Engineering. Companies will go to great lengths (even up to €150K!) to keep their projects moving, and that means hiring people who can understand the business on top of having technical skills. Of course, you'll need 10–15 years of experience before you can hope to get anywhere close to a footballer's salary…

Money, Fun & Learning: what are you really after?

Christophe's many experiences led him to develop a tried-and-tested three-letter framework for any situation.

If you're tempted to lean toward the "Money" angle of the three-Fs framework while you're still a junior, Christophe recommends focusing first on the "Learning" side to find the right balance and reach the salary of your dreams!

It's better to start lower, source the projects that will let you grow and learn, and finish very high — rather than start a bit higher and stagnate at an average salary because you don't have enough skills to reach senior roles.

So don't jump on the first opportunity — set yourself up properly and target the companies that will help you grow fast.

And good news: Bluecoders is here for exactly that! We list companies that genuinely invest in their developers' growth. We map out a career plan with you and point you to the right openings, aligned with the skills you want to build.