Everyone, at some point in their career, will wonder: “What sort of salary should I be expecting?” There are a lot of right and wrong answers, and a lot of answers that are in-between.

Here are a few disclaimers to get us started:

• In this section, I’m going to share my personal opinion.
  
  • That opinion is informed by years of personal experience with my own salary (obviously), but also that of my partner, the more-than-a-dozen other people who I’ve helped land jobs in the ServiceNow/ITSM space, and the many developers I’ve vetted, interviewed, and hired during my ITSM career - but it is still just my opinion.
• These numbers are in US dollars ($) for people working in the United States.
  
  • If you have some experience with salary ranges in other regions, please share in the comments!
• These are based on 100% remote work, or low-to-moderate cost of living areas, so if you're in a high CoL area and/or do on-site work, you may potentially expect a little more than I’ve indicated.
• You can almost definitely find people to do any of these jobs for less money than I've listed, but in my opinion, you’ll often end up with someone who's either not good, or not happy, because they will probably be getting offers for more much more money in the very near future.
  
  • The numbers I’ve listed are ranges which I expect to not only attract, but to retain talent for at least a year or two.

With that in mind, here are the numbers:

• Administrator: $65k - $90k
  
  • 0-3 years experience
    
  • No-code or very low-code
    
  • ITIL certification recommended early-on, but often not required.
    
  • CSA (Certified ServiceNow Administrator) certification can help you get your foot in the door for your first job, but otherwise it’ll depend on how much value the hiring manager places on certifications.
• Jr. Developer: $75k - $110k
  
  • 0-3 years experience
    
  • Knowledge of at least the basics of JavaScript (specifically ES5) and the Glide API (GlideRecord, GlideSystem, GlideUser, etc.) is required.
    
  • Low-code is okay, but NO-code is not. If you are a “low-code” junior developer though, that isn’t the end. It’s a stepping-stone. You should be using your time as a junior dev to skill-up and solidify your JavaScript knowledge.
    
  • Some training availability is expected, as is availability of a more senior dev to answer questions
    
    • If a company is hiring you as a “junior dev” and they don’t have or plan to hire a “senior dev”, do not take it unless you have no other options. That’s a company that will pay your garbage, use you up, blame you for not knowing the things that they should’ve hired a senior developer to know, and then spit you out.
• Developer: $95k - $145k
  
  • 2-5 years experience
    
  • Moderate to high code skill
    
  • One or more module specialties
• Sr. Developer: $130k - $225k
  
  • 3+ years experience [though you'd be wise to base this more on talent than number of years experience]
    
  • At least a couple of module specialties
    
  • Maybe a certification or two, though this is only really important if you’re working for a consulting company
• Technical Architect: $165k - $300k
  
  • 5+ years experience (though again, talent trumps experience)
    
  • High code skill
    
  • Should be able to train others and provide feedback in a productive way
    
  • Multiple module specializations
    
  • Good technical writing and communication skills
    
  • Strong sense of "best-practice", and all that good stuff
• Sr. Technical Architect: $200k - $425k
  I know it’s a very wide pay-range, but senior architects have a very wide range of skill and experience levels.
  It’s not easy to hit over ~$275k, but it’s definitely doable all the way up to 400k+.
  
  • >5 years experience (usually on the higher-end, closer to 7+ years, but what really matters is what you have done, and what you can do - much more than how long you’ve done it for).
    
  • Should be the best developer on the team in addition to being an architect
    
  • Be able to work with just about any module.
    This doesn’t mean you have to specifically master every module, just that you should have such a firm understanding of the platform that any module which uses the core platform functionality should be very easy to pick up and run with, and even lead a team implementing or building on it.

Just to reiterate one more time: These ranges are my opinion, and are based on my own experience. That said, there was a fair amount of agreement when this topic was discussed in the community. A job that makes you happy can be worth a fair amount of money - especially if it's building experience that leads to something that both pays better, and makes you happier down the line.

Here's what I tell people who aren't sure whether to leave a job for more money:

Take the pay of the other hypothetical job (say, $150k) and subtract your current salary (say, $120k) to get the delta ($30k).

Imagine that you're already making the higher amount of money, and already working that other job. Do your best to put yourself into the head-space you’ll be in, in that job. Not an idealized version of it, but a realistic “this job is probably okay” kind of mentality, with all you know about the job. Get a sense of how you might feel about your team and that work and that job after several months of getting to know people and getting into the groove of things (based on what you know about the new team).

Now, imagine that you are given the opportunity to pay the delta ($30k in our example) every year, to go back to your old job.

Would you pay that amount?

If the answer is no, you wouldn’t pay that amount every year to have your old job, then it might be wise to consider taking the new one. Either way though, you should probably keep your ear to the ground, and be available for whatever new opportunities may come your way. That doesn’t mean seeking out new jobs you don’t really want to take; just being generally open to what might come across your desk.

One more thing I often tell people who are struggling with the idea of leaving a comfortable job for a massive pay-increase:

No company in the history of man, has ever given one single damn, about a single one of its employees.Corporations don't care about you.

Your manager probably does; and your team. People are, I think and hope, generally good; but no company is ‘good’. Companies don’t have political opinions, they don’t have religions, they don’t have morals or emotions. They are behemoths comprised of a combination of the people that make them up, and the forces that drive them. Those forces are always monetary. If they’re a publicly-traded company, then those forces are legally required to be monetary. Public companies are required by law to maximize shareholder value.

Your manager and your team, if they're worth staying with, would probably be excited for you, to see you go - as long as it was for an exciting gig and a really good pay bump. They would probably be as bummed out as you might be, if they can’t match the offer - maybe even more so… but that doesn’t mean that the company cares about you. Everyone who cares about you enough to matter, would probably be happy for you.

And if they don’t? - That’s probably a good indication that you should be looking elsewhere.

Never feel bad for taking a new position that’s objectively better for your long-term health, happiness, and well-being - financial, or otherwise.

I’m in no way suggesting that you should abandon ship at the first whiff of a pay-bump. What I am saying, is that it should be a decision that you make primarily based on what’s best for you. What’s best for you, absolutely includes how much you like your manager, and your team, and the work your company is doing; all I’m suggesting, is that you should think about yourself first. Factor those things in, but don’t let anyone guilt you into either staying, or going.

Speaking of not leaving your company just for a little pay-bump, let’s discuss how to ask for a raise at your current job.

Asking for a raise

Asking for a raise can be difficult, especially when you’re actually happy with your job. However, if you feel like you’ve grown professionally since you were hired, or that you’re not compensated fairly given the market (which may require being vaguely open to other positions to get a sense of what other jobs out there are paying), asking for a raise can be a great alternative to taking another job. In some salary negotiations, already having another offer can be one more card in your deck when negotiating a pay raise, but it isn’t a necessary first step.

That doesn’t mean however, that there isn’t a “right time” to ask for a raise. Some people make the mistake of asking for a raise when deadlines are approaching and everyone is under stress, because they feel like that’s when they have the most leverage. However, this strategy can frame the conversation as an adversarial one. This is a mistake!

Most of the time, if you have a good manager, they will actually be on your side when it comes to getting you a reasonable salary that is congruent with your worth as a worker. Remember, they have their own budget to worry about! Think of your manager as your ally, not your adversary. Obviously if your manager is one of the main reasons you’re quitting, this may not be the case… but if that’s so, it may not even be worth negotiating for a pay-raise in your current position under that manager.

Asking for a raise during “crunch-time” can result in success if you really are critical to the project - however, it’s also a good way to ensure that yours is the first head on the chopping-block once that project is over (ask me how I know 😜).

You want to aim for a reasonable, sustainable raise that you, your manager, and the company you both work for, can live with, at least until your next performance review.

…but mainly you. I mean, it is your salary.

The below video from PBS Digital Studios’ Two Cents (which you should definitely go and subscribe to; #NotSponsored) discusses the topic of asking for a raise in more detail, including what they call the eight “steps to asking for a raise”:

1. Decide to ask
2. Prepare your case
3. Remember: It’s not a battle
4. Have a specific number in mind
5. Timing is key
6. Consider alternative options (to a salary bump; such as stock, bonuses, better working conditions or hours, etc.)
7. Rehearse the conversation
8. Be prepared to hear “no” (and, I’d add, have a good sense of what ‘no’ means to you, and what your next steps will be in that case)

Step #2 is something that’s really critical: Prepare your case!

Before you ask for a raise, you should be able to tell your manager why you deserve a raise. If you can’t answer this question, then what is your manager supposed to tell their superiors, when attempting to justify the additional budget for your position? Remember: Your manager is accountable to others at the company, too.

The reason that I call this point out in particular, is because it’s something that you should begin doing now; even if you’re just starting a new position!

Documenting every significant accomplishment - especially those that resulted in financial gain (or prevented/reduced financial costs/losses)for the company - is something that you should be doing all the time. This list will come in handy during your annual performance review, whether you’re asking for a bigger raise or not. You don’t need a lot of detail, but some basic info on what you accomplished and what the result for the company was, can be really helpful. If you can tie your accomplishments to specific dollar-amounts, so much the better! If you can’t, that’s okay - but any time you can, write that down (even if it’s just a guess/estimate)!

Note: When estimating the value of something you worked on, it’s okay to guess at the numbers, as long as you be sure to include exactly how you came to that conclusion (what variables you factored into your calculation, and what values you ascribed to them).