My $.02 on why C# devs make more $

 

First of all let me say that most salary surveys are blatantly wrong. But for this exercise we will assume these assessments as truth. C# developers on a whole make more because their skills sets tend to be more multi-faceted. I don’t know of any C# devs who don’t know VB! By virtue of the fact that they are comfortable in c based syntaxes, chances are they know C,C++ or Java. They tend to have a wider range of experience and much smaller learning curves. (this is demonstrated by the fact that they are working with such a new language and framework.) The simple fact is that C# developers make more because they tend to have more experience (in general) than their VB counter-parts. Not because C# is better, or tougher.

 

Another thing that comes into play is the simple economic factor of supply and demand. Many more VB guys out there than C#, this is complicated by the fact that the IT decision makers have some how gotten the idea that Redmond is phasing out VB and moving C# in so they in turn need to get on that bandwagon.

 

Finally, C# guys make more money than the VB guys because we are far more handsome!

6 Comments

  • VB = very boring


    C# = cool & sharp





    No, it's probably due to the fact that the experience levels are vastly different for the two camps.





    VB seems to be running $50/hr and C# at $80/hr for similar projects. Doesn't make sense but that's how it is.





    Ken

  • we are more hansome arent we, did see that one at first

  • "I don’t know of any C# devs who don’t know VB."


    I've seen a large degree of the opposite when going through newsgroups and GDN message boards. There are a lot of people who would make anti-VB.NET comments that knew nothing about VB.NET. I've seen this changing over on the GDN boards (I can't remember the last time I've seen a language war over there... it's been at least a couple of months).





    My take on this whole thing is this: It is more about learning the FCL and the .NET platform as a whole... once you have that down pretty solid, it's a matter of syntactical differences and a few plus/minus features between the languages. I develop in C++, C#, and VB.NET. Yes, I prefer VB.NET; but I shouldn't be penalized for that... just as those who practice pinkey finger gymnastics shouldn't be penalized. :-)





    Once you understand the platform and what the FCL gives you, you are more of a .NET developer than a VB.NET, C#, J#, Managed C++, Delphi.NET, etc. developer.





    "IT decision makers have some how gotten the idea that Redmond is phasing out VB and moving C#"





    This is what I'm trying to figure out how do we go about reversing this false idea? These types of surveys only feed the flames of this whole problem.





    First, identify the problem... Second, come up with possible solutions... Third, act accordingly to solve the problem given the best solution.





    So, I'm identifying that there is a flaw in the overall impression of .NET development as a whole. How do we go about solving it? But before doing that, what is it that makes this flawed view what it is?





    "C# guys make more money than the VB guys because we are far more handsome!"





    I like that :-)

  • What can I say? You've covered it...hehe.

  • "Yes, I prefer VB.NET; but I shouldn't be penalized for that... just as those who practice pinkey finger gymnastics shouldn't be penalized."





    I'm using a Kinesis Contour keyboard -- and my pinky couldn't be happier.

  • My take on the issue is yes, it is all about learning the framework. Once you're comfortable with the framework, it's just a matter of the semantics of the language you're using. That said, I've done Java and C# development, and if a company is in a pinch and needs a guy to write some Java, the C# developer shouldn't have much of a problem, while the VB guy probably might.

Comments have been disabled for this content.