I ‘ve read an interesting article by Felipe Gaucho called “Good Java developers deserve better salaries “, where he states that employers have to increase salaries for Java developers. Unfortunately, in the market economies such demands won ‘t work.

In enterprise IT no one just raises salary if there is a way to hire someone else for less money. It ‘s just not in the corporate culture where people are treated as nameless resources. Have you ever wondered why policemen get lower salaries than Java developers even though people in the uniform risk their lives on daily basis? It ‘s because there are many people who apply for jobs in the police. Preparing a mediocre policemen takes about the same time as preparing a mediocre Java programmer. The same holds true for good policemen and Java developers. Market rules. If no one will want to go to police, their salaries and perks will increase.

Today ‘s trend is to move software development to India, where potentially 1.2 billion of people can become Java developers (they ‘ll outsource all other trades to Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand). Not all of them will be good Java developers, but applying 20/80 rule, 240 million will, and they will lower the prevailing wage for sure.

Luckily, things are different in small companies and startups where GOOD Java developers are still treated nicely. So, if you need better pay and are ready to work harder, leave the corporate world and find a mom and pop software shop (make sure they have stable and positive cash flow).