IT workers seeking money: how to increase income in IT

While some IT specialists are getting offers with insane figures, others are trying to figure out how to increase their pay and quickly grow to senior or at least mid-level. Spoiler: you can't raise your grade in a short time, but gradually increasing your salary is realistic. Let's talk about the ways to do this.

Value instead of blackmail

When a specialist wants to increase their income, they most often update their resume and start looking for a new employer. This is a decent approach, but not the most optimal one: if you're happy with everything at your current job except the salary, it's better to look for opportunities within the company.

Why? Firstly, you won’t have to dive into processes from scratch and go through onboarding. Secondly, trust in you will be higher by default – assuming you’ve established a good reputation. Thirdly, there are fewer risks of making mistakes or being fired in case of problems.

Let's start with what you shouldn't do to grow within the company:

• Ask for a raise without justification: you'll likely be rejected.
• Blackmail management with an offer from another company. Yes, this might work, but only once, and not always. Especially if the employee isn't highly valued and can be easily replaced. Of course, there are always specialists whose price will increase under any circumstances – but these are rare.

It's easiest to develop when the company has a grading system that clearly outlines the skills required to advance to the next level. But this is not always the case, so you need to take matters into your own hands. At the very least, approach your manager with the question of what to do to reach your desired level. At most, come with your own proposal for your development.

Growing within the company

✕ Don't

• —Ask for a raise without justification
• —Blackmail with an external offer

✓ Do

• —Study the grading system
• —Propose a development plan to your manager
• —Take on new roles and responsibilities
• —Understand business needs in your department

To increase your income, you need to understand how you can increase your value to the company. For example, by taking on a new role or additional responsibilities. You approach your manager and offer your help with the condition of a future raise. But for this, it's important to be aware of the business's needs, at least within your department, and see which ones you can potentially address. You can get this information through networking.

What does networking have to do with it?

Networking is an important career-building tool in all fields, including IT. For instance, knowing the company's situation makes it easier to spot growth opportunities. If your manager isn't ready to discuss your promotion, it makes sense to see what's happening in other departments. Perhaps your skills are needed in a different role where you'll be valued more – financially, too. And the best way to assess the situation is through informal communication with other employees, no matter where: at corporate events, in the cafeteria, smoking area, or chats. This will require soft skills.

Soft skills are also necessary when looking for a new job – unless we're talking about top specialists who are already inundated with offers. It's not always possible to get into your desired company in your desired position simply by applying for a vacancy: large corporations often look for employees through recommendations. This means you need to find someone who can recommend you.

This circles back to networking – connecting with people from that company. They don't necessarily have to be managers: any member of the product team can theoretically introduce you to a lead, and a lead to a product manager. It's best to make connections at industry conferences, ideally those organized by the company you want to join. If you have something to say, you can even speak at a conference yourself, or you can skip events altogether and find an "in" with the right people through acquaintances. Career growth is a form of sales, where you are both the seller and the product.

Networking as a career tool

• 🎤 · Conferences · Especially those organized by your target company
• 💬 · Informal channels · Cafeteria, chats, corporate events, Telegram groups
• 🤝 · Recommendations · Any team member can introduce you to a lead
• 🎙️ · Speaking · If you have something to share — get on stage

Career growth is a form of sales — you are both the seller and the product

What about experience?

At the beginning of the year, there was much discussion in the market about a case of a developer who, after several rejections, faked work experience on his resume and received an offer for 150,000. I'll state right away: I don't recommend anyone do this.

So why did I bring up this case? Vacancies often specify the required work experience for a candidate: for example, three years of Java programming.

But a reasonable company is interested not in how long a candidate has been in one position, but in their experience and competencies. It's just that companies don't always know how to write job descriptions, and recruiters don't always know how to select IT specialists.

Let me reiterate: you shouldn't outright lie on your resume. Just come to the interview and ask questions: why exactly three years, what skills and experience are required. If it turns out that the candidate is skilled enough for the tasks they're being hired for, it doesn't matter whether they meet the specific length of service requirement or not. But if the company is really fixated on a specific number, it's better to steer clear of it.

Career plan

Of course, there is a certain hygienic minimum in terms of work experience. Any professional growth depends on skills, and skills require time – not only to acquire them but also to implement them in projects. In one year, it's impossible to gain enough experience to become a mid-level specialist, in two years a senior, and a recent graduate hasn't yet had time to hone their skills in real commercial development. Therefore, your career plan should be built precisely on skills.

Let me give you an example. I am currently a junior frontend developer, working on web applications. To grow into a mid-level position, I need to learn to perform most tasks independently. This means not just being able to lay out a page, but also doing basic things in JavaScript, including TypeScript, and understanding the ecosystem of the framework I'll be working with. Additionally, I need to learn to work in teams and with processes like code reviews, version control and code delivery, sprint planning, and testing applications on staging environments.

The entire previous paragraph is essentially your specification for your own development. Decompose it into small tasks, set deadlines for each – and get to it. This is an ideal scheme that almost always works. Unfortunately, very few people use it.

Building a career plan

• 01 · Define target level · Study vacancies, talk to people at your desired level
• 02 · List required skills · Create your own spec: frameworks, tools, processes
• 03 · Decompose into tasks · Break skills into small, actionable learning tasks
• 04 · Set deadlines · Assign realistic timeframes for each skill block
• 05 · Practice interviews · Interview to understand requirements, not just for a job

Study the market to find out what skills and experience will help you reach your desired level. First and foremost, monitor vacancies and go to interviews just for the sake of interviewing: that is, not for employment, but to understand employer requirements. It's very useful to talk to people at the level and position you aspire to. It's not difficult to find them: at conferences, through word-of-mouth, in public repositories and chats – which means we're back to networking. Ask them what they did to reach their level, what manuals they read, what videos they watched, how they practiced and grew. Based on this information, you can build your career plan.

And by the way, this rule applies to any profession.

Surviving a downgrade

Finally, I want to talk about starting salaries. When changing professions at an older age, be prepared for a significant downgrade. How long it lasts depends on your capabilities. If you have a financial cushion or passive income to live on a minimal salary for some time, you can quit your job and dedicate all your time to development. And after a year of hard work, you could aim for a junior position with a good market salary.

If this isn't an option, you'll have to transition gradually, combining your current job with studying or freelancing. IT is a field where a gradual entry is quite possible: first, do projects for yourself, then for acquaintances, take tasks on freelance platforms, get a part-time job – and eventually gain enough experience for full-time employment. The time it takes depends on your effort: if you dedicate five hours a week to IT, it will stretch for years.

Career transition scenarios

• Full-time switch · When: Financial cushion available · Timeline: ~1 year to junior position · + Fast growth, full focus · − No income during transition
• Gradual transition · When: No financial cushion · Timeline: 1.5–3 years depending on effort · + Stable income, lower risk · − Slower progress, split attention

And an important point: don't fall for online course advertisements that promise to get you a good salary right after graduation – but I'll talk about that in a separate column.