My Salary & Expenses as a Software Engineer in New York City (2024)

[@rkumarv]

Hey everyone I started a free community of developers pursuing coding side hustles! Highly recommend you join if you are interested: www.skool.com/wifi-life/about

[@nicholaschoi8096]

still remember when this man single-handedly carried my SAT studying - you made it man

[@rkumarv]

haha thanks bro but still on the journey to make it 😂🤝

[@Umbra05]

I thought I was imagining it

[@anweshbhattacharya8017]

I appreciate the openness about your finances, but I think your video is highly misleading. For less than 5% of this video's runtime, at the very end, you mentioned you had a startup that allows you to generate $8-10k of savings. If you relied only on your SDE job for income, your attitude to your finances would be very different. Ideally, you should have mentioned this at the onset of the video.

[@PS-ej2xn]

You saved me the trouble of watching the video.

[@Umbra05]

Bro I used to watch ur SAT VIDS. you helped me net a 1460 and now I’m a sophomore on my way to trying for internships. You inspire me bro, keep at it

[@rkumarv]

thanks man!

[@revwarriors7749]

doordash twice a day would be like $60 on $25 and the food expenses would be 2k a month if you account for all that and groceries

[@rkumarv]

yeaaa i’m going to be cooking a lot more now!

[@hims5205]

I am a software developer in India. My first offer was 3.36 lakh INR($4000) for whole year. After 5 years it is around 20 lakh($24000) . In USA salary is very high but expenses is huge.

[@nobody-er6ys]

Bro I am currently 16 years old and want to be in robotics and ai But I am worried that by the time I graduate college there willn't be need for engineers because of AGI or AI. Any tips?

[@UberEverywhereSKRT]

just switch

[@apricotmadness4850]

You’ll be fine. AI isn’t going to fully automate your job and an actual AGI is so far off from being a real thing that when it does happen, all jobs will be automated at that point no matter what industry.

[@pugg3762]

You’re gonna be fine, don’t be a bot and AI won’t take ur job.

[@banzaipiegaming]

Probably double bachelors in physics and comp sci and masters in materials physics since soft robotics is the future. Or to save your money/parent's money, your time and sanity, just focus on physics as a major and self learn the coding since that is much less stressful as well

[@exploringwithnate1]

Appreciate the transparency dude! I’m a nurse in NYC and it’s tough out here, I have friends that graduated compsci majors and are really struggling to find jobs…

[@rkumarv]

yea its rough out here which is why you got make sure you have some side hustles going on

[@layth6857]

7:01 saving 2000 or less is not good enough? bro I wish I can save that kind of money each month currently. even if I never go out and enjoy life and make as much as possible, I would barely crack $900 and I'm obviously not going to do that, so I'm not hitting those numbers.

[@rkumarv]

you will be able to soon enough and even surpass that 🔥 !!

[@Ziteyt]

very real. also, thats a crazy side business you got, kinda inspired me - what tech stack are you using in most of those projects?

[@rkumarv]

It is mainly Node Js and Tailwind CSS 👍 . Also some no code tools. You can always email me if you want a more in-depth explanation.

[@TheBlackLakeSiren]

I can't imagine the expenses in NYC. Damn. I'm broke and can't even afford my $1400 rent in NC. But I also have yet to start my career in IT.

[@rkumarv]

Keep going and it'll work out for sure!

[@iron_nicko]

Damn last time I watched your videos was back when you used to make SAT content, it's crazy!

[@rkumarv]

crazy arc

[@gregoryamparo4181]

Bro don’t pay rent. Invest that money in buying your own place in the city. Second, try to learn how to cook at least the basic. If u spend at least 500 on groceries per month, that would last u for a more than a month. And trust me, you’ll have less expenses

[@rkumarv]

yea for sure need to get groceries and trying to get my own place soon that i can have equity in it haha

[@Omego2K]

Just to know when I learned to cook slightly better than fried eggs I started saving like four to $500 a month. It doesn't take much to cook quick and tasty meals. Burritos and pizza are 10 minutes and very tasty. I don't know about anything else, but food is the easiest expense to fix. Do that for 2 years and watch your portfolio grow. I average out spending less than $300 on groceries and don't pay attention to the prices. Heck you can still doordash once a week on those cheat days.

[@rkumarv]

Noted! Straight facts

[@studyou1016]

idk how you are only spending $600-700 on food in NYC, each doordash/uber for me is like $22, if I do that 3 times a day its $66, so in a month its already $1.9-2k. A dinner date on the weekend is already $150 for 2 if you pay for your date.... do that 4 times a month its $600, Im spending $2.6k on food a month

[@rkumarv]

2.6k is crazy haha but i do make breakfast and lunch sometimes so that’s probably why I save some. Pop some chicken breast for lunch/dinner call it a day.

[@castashin]

It’s called grocery shopping

[@rkumarv]

@@castashin 😭

[@liy1561]

Yo so I'm about to work at C1 this aug and I wanted to ask something, they cool with you having a business on the side? Cuz I saw your last video and I ain't gonna lie you put me on game so I thought about doing that while working

[@rkumarv]

game recognize game🤝 if you ever need an accelerated path i can always mentor. And they are cool with it

[@anshulganumpally4009]

Fire video bro! Did Cap1 let you choose your location?

[@rkumarv]

yup

[@HannaDrobantseva]

Greetings! May I ask for some advice? I’m 22 years old and recently became passionate about entering the IT field. I’ve been comfortable with computers since childhood. Next year, I plan to enroll in college and later continue to university with an IT major. From your perspective, which specialization would be best to pursue? Is it realistic to start learning at this age? Where should I begin my studies? Should I start with KZbin tutorials, scientific articles, books, or paid online courses while attending college? I admire video games and initially considered entering the field of game development but thought coding would be the most interesting and relevant choice for the future. In general, I need some guidance, and I’d be very grateful for your advice. Thank you!

[@rkumarv]

Free youtube videos all the way!

[@HannaDrobantseva]

@@rkumarv thx a lot!

[@mb4404]

How is your net pay that much? Are you subtracting federal, state, and local taxes? Are you subtracting the cost of medical insurance? I make just about that much and my net pay is not 70% after 401k contributions

[@rkumarv]

It could depend on how much you are contributing to 401k. I’m also in Nyc so my taxes are higher. Interesting that we have varying net pays.

[@mb4404]

@@rkumarv I contribute the maximum to my 401k, about $885 bi-weekly. After taxes, social security, etc., I net about 67-68%

[@Harshit_रावसाहब]

is you doing MCA from india or usa ?

[@FahimUniverse]

$700 on food is reasonable to me but 3K on rent is not. However, because you own a business and earn a lot to afford it, hey why not?

[@rkumarv]

nah 3k in rent is cooked regardless

[@CEOshaqo]

bro said I m making good "bread" lmaoo he really from NYC

[@rkumarv]

Am i converted?

[@CEOshaqo]

@@rkumarv 😂😂😂 the NYC tech bros accept your offer 🤴🏿

[@Terrencify]

go with the meal prep services bro like factor or something. Big ups brother

[@rkumarv]

I began cooking more now

[@Terrencify]

@ yessir good choice. Invest in a air fryer / instant pot especially it’s a game changer

[@convolutted]

broo.. rent scaring me assuming your in jc/brooklyn how much u think a 1br of the same caliber would cost in manhattan lol and how'd u go about finding ur apt? going to be starting new grad with a $160 base + stock + bonus, and tryna stay under 3.8k but not sure if this reasonable.

[@Tiffanyt899]

Nice! I think saving anywhere between 10-30% of your take home pay is good for saving. More is better but something is better than nothing.

[@rkumarv]

of course! Would love to hit that 40% mark though

[@UsmanDev]

bot money carrying hard🔥

[@rkumarv]

yessir, that’s why i’m mentoring the next batch of bot devs 😎

[@saifsheikh7102]

Dude, I spend about the same for food, ordering lunch and dinner in Dubai. So don't worry, you are spending average on food

[@rkumarv]

well dubai isnt the cheapest is it 😅

[@koalafro]

This why I love being an authentic new yorker, just started my first job as a software engineer and don't plan on paying no more than 2k on rent in the hood 😂

[@rkumarv]

it was an option but then how can i get that nice window lighting to create content 🥴

[@koalafro]

@@rkumarv nah I feel that lol there's some new development rn in Uptown that looks good around the same price but it's still smack dab in the hood so I doubt we'll see people move in or if they do, they'll be gone within a year

[@gourabsarker9552]

Which university did you studied?

[@iamluis3046]

umd

[@recursion.]

ytu

[@oldhamer111]

To somebody who lives comfortably on $30k in the UK, these figures are wild!

[@rkumarv]

always room to grow 🙌

[@jonathanmeza5807]

168,000... gets dropped down to 82,000, WTF!!

[@syedumair6001]

Hello my friend I want to ask you I will be going to New York city very soon and In Pakistan I am working as a frontend developer. What should I do when I reach the USA. Will I get a job as a frontend developer?

[@rkumarv]

It's not guaranteed but lot of opportunity

[@dhritimangiri4092]

Pls talk about those ai ml like devin etc in coming 5 years

[@rkumarv]

We're doomed

[@kylefan8478]

less than 700 a month and you're door dashing twice a day? are you getting rice crispy squares delivered to you twice daily or something?

[@rkumarv]

less than 700 a month?

[@kylefan8478]

@@rkumarv you said your food bill is like 680 a month. That’s not nearly enough to get good quality food delivered twice a day.

[@daniel_cfh2783]

What tech skills are mostly on demand on usa ? Im learning web dev, im planning to do mern stack. Hows the demand for mern stack developer in the usa? What skills would u suggest me to learn i am really confused

[@savingsoulsforchrist6185]

Ur cooked

[@ijasdeen3809]

Learn python

[@daniel_cfh2783]

@@savingsoulsforchrist6185 nah, i did core java 2 years back, so i decided to do java again, started java from past 4 and half month again and did some projects and got an internship atleast last week

[@hassansyed6087]

$3k for rent and it's not even contributing to any equity. That stings man. It's just evaporating in thin air but you're still killing it and just keep saving for a down-payment.

[@rkumarv]

agreed looking to get something else in 2025

[@p19shelt]

Most Definitely! ​@rkumarv

[@Josepllop87]

where you live ? I'm moving to ny soon and getting a decent place for less than 3500 is whole quest

[@rkumarv]

on the streets brodie

[@nfauvro7041]

have you ever tried for remote jobs?

[@rkumarv]

no i have not, but running a business is remote isn’t it :)

[@PrinceGorman-yg9br]

I want to know if software engineering is a stressful job.

[@rkumarv]

it can be

[@docgraal485]

That rent payment would physically pain me every month😂 I think I’d rather live frugally and get a mortgage

[@rkumarv]

Getting a equity based residence next year 🫡

[@mchi6621]

fyi youre gonna pay more taxes than shown if you're bringing in an extra 130k+ a year as income. Wait til you do your taxes

[@rkumarv]

trust i know 😞 , already experienced it

[@gorkemgozukara4538]

Hello bro,I have a question, do you have a linkedn ?

[@rkumarv]

yup check description

[@ShivangiSingh-wc3gk]

I started witk 90k at Amex in 2019 in NYC.

[@rkumarv]

did you get Platinum card for free 🙈

[@ShivangiSingh-wc3gk]

@@rkumarv More like they made me get an Amex card because the cafeteria only accepted Amex

[@victoriashchedrina393]

Which university have you graduated from? What specialty did you study? I'm an incoming student. Thanks for the video❤

[@rkumarv]

I studied Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park

[@chaos_divided]

Why is bro kinda...

[@rkumarv]

relax

[@meghanakarumuri9741]

Wowww nice

[@jamierempel]

'Promo SM'

[@rkumarv]

well, to be fair, it was a sponsorship 😂

[@codegreenie3429]

Man is bad with cash

[@rkumarv]

whaaat

[@abdullahUlhaque33]

Rent gonna kill you

[@rkumarv]

already did

[@zuowang5185]

lame

[@rkumarv]

my bad bro

[@DailyPeacer]

You’re beautiful lol

[@rkumarv]

homie glazing (but i appreciate it)

[@DailyPeacer]

@@rkumarv no cap 🧢 anyways good luck on your life wishing you success, I’m 15 any tips on life like money or school?