Rendar, that all depends on how much you can PROVE to me you know your stuff.
I have started kids from $20k to $50k (only one). But the 50k kid came in with a stack of disks, URLs, and code. He then proceded to very tactfully wow the socks off of me. Trick is, don't EVER snow me in an interview. I am looking for someone who will say "I don't know", and then immediately follow that up with "but I will find out for you by Monday". I will actually wait for a good candidate to try that.
One of the things I will do with a new hire is start with a very poor wage, say 20k and then map out some goals. If you can do this in 3 months, then we go to 30k, 35k, 40k etc. I have even made the raise retroactive for the right people.
One of the great things about this field is that there are NO limits as to your salary. Unfortunatley there are also NO limits to how much your boss expects out of you either
(all you programmers out there know what I mean)
To answer your question though. Don't worry about your initial salary. You are much better served by doing an apprenticeship at a low paying SMART shop than by going for the bucks and getting drawn into a meat grinder. Most SMART shops won't let you leave if you prove yourself anyhow. Remember to always go to you boss first before looking else where. You might be surprised what level headed discussion can do.
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"Just Plane Nuts"
Gazoo
http://plaza.v-wave.com/SolarStorm/index.htm
