The Guide to Ruby on Rails Developer Salary

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What is RoR you might ask?

A general-purpose programming language interpreted and created by Yukihiro Matsumoto. Various languages were merged together from Ada, Lisp, Eiffel, Perl, and Smalltalk to form a language that uses both functional and imperative programming.

We’re here to talk to you about what Ruby on Rails is and why it has become a phenomenon. We discuss the average wage for an RoR developer and what skills as an employer you should be focusing on trying to find.

So, What Is RoR?

It is a highly modified framework that uses the most creative and innovative techniques as a server-side web application. Similar to that of others it uses debugging, testing, coding, and designing to develop.

Companies that have used it so far include Shopify, Hulu, Airbnb, Basecamp, GitHub, and Zendesk. It can be learned at no cost on Rail Tutorial, Rails for Zombies, Michael Hartl, and Codecademy.

What Makes It So Popular? 

Many reasons contribute to why many people love it, here are a few we have listed for you:

  1. Flexibility- The simplicity of modification to the solution is an attraction; if you have a high volume of traffic then the web applications can very much handle this.
  2. Cost-effectiveness- Quicker development coupled with flexibility and inheritance means that outgoings are significantly reduced.
  3. Faster process of development- What’s more impressive is the amount of time it doesn’t take compared to others, think 40-50% less time than other programming languages to develop and more lines of coding can be written within the hour.

What Issues May Arise?

  • Error messages which may pop up can be quite technical, thus making it harder for developers to recognize and they would need to then gain an understanding of the debugging to figure them out.
  • RoR applications can sometimes be slower than others such as Java or C++
  • Windows doesn’t allow Rails to be used due to it being open-source and Linux-based, though is can be more difficult for developers to work within Unix-based systems. Trying to convert it to Windows accepting design can take time. 
  • Installing the initial application can prove frustrating for developers
  • For newbies, the cost can seem somewhat high

What Is The Ideal Salary For a Ruby Developer?

The salary is competitive to that of a ‘Python Developer’ and generally higher than other developers. Those with specific skills are sought after in the IT job industry therefore high wage packets are offered. 

Companies need to weigh up financial possibilities, along with knowledge, which the developer can bring, their expertise and experience, standard salaries, and the offer of the developer. 

Pascale’s show that on average a Rail’s Developer can expect around $79,789 per year, Glassdoor, however, states the average is around $93,987.

Entry-level salary tends to begin around $59,655, thus increasing with more experience, an example being with 1-4 years experience you could expect a salary of $71,000 per annum.

Increasing this to around 5-9 years could mean a potential increase to around $95,000 and in 10-19 years you can expect around $121,000. Thus this data is transferred from PayScale.

According to the United States, an RoR developer will be offered on average $119,689. The minimum offered is around $46,000 and the highest calculated at $228,000.

Comparing this to the UK where the average is £43,7775 with data taken from Glassdoor, there is a big difference. The US pays the highest according to Indeed and below are the ranking of salaries paid in the US based on programming languages:

  • Ruby-$115,741
  • JavaScript-$112,813
  • C++-$104,753
  • Python-$110,840
  • Java-$103,603

Companies like these generally include benefits such as gyms, evening snacks, free commute, health packages, unlimited coffee, and much more.

What To Look For When Employing Someone?

Finding the right person for the role can be had, so when posting the application, ensure you find someone to meet the requirements below:

  1. Knowledge of SQL (Structured Query Language) –This is vital to have previous work in MySQL, PostgreSQL, or NoSQL databases.
  2. Knowledge of REST API-Things like DELETE, PUT, GET, POST, and MORE must be known to them.
  3. Work experience-Minimum of two years as a Software Developer, Engineer, RoR developer, Python Developer, or Front-End Developer. 
  4. Knowledge of MVC (Model View Controller)- This is used for structured application programming; understanding needs to be checked around architecture and how RoR will implement it. 
  5. Expert knowledge of JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and Ruby on Rails- The basic knowledge of the above is fundamental and how they integrate within rail apps.
  6. Object Orientated programming language basics- They must have knowledge of inheritance, classes, objects, composition, lambdas, etc.
  7. Able to apply automated testing platforms and unit tests- testing framework understanding is required; testing the final product is crucial.
  8. Additional certifications- Proof of completion of a programming course would be necessary; this can include Java, Oracle SQL, Expert, Ruby on Rails, and JavaScript
  9. Good English communication skills-Fluent in listening, writing, and speaking

10. Educational Degree-B.Tech in Computer Science or IT, MCA, BCA, or M.Tech is required. 

Entry Level RoR Developer Requirements

  •  Handling Requests: Must know deployment tools, for example, Docker, Heroku, and CI, project management tools such as Trello and Asana, and knowledge of Git, a code management tool.
  • Knowledge of Managing Database: thus this includes installation of SQL, MySQL/PostgreSQL/NoSQL, and the database.
  • HTML: Lots of coding will need to be written; therefore, expert knowledge of this area will be invaluable
  • JavaScript: This will enable assistance to the developer manage confirmation dialogues, wrapping the element in any hidden HTML due to the high-level programming language required.
  • Knowledge of setting up a rail environment: Knowledge of installing ruby, rails, etc.
  • CSS: Without CSS, you cannot have HTML when it comes to front-end presentation; developers must understand and be able to implement this successfully. 

For mid-level RoR developer, then ActiveRecord Association’s knowledge would be needed, this is the library which is required to assist the developer with work over SQL database. Object-oriented also requires this. 

Senior developers will need to understand meta-programming, which utilizes the analytical capability to find memory, planning and estimation, database modeling, and performance issues. 

A way of finding good candidates is by viewing their previous work on websites such as Bitbucket, Overflow, GitHub, Stack Overflow, and more. 

Projects will be available to see, and you can then view their personal profile. 

The quality of work and employee’s code can be seen, which is vital. Testing potential candidates through questions can be an excellent way to ensure the correct person is hired for the role, to check their knowledge. A base known as Adaface can be suitable for this as it creates more than 750 custom assessments for companies to use. 

What Can Impact Salaries?

Experience directly impacts the salary which is offered; someone who has 4 years of experience with Java, for example, will be paid more than a newly qualified graduate

Economic Situation

Standard of living varies from country to country depending on many factors such as how developed the country is; more stability generally means education may cost more. When the economy grows, wages increase, thus impacting the growth of GDP. This then translates that companies that operate in higher cost of living areas should offer higher salaries. A low economy means wages will decrease, good economic conditions ensure compensation can also improve.

Overtime

Overtime must be paid to Ruby on Rails Developers for the full-time wage and should be calculated as follows:

Overtime Payment=Hourly Wage *1.5 * Overtime hours worked.

The hourly rate can be $36, so this would calculate at 6 hours of overtime=$108

In conclusion

Magic can be created when talented developers work alongside RoR, and so it needs to be chosen carefully when it comes to deciding who will join the team of employees. 

Thus, it can be difficult but exciting to find people who match the skills and expertise needed. Adaface can simplify the challenge by acknowledging the best candidates for the role. This can prove difficult if you are looking for one person to have all these attributes. Therefore, it is thought best to find someone who has most of the skills as opposed to everyone.