This is common for some developers, but a lot of people view themselves as an "experienced" developer who aren't making this much money: They should read your post carefully and appreciate the fact that either they aren't as experienced as they think they are, or they are selling themselves short. Or perhaps they want to use the term "experienced" to refer to someone less experience. Whatever.
That said, if you want to be making $750k programming outside the bay area, it's possible, but the recruiters on cybercoders and linkedin aren't going to help you get these jobs...
>That said, if you want to be making $750k programming outside the bay area, it's possible, but the recruiters on cybercoders and linkedin aren't going to help you get these jobs...
750k? Am I reading this right? What planet am I on?
They're positions for very experienced programmers. The job titles vary greatly, but do include "software engineer".
They will not only have a high programming competency, they will also have a fluency in the commercial domain: They will know the difference between what the boss wants, and what the boss asks for. NB It is their problem, not their bosses'. They often possess niche and unique experiences. They can network and know how to sell the link between their skills and direct company value. They may also be recognisable figures.
Most of the people I know who make this kind of money do not get int a room with puzzles or "well defined product specs" slipped under the door to solve in, having "however long it takes" to get it done. They don't sit at a bug tracker and tick things off. They work for that money. Yes, they program. Is this the kind of programmer you want to be?
If you are making $750k anywhere you aren't going through common channels. You are working with headhunters that have a contract to specifically fill that role.
I don't make anywhere near that, but yes of course, it's much better to be asked specifically for niche expertise than having to compete with everybody who can use Chrome to look up job sites over generic 'programmer' jobs. There are several strategies to get high-paying jobs, and 'networking hard to get an in that is not public' is an underappreciated one. But just because that process is by its nature not public, doesn't make it not common.
That said, if you want to be making $750k programming outside the bay area, it's possible, but the recruiters on cybercoders and linkedin aren't going to help you get these jobs...