On Glassdoor for Cobol [0] the standard range is $54k to $179k (presumably in NYC metro where I am) with a reported maximum of $306k. The standard range for React [1] is $49k to $257k with a reported maximum of $550k.
I'm not saying Glassdoor is perfect but better to have these discussions based on some measured data than just common mantra that legacy is boring but pays better.
[0] https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/cobol-programmer-salary-S...
[1] https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/react-developer-salary-SR...
Those are only public bids, and not everything goes through public channels.
Companies working with COBOL (or things like AS400) do so because they've been using it for some time already.
So they mostly already know the networks of professionals they will hire for the job, and that's often their own past employees who went freelance, or keep contracting after legal retirement kicks in. Professionals who also act as hiring agents for their replacements.
If you're starting a new career you wouldn't have a network.
Startups and public companies both seem to pay better base salary for modern tech developers and also give you equity or profit sharing. Whereas the government or government contractor companies that often stick with old tech (it seems) you'll only get cash.
Banks may be an exception since many do give stock or good bonuses. But I don't often see bank positions looking for COBOL developers.
Sure, but the places known for paying well in the industry are also fairly overtly hostile to late-entrants and non-traditional career paths unless those people have already built a successful business and are getting acquihired.
Zip Recruiter puts average salaries at around $88k/yr with the top 10% making over $110k. Payscale puts salaries a little lower than that.
The of the few job postings I see, none have salary information listed -- in my experience, that tends to mean the salaries are low or average. And if you're a COBOL engineer, jobs opportunities are slim, even in a region with a large number of older banks and insurance companies (read: prime COBOL industries). There's like one job each in areas like Omaha, NE; Alpharetta, GA; Montgomery County, AL; Chattanooga, TN; Milan, IL; Feather South, FL; etc. In other words, a bunch of places nobody has ever heard of.
(C#/Java have lots more opportunities at the same type of workplaces, so aren't bad choices but also lots more competition at all experience levels and from more traditional career paths; still, late-entrants with relative domain expertise can be quite competitive with pure programmers.)
