The Guide To Ruby on Rails Developer Salary

Keerthi Rangan -

Ruby is a high-level, interpreted, general-purpose programming language designed by Yukihiro Matsumoto. It was created by blending parts of the languages like Perl, Smalltalk, Ada, Eiffel, and Lisp to develop a language that balances functional and imperative programming.

This article talks about what Ruby on Rails is and the reasons behind its popularity. We also talk about the desired salary for a RoR developer and the skills a recruiter should look for while hiring an RoR developer.

What is Ruby on Rails (RoR)?

Rails is a server-side web application framework with highly modified web development to introduce the latest and innovative features. The development process using Ruby on Rails involves similar steps as other programming languages such as designing, coding, testing, and debugging.

Some of the popular applications built using Ruby on Rails are Airbnb, Basecamp, GitHub, Hulu, Shopify, and Zendesk. Developers can learn Ruby on Rails for free on Codecademy, TryRuby, Rails for Zombies, and Rail Tutorial by Michael Hartl.

There are many reasons behind the popularity of Ruby on Rails among developers. Some of them are:

  1. Faster development process: The development process using RoR relatively takes 40 to 50% less time than the other programming languages. Developers can write more lines of code in an hour using RoR.
  2. Flexibility: It is easy to modify the solution after the deployment using RoR. Web Applications developed using RoR are also capable of handling a high traffic volume on their sites.
  3. Cost-effectiveness: Flexibility, inheritance, and fast development process result in a significant reduction of costs.

What are the issues with Ruby on Rails?

  1. The cost of servers is comparatively high for beginners.
  2. Installing Ruby on Rails can be extremely agitating for developers.
  3. RoR applications run slow compared to the applications developed using the programming languages like Java or C++.
  4. Rails don’t work on Windows as it is open-source code and is Linux-based. Since developers are comfortable working on Windows, they find it challenging to work on Unix-based systems. Conversion into a windows-only environment can be time-consuming.
  5. The explanation message in case of errors is entirely technical, making it difficult for the developers to understand. The developer needs to master the debugging skills to understand them.

What is the desired salary of a Ruby developer?

A Ruby Developer is offered similar salaries as a Python Developer but higher than the other developers. Professionals with RoR skills are in high demand in the IT job market, so companies are ready to pay the employees a relatively higher package.

While negotiating salary for an RoR developer or engineer, as a company, you need to consider the developer’s offer, your financial possibilities, the developer’s knowledge, and experience, along with the standard salary estimate.

According to PayScale, the average salary of a Rails Developer/Programmer is around $79,789 annually. According to Glassdoor, the average annual package is slightly more, approximately $93,987 per year.

The average annual salary of an Entry-level Ruby on Rails Developer or Programmer is $59,655. For instance, RoR Developers having 1-4 years of experience make around $71,000.

For developers with experience of 5-9 years, approximately $95,000 is standard. For the occasion of 10-19 years, $121,000 would suffice. These salaries are calculated based on the data provided by PayScale.

In the United States, an RoR developer is offered an average salary of $119,689 per year. The lowest average salary offered to the RoR developer in the United States is around $46,000 per year and the highest average salary offered is $228,000 per year.

The average salary of a Ruby on Rail Developer in the UKis £43,775 per year, according to Glassdoor.

According to Indeed, Ruby Developers are paid the highest in the US. Following is the ranking of the average salary paid in the US-based on the programming languages:

  • Ruby - $115,741
  • Python - $110,840
  • C++ - $104,763
  • Java - $103,603
  • JavaScript - $112,813

Many companies provide numerous perks like free commutation facilities, unlimited coffee, evening snacks, medical packages, gyms, etc.

What should you look for while hiring?

Finding a talented RoR Developer can be difficult. So, make sure you mention the following requirements when you post the job openings on the company’s career website or the job boards:

  1. Work Experience: Technical experience of two years is required, which could be as a Front-End Developer, Software Developer, Software Engineer, Python Developer, or RoR Developer
  2. Expertise in Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, etc.: The candidate must have basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript frameworks. They should also have the ability to integrate it into the Rail applications.
  3. Basics of Object-Oriented Programming Language: The candidate must know about classes, objects, inheritance, composition, lambdas, etc.
  4. Knowledge of SQL (Structured Query Language): The candidate should have experience in MySQL, PostgreSQL, or NoSQL databases.
  5. Knowledge of MVC (Model View Controller): MVC is used for structured application programming. Check the candidate’s understanding of MVC architecture and make sure they know how MVC is implemented in RoR.
  6. Knowledge of REST API: The candidate must know operations like POST, GET, PUT, DELETE, and more.
  7. Ability to implement automated testing platforms and unit tests: Understanding the test framework is essential. If the RoR developer doesn’t know how to test the final product, the entire development process becomes insignificant. The product cannot be deployed without testing.
  8. Good English communication skills: The candidate should be fluent in speaking, writing, and listening skills
  9. Additional certifications earned: The certifications prove that the candidate has completed a particular programming language course. A candidate can have a certificate in Ruby on Rails, Java, JavaScript, Oracle SQL Certified Expert, etc.
  10. Educational Degree: B.Tech in Computer Science or Information Technology, M.Tech, BCA, MCA, etc., is a must.

Requirements For Entry-Level RoR Developer

  1. Knowledge of setting up a rail environment: The developer must know how to install rails, ruby, etc.
  2. Knowledge of managing database: The candidate must be equipped with the knowledge of installing the database, SQL, and MySQL/PostgreSQL/NoSQL.
  3. Handling Requests: The candidate must know of Git (a code management tool), deployment tools (such as Docker, Ci, and Heroku), and project management tools (like Trello or Asana).
  4. HTML: RoR Developer needs to write a lot of HTML code. So, before hiring the candidate, make sure that they have impeccable HTML knowledge.
  5. CSS: HTML code is incomplete without CSS if you want to give a better presentation to the front end. It is a prerequisite that RoR developers must possess.
  6. JavaScript: It is a high-level programming language that is required in web development. Knowledge of JavaScript can help the developer manage the confirmation dialogues, wrapping the element in any hidden HTML.

Additional requirements for Mid-Level RoR developer is the knowledge in ActiveRecord Associations. ActiveRecord is the Ruby library that helps the developer work over SQL Database. Also, it is required for object-oriented programming. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that the candidate has a good knowledge of the ActiveRecord Association.

Additional requirements for Senior-Level RoR developer are Ruby meta-programming, database modeling, planning and estimation, and analytical capability to identify memory and performance issues.

You can also look for the RoR Developers and see their work on the platforms such as GitHub, Stack Overflow, BitBucket, and many more. From such platforms, you can view their profile and the projects they worked on. You can also find out what other programming languages a candidate knows on these platforms.

Through these platforms, recruiters can check the quality of the candidate’s code, which is crucial to the company’s projects.

Another way to hire the right candidate is by test asking questions on Ruby on Rails, Object-oriented programming language concepts, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Model View Controller to evaluate the candidate’s knowledge. A pre-employment testing platform such as Adaface, provides more than 750 custom assessments to help the companies identify the top candidates for the job role.

What factors affect the salaries of RoR Developers?

Experience

The salary package of an individual is directly proportional to the years of experience they have. For instance, companies pay a fresh graduate working as a Java Developer less than a Senior Java Developer who has a work experience of 4 years working in Java.

Economic Situation

Developed countries have a better standard of living and stable economic conditions and can afford higher educational costs, startups that use Ruby on Rails and Ruby on Rails developers. When the economy of the country grows, then the real wages of the employees will increase. Economic growth indicates the growth in the GDP of the country. Companies located in high cost of living areas should offer higher salaries. In a country with a depressed economy, the wage rate will go down due to the increased labor supply. If a country has good economic conditions, its capacity to offer a better salary will also improve.

Overtime

Companies must be ready to pay the full-time Ruby on Rails Developer for overtime work. You can calculate overtime salary in the following way:

Overtime Payment = Hourly Wage * 1.5 * Overtime Hours Worked

The hourly rate of Ruby on Rails Developer is $36, so if the employee works overtime for 6 hours, they will be paid $108 for six hours of overtime.

Conclusion

RoR Developers know that they can create magic with the RoR and would not join a company until they are ready to offer a package that best matches their experience and skills.

Looking for the right talent is indeed the most challenging task. But Adaface can make it easier by identifying the top candidates for the role. While hiring an RoR Developer, you need to understand it is tough to find all the skills in a single person. So, focus on making sure that the developer possesses most of the skills mentioned above, if not all.