--- title: "Market Value Calculator: 12 Steps to Double Your Salary" description: "Free market value calculator for engineering leaders and developers. 12 questions, a multiplier from 0.4 to 1.7 and the 3 steps that raise your salary most." url: "https://www.marian.coach/market-value-calculator/" lang: "en" image: "https://www.marian.coach/_astro/talk-30-hero.DfKRGWZL_1qX8JC.jpg" --- Marian Kamenistak · Free tool # Market value calculator: 12 steps to double your salary Your market value is what the market would pay you tomorrow. Answer twelve questions about how the market sees you. You get a multiplier from 0.4 to 1.7, where 1.0 is the 2026 standard for your role, and the three steps that would raise it most. Free, about 3 minutes, no email. The maths runs in your browser and your salary is not sent anywhere. These are the 12 steps I use when I mentor engineering leaders. ## Your role Engineering ManagerEngineering DirectorVP of EngineeringCTOJunior DeveloperDeveloperSenior DeveloperStaff Engineer or ArchitectTeam Lead or Tech Lead Your pay, EUR gross a year The default for the role: Central Europe for managers, Slovakia for developers. Change it to your own number. Where the defaults come from Gross, a year, 2026. Central Europe for managers, Slovakia for developers. Engineering Manager: EUR 95,000 Poland: Bulldogjob IT Community Report 2025, EM median 32,000 PLN a month on B2B (about EUR 87K a year); Hays Poland salary report 2026, software development manager or director most often offered 40,000 PLN gross a month (about EUR 109K). Midpoint. Engineering Director: EUR 135,000 Hays Poland salary report 2026, IT Director / CIO most often offered 50,000 PLN gross a month (about EUR 136K a year). VP of Engineering: EUR 150,000Estimate, no dataset Unsourced. No Central European dataset for this title was found; set level with the CTO figure. Overwrite it with your own number. CTO: EUR 150,000 Antal salary report 2026, CTO in Poland EUR 82K to 220K base (midpoint about EUR 151K); TalentUp, CTO in Czechia median base EUR 130K (n=145). Junior Developer: EUR 21,500 Slovakia: levels.fyi, software engineer, entry level, median total pay EUR 21,519 a year (n=16, self-reported), read 12 Nov 2026. Developer: EUR 35,000 Slovakia: levels.fyi, software engineer, all levels, median total pay EUR 35,006 a year (n=47, self-reported), read 12 Nov 2026. A proxy: no source reports the mid level on its own. Senior Developer: EUR 51,500 Slovakia: levels.fyi, software engineer, senior, median total pay EUR 51,562 a year (n=18, self-reported), read 12 Nov 2026. Staff Engineer or Architect: EUR 55,000 Slovakia: Platy.sk, IT architect, average gross pay EUR 4,581 a month (about EUR 55K a year), self-reported, read 12 Nov 2026. Team Lead or Tech Lead: EUR 53,000 Slovakia: Platy.sk, lead developer, average gross pay EUR 4,439 a month (about EUR 53K a year), self-reported, read 12 Nov 2026. Answer each step when Marian gets to it. Start ## The 12 steps Score what is true today. A plan to do something next month is level 0. Step 1 of 12 0 of 12 answered Answer all 12 to see your multiplier [Your multiplier:](#mv-result) 1. Step 1 Weight 10 ### Your vector Can you name the one role you are going for, the kind of company, and a date? Every later step is built on it: the title, the pitch, the list of companies. 0 · MissingI am open to anything interesting.1 · Standard for 2026I can name the next role.2 · StrongRole, kind of company and a date, written down and said out loud to at least two people. 2. Step 2 Weight 8 ### Your title and your number Does your headline combine a business domain with a technical scope, and do you know your number? The title is the first thing a recruiter, a CTO or their AI reads. The number decides where the negotiation starts. 0 · MissingMy headline is my current job title, often with a programming language. I have no number.1 · Standard for 2026A role-based title, and a salary range in my head.2 · StrongDomain plus scope on LinkedIn and the CV (Team Lead becomes Fintech Engineering Manager), and one number I can defend with evidence. 3. Step 3 Weight 5 ### Your dream companies Do you have a written list of 10 to 15 companies where a CTO or VP could hire you? A list turns a job search into a plan you can work through the network. 0 · MissingI apply to what is posted.1 · Standard for 2026I have some names in my head.2 · Strong10 to 15 names written down, filtered by product or deep tech, size, hybrid or remote and country. I know who decides at five of them. 4. Step 4 Weight 12 ### Your one-minute pitch Can you say your largest outcome, your differentiator and your potential in one minute? Every coffee, intro and interview opens with it. 0 · MissingI recite my CV.1 · Standard for 2026I can introduce myself in a minute.2 · StrongLargest outcome, differentiator, potential. Rehearsed, and it makes the other person ask a question. 5. Step 5 Weight 10 ### Your digital footprint What does someone find when they look you up? The person who recommends you, and the one who hires you, open your profile first. 0 · MissingA LinkedIn timeline of job titles. No public work.1 · Standard for 2026LinkedIn updated with outcomes.2 · StrongLinkedIn with the new title and proof, plus GitHub with a pet project or an AI skill other people use. 6. Step 6 Weight 12 ### Your network How many people who have seen your work would vouch for you to a CTO? The best roles are taken through the network before anyone writes the ad. 0 · MissingMy current colleagues.1 · Standard for 2026About 20 people would take my call.2 · StrongI listed 50, reactivated 10 this quarter, and 10 would vouch for me. 7. Step 7 Weight 8 ### Be heard How often do you speak or publish outside your company? Speaking, presenting and communication are priced skills, and they put you in front of the people who decide. 0 · MissingI have not spoken or published outside my company.1 · Standard for 2026One talk, podcast or post a year, and I belong to a community.2 · StrongThree or more public appearances a year: a meetup, a podcast, a conference. 8. Step 8 Weight 12 ### Your AI level Which of the five AI levels describes your week: Ask, Brief, Repeat, Connect, Supervise? Someone who ships with AI daily is scarce in a market where nearly everyone claims to. 0 · MissingLevel 1 or 2: I ask and I brief.1 · Standard for 2026Level 3: saved prompts or skills I reuse every week.2 · StrongLevel 4 or 5: AI acts in my tools, or runs a process under rules I wrote. 9. Step 9 Weight 8 ### Outcomes, not outputs When you describe your work, do you say what you did or what changed? Leaders buy outcomes: product, impact, mission, value. 0 · MissingProjects, deadlines, tasks.1 · Standard for 2026A few outcome statements with numbers.2 · StrongThirty or more outcome statements, and the outcome words come out by themselves, also under pressure. 10. Step 10 Weight 3 ### B-list first, then A-list Do you practise on the companies you could live without before you talk to the ones you want? The first conversations are the worst ones. Spend them where they cost nothing. 0 · MissingI would go straight to my dream company.1 · Standard for 2026I know which are practice and which are targets.2 · StrongI finish B-list conversations before any A-list one. 11. Step 11 Weight 5 ### Interview dry runs How many recorded dry runs have you done with someone who hires? A real interview is not the place to find your weak spots. 0 · MissingNone.1 · Standard for 2026One mock interview with a friend.2 · StrongThree or more, recorded, with feedback from someone who hires. 12. Step 12 Weight 7 ### Negotiate, then protect your first months Do you negotiate with evidence, and do you have a plan for your first 3 to 6 months? Negotiation is a thirty-minute skill that pays for about a decade, and the first months decide whether you keep the job. 0 · MissingI take the first offer and start.1 · Standard for 2026I ask for more, and I think about the first weeks.2 · StrongAn anchor with evidence, silence after it, a walk-away I mean, and a written 30-60-90 day plan. BackNext ## Your market value About a year 0.4 missing1.0 standard for 20261.7 strong ### Raise these first All twelve steps are at the top level. This is a model built on twelve self-assessed answers and market defaults, and a real offer depends on the company. Your answers were added to the room's result, with no name or email. [Get to your next role faster](https://www.marian.coach/fast-track/) Or check [the pay benchmark by level](https://www.marian.coach/engineering-manager-salary-calculator/) in Western Europe. Back to step 12 ## More on the 12 steps My talk [12 Steps to Boost Your Salary in 2027](https://www.marian.coach/speaker/12-steps-to-higher-salary/) covers the same twelve steps on stage. The longer read is [10x your market value as a tech leader](https://www.marian.coach/blog/10x-your-market-value-tech-leader-8-steps/). For pay by level, use the [Engineering Manager Salary Calculator](https://www.marian.coach/engineering-manager-salary-calculator/). This calculator asks you. The free [Digital Footprint Multiplier](https://github.com/marian-kamenistak/digital-footprint-multiplier) skill asks the internet. Give it your LinkedIn link and it scores what a recruiter can see, on the same 0.4 to 1.7 scale. The other free tools are on the [AI coaching tools](https://www.marian.coach/ai-coaching-tools/) page. ## Frequently asked questions How does the market value calculator work? Each of the 12 steps has a weight, and the weights add up to 100. You score every step 0 (missing), 1 (standard for 2026) or 2 (strong). All zeros give 0.4, all ones give 1.0 and all twos give 1.7. The calculator multiplies your base salary by that number and rounds to the nearest thousand. What does a multiplier of 1.0 mean? A multiplier of 1.0 is the 2026 standard for your role, so the model puts you at the market base salary. Below 1.0 some of the twelve steps are missing. Above 1.0 you have proof, a network and visibility beyond the standard, up to 1.7 with all twelve steps at the top level. Where do the base salaries come from? The manager defaults are gross yearly base salaries for Central Europe in 2026. Engineering Manager EUR 95,000 comes from the Bulldogjob IT Community Report 2025 and the Hays Poland salary report 2026. Engineering Director EUR 135,000 is from Hays Poland 2026, CTO EUR 150,000 from the Antal salary report 2026 and TalentUp. The VP of Engineering figure is an estimate with no dataset behind it. The developer figures are for Slovakia and were read in November 2026. Junior, mid and senior are the median total pay on levels.fyi, and Staff Engineer and Team Lead are the average gross pay on Platy.sk. Which steps raise market value the most? The heaviest steps are the one-minute pitch, the network and the AI level, each with a weight of 12 out of 100. The vector and the digital footprint follow with 10 each. The result shows the three steps that would raise your own multiplier most, counted from your answers. Is my salary or any answer stored? Your salary and your twelve answers stay in your browser. There is no email field and no account. Anonymous usage statistics record that the calculator was finished, the multiplier and the role. At a live talk the page adds your role and answers to the result of the room, with no name, email or salary. [Mentoring](https://www.marian.coach/engineering-career-coach/) ## Want a higher market value? I’ll make you shine. Your result names the three steps to raise first. We work on them 1:1 until you have proof you can show a CTO. One quarter of 1:1 mentoring: 6 sessions over 3 months. [See the One quarter pack →](https://www.marian.coach/pricing/#pricing) Your next role ## Ready for your next mission as an engineering leader? Marian’s List is a private ELC list for senior engineering leaders in Central and Eastern Europe. Every member is personally reviewed, and you are matched only with missions that fit. No recruiters. [Join Marian’s List →](https://www.marianslist.com/?utm_source=marian-coach&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=cross-property&utm_content=market-value-calculator-en-seek) Or email [marian@marian.coach](mailto:marian@marian.coach). I reply within one working day. 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