The-2023-Developer-Relations-compensation-and-culture-report-by-Common-  ## Metadata - Author: - Full Title: The-2023-Developer-Relations-compensation-and-culture-report-by-Common- - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #devrel - #compensation - #culture - #wellbeing - #survey - #methodology - #opensource - #wordpress - #community - #education - #ospo Author: Common Room (Research Team) Source: Common Room Reference: https://www.commonroom.io/ and 2023 Developer Relations Compensation & Culture Report (PDF) date created: 2025-08-28 00:00 --- # Title: 2023 Developer Relations Compensation & Culture Report — Comprehensive Notes, Analysis, and Applications ## Table of Contents: - [📚 References](#-references) - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) - [📖 References](#-references-1) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment](#-deib-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) - [✅ Logical validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References: - Common Room. 2023 Developer Relations Compensation & Culture Report (PDF). - OSMI (Open Sourcing Mental Illness): https://osmihelp.org - Mayo Clinic (Burnout definition): https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642 - DevRelX by SlashData: https://www.develrx.com - Hoopy / DeveloperRelations.com: https://developerrelations.com ## 📝 Summary: The 2023 Developer Relations Compensation & Culture Report analyzes compensation, roles, team structures, and wellbeing for 136 DevRel professionals worldwide. Median total gross compensation is $175,000 USD globally. Notably, 60.3% of respondents are now outside the U.S., which shifts compensation distributions and broadens cultural perspectives. The report expands beyond pay to cover responsibilities, success metrics, organizational alignment, and wellbeing—highlighting a common alignment gap between product awareness as a business objective and the predominance of educational content as the primary activity. Access to data that demonstrates business impact emerges as the top lever to improve wellbeing. ## 📖 Main Content: The report broadens 2022’s compensation focus to include culture and wellbeing. Respondents work mainly in B2B SaaS, cloud infrastructure, and B2C software; Web3/crypto reports the highest compensation by industry. DevRel practitioners most often: - Create educational content and resources - Deliver talks/workshops - Build/manage community programs - Coordinate or attend meetups Success is primarily measured by active users/developers and volume/engagement of content and events. A majority say their work maps to product awareness, signaling a potential funnel misalignment when measurement and distribution mechanics don’t match the objective. Wellbeing insights show frequent context switching, role ambiguity, and job security as stressors; access to impact data, headcount increases, and organizational recognition are the top requested improvements. Personal reflection: The findings underscore the need to make DevRel outcomes legible to business stakeholders through shared metrics and data systems, while protecting the community-first ethos. For open source ecosystems (e.g., WordPress), coupling educational content with measurable pathways to adoption, contribution, and retention can bridge the awareness-to-adoption gap. ### 🗒️ Notes - Scope and methodology - 136 respondents; survey window: June 19–July 20, 2023. - Increased non-U.S. representation (60.3% outside U.S.). - Medians used; datasets <5 responses removed to protect privacy; multiple selections allowed in some questions. - Compensation - Global median total gross comp: $175,000 USD. - Highest by geography: U.S., followed by Remote and Europe; lower medians in Canada, South America, India. - Highest industry medians: Web3/crypto; cloud infrastructure also strong. - Prior software engineering experience correlates with higher medians when controlled for highly-compensated locations; globally the difference is muted. - Roles and responsibilities - Most common: creating educational content and resources; then talks/workshops; community programs; meetups. - Decrease from 2022 in brand awareness/affinity and in delivering sentiment/feedback to internal teams. - Many report into Marketing or DevRel/Community; perceived importance varies (mission-critical to not very important). - Business alignment and metrics - Primary business objective: product awareness (58.6%), followed by product adoption (54.1%). - Measurements: active users/developers; content volume and engagement; event volume; quality metrics (NPS/audience scores/docs scores). - Noted alignment gap: awareness objective vs. lower-funnel activities (education) without dedicated distribution and growth capabilities. - Wellbeing and culture - Significant burnout presence; context switching and unclear expectations top contributors. - Most desired improvements: access to impact data; increased headcount; organizational recognition; clearer goals and expectations. - Many have discussed health issues with managers/peers, with mixed support. - Burnout varies by industry and by perceived importance of DevRel in the org. - Industry and teams - Most common org types: B2B SaaS, cloud infrastructure, B2C software. - Many teams small (≤4 people) and report overlap with other functions; lack of role differentiation can hinder ownership and outcomes. ## 📖 References: - Common Room — 2023 DevRel Compensation & Culture Report (PDF) - OSMI (mental health in tech): https://osmihelp.org - Mayo Clinic on burnout: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642 - DeveloperRelations.com (Hoopy): https://developerrelations.com - DevRelX: https://www.develrx.com ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1) Original idea: “This year, the foundational goal of our report remains the same: We wish to empower DevRel professionals everywhere with more insights about their craft, their industry, and their role and experience within it.” - Paraphrase: The core mission is unchanged: to equip DevRel professionals worldwide with deeper, data-driven understanding of their discipline, the broader industry, and their lived experience within it. 2) Original idea: “A notable majority of Developer Relations professionals are tasked with delivering on a primary business objective: product awareness…If an organization’s primary business objective is product awareness, tasking them mainly with educational content may be too far down the funnel without added distribution resources.” - Paraphrase: Most DevRel teams are pointed at product awareness, but when their main workload is educational content, results can stall unless matched with upstream distribution and growth support that reaches new audiences. ## 📰 Newsletter: Level Up Your Web Dev: Learning paths, fresh releases, and community wins - Learning web development: If you’re starting with WordPress, pair PHP fundamentals with modern JS (ES6+), and practice Git/GitHub daily. Try building a custom block using the block editor—great hands-on learning. - Recent updates: WordPress core continues to evolve with performance and editor improvements. Keep an eye on developer notes in Make/Core for API changes and hooks you can leverage. - Community highlights: Contributor mentorship cohorts are rolling—perfect for onboarding new contributors and leveling up in docs, testing, and performance. - New plugins and tooling: Explore developer tooling that surfaces ROI for docs and education programs. Bridging content with analytics helps connect awareness to adoption and contributions. - Learn more: The DevRel community’s latest compensation and culture insights reveal a global, education-forward role that needs better distribution and impact data to thrive. For wellbeing, access to actionable metrics and right-sized workloads really matter. See mental health resources from OSMI (https://osmihelp.org) and understand burnout signs via Mayo Clinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642). Tone: friendly, professional, humorous, and informative—remember: ship often, break less, measure what matters. ## ✅ Action Items: Custom prompt for aligning future articles with your Dev Advocate and OSPO goals Copy and reuse this prompt for any article you provide: “You are assisting a Developer Advocate at GoDaddy specializing in open source and WordPress, with a background in education and instructional design (PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Git/GitHub). Analyze how this article aligns with: - Open-source advocacy and sustainability (including funding models, governance, licensing, and project health) - Contributor engagement and onboarding (inclusive pathways, mentorship, documentation, issue labeling, first-timer tasks) - Developer education (learning objectives, curriculum design, assessment, accessibility, multimodal materials) - WordPress ecosystem relevance (core, plugins, themes, performance, block editor, community events) - OSPO readiness (policy, compliance, inner/outer source, contribution strategy, metrics, transparency) - DEIB and psychological safety (inclusive language, neurodiversity, representation, moderation practices) Provide: 1) A summary tied to open-source impact in WordPress. 2) Practical playbooks: contributor onboarding, docs improvements, curricula, and community programs. 3) Sustainable funding or governance opportunities (e.g., sponsorship tiers, grants, foundation collaborations). 4) A measurement plan linking activities to adoption, contributions, and retention (dashboards, KPIs). 5) Risks and mitigations (burnout, role ambiguity, misaligned incentives). 6) Stakeholder mapping (engineering, product, marketing, OSPO, community). 7) A roadmap to OSPO leadership competencies demonstrated by this article’s themes (policy, metrics, cross-org alignment, community health). Conclude with a 30-60-90 day action plan to pilot, measure, and iterate.” ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - H1: When DevRel activities are mapped to clearly defined business objectives with shared metrics dashboards, perceived wellbeing and retention increase. - H2: Pairing educational content with dedicated distribution (growth/SEO/community campaigns) raises conversion from awareness to adoption. - H3: In global teams, regional cost-of-labor adjustments explain a significant portion of observed compensation variance independent of role scope. - H4: Clear role differentiation between DevRel, Marketing, and Product reduces context switching and burnout. - H5: Access to impact data mediates the relationship between workload volume and burnout. ### 📊 Methodology: - Design: Mixed-methods (quant + qual). - Data sources: Survey (global), structured interviews, platform analytics (docs traffic, activation/adoption rates), community forum analytics, OSS contribution metrics (GitHub), HRIS retention data. - Analysis: - Regression to test associations (e.g., impact data access vs. wellbeing). - Difference-in-differences for teams introducing distribution support. - SEM to model burnout as a latent construct with mediators (role clarity, data access). - Thematic coding of interviews to surface alignment and role clarity issues. ### ❓ Questions: - How do specific distribution tactics (SEO, syndication, community partnerships) change the ROI of educational content? - Which metrics best align cross-functionally—active devs, time-to-first-success, contribution retention? - What org structures minimize overlap and maximize DevRel autonomy without isolating it from product feedback loops? - How can OSS-first DevRel teams articulate value where revenue attribution is indirect? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Longitudinal tracking of DevRel role clarity reforms and burnout trends. - Regional compensation normalization models factoring role scope, seniority, and local labor markets. - Comparative studies of OSS-heavy vs. commercial DevRel organizations. - Experimental pilots that connect content to guided activation paths with clear KPIs. ### 💡 Implications: - Advancing knowledge: Establishes evidence-based DevRel operating models that align activities with objectives. - Practice: Encourages investment in analytics and distribution to convert education into adoption and contribution. - Policy: Supports OSPO structures that standardize metrics, clarify roles, and improve psychological safety and retention. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: Readability: Upper high-school to college level due to data, charts, and domain terms. - Visual (Spatial) - Present: Numerous charts/graphs. - Improve: Provide annotated charts, flow diagrams linking objectives → activities → metrics → outcomes; regional comp heatmaps. - Aural (Auditory) - Present: Not explicit. - Improve: Offer audio summary and brief podcast discussion of findings. - Verbal (Linguistic) - Present: Executive summaries, narrative analysis. - Improve: Add more case studies and examples; glossaries for non-U.S. readers. - Physical (Kinesthetic) - Present: Limited. - Improve: Include worksheets to map team objectives to metrics; dashboard-building exercises. - Logical (Mathematical) - Present: Median, ranges, categorical comparisons. - Improve: Show methods appendix, confidence intervals, and model specifications. - Social (Interpersonal) - Present: Community-oriented framing. - Improve: Add discussion prompts and group activities for team workshops. - Solitary (Intrapersonal) - Present: Reflection prompts implied by wellbeing section. - Improve: Add journaling templates for personal workload and wellbeing tracking. - Naturalistic - Present: Not applicable. - Improve: Use sustainability analogies (ecosystem health) for community metrics. ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - Screen Reader Compatibility: - Present: PDF likely includes images/charts; alt text uncertain. - Improve: Ensure semantic tagging, proper reading order, alt text for all images, and accessible tables. - Keyboard Navigation: - Present: Unknown. - Improve: Provide HTML version with skip links and full keyboard operability. - Contrast and Readability: - Present: Charts may rely on color. - Improve: Use WCAG AA contrast, patterns/hatching in charts, and scalable fonts. - Text Resizing: - Present: PDF may not reflow well. - Improve: Publish responsive HTML with proper reflow and scalable text. ### 🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment: - Cultural Relevance: - Present: Increased global participation; still U.S. framing in some terms. - Improve: Localize degree/compensation terms; regional examples and case studies. - Inclusive Language: - Present: Generally inclusive tone. - Improve: Define jargon; provide plain-language summaries. - Neurodiversity Support: - Present: Some sections text-heavy. - Improve: Break long blocks; add summaries, bullet lists, and visual signposting. - Representation: - Present: Gender and ethnicity reported; geographic spread improved. - Improve: Expand data for underrepresented regions when privacy thresholds allow; include stories from varied identities. - Psychological Safety: - Present: Addresses mental health and burnout. - Improve: Add clear resource lists, trigger warnings where applicable, and guidance on respectful discourse. ### ✅ Logical validity: Positive reasoning examples: - Appeal to Evidence: Use of medians, exclusion of small datasets, reporting ranges strengthens reliability. Suggestion: Add confidence intervals and methods appendix for transparency. - Causal Reasoning (cautious): Notes there’s not enough data to claim causality between alignment gaps and wellbeing, avoiding overreach. Suggestion: Propose causal tests in future research (e.g., pre-post interventions). - Balanced View: Acknowledges geographic compensation differences due to labor markets. Suggestion: Normalize by PPP or cost-of-living indices for added nuance. - Logical Flow: From demographics → roles → business objectives → metrics → wellbeing. Suggestion: Add a summary diagram mapping these relationships. Potential fallacies or weaknesses: - Hasty Generalization risk: Some subgroups are small; even with safeguards, broader claims may overgeneralize. Remedy: Clearly label low-n samples and avoid extrapolation. - Correlation vs. Causation: Where alignment and wellbeing are discussed, causal language is mostly avoided, but readers may infer it. Remedy: Keep “association” language and add proposed experimental designs. Tone of voice: Empirical, supportive, community-oriented, and non-adversarial. 🔍 DARVO Analysis - Deny: Not present. The report does not deny issues (burnout, alignment gaps); it acknowledges them. - Attack: Not present. No disparaging of individuals or groups. - Reverse Victim and Offender: Not present. The narrative centers on data and support, not blame. - Notes: Tone is empathetic and constructive; no rhetorical tactics aligned with DARVO. ### 🔍 SEO Evaluation: - Keywords: - Primary: developer relations, DevRel compensation, DevRel culture, developer advocacy, wellbeing in tech. - Placement: Ensure inclusion in title, H1, opening paragraph, and subheadings. - Variety: Include “developer community,” “open source advocacy,” “developer education,” “developer experience.” - Meta Description: - Example (154 chars): “2023 DevRel Compensation & Culture Report: global pay medians, roles, metrics, and wellbeing insights to align DevRel impact with business outcomes.” - Title Tag: - Example (58 chars): “2023 DevRel Compensation & Culture Report | Common Room” - Headers: - Use H1 for title, H2 for major sections (Compensation, Roles, Wellbeing), add keywords in some headers. - Content Length: - Meets 1,500–3,000 words target for in-depth research summaries. - Internal/External Links: - Internal: Link to related methodology and prior year’s report pages. - External: Link to OSMI and Mayo Clinic resources; link to DevRelX and DeveloperRelations.com for context. - URL Structure: - Example: /reports/2023-devrel-compensation-culture - Image Optimization: - Descriptive filenames (e.g., devrel-compensation-geography-2023.png); alt text with context; compressed images. - Mobile Optimization: - Responsive charts and tables; fast-loading images; lazy load where appropriate. - User Engagement: - Clear CTAs: download PDF, subscribe, join community Slack, explore dashboards. - Schema Markup: - Article schema; add FAQ schema for common questions (e.g., “What’s the median DevRel salary?”). - Social Sharing: - Open Graph and Twitter Card with a compelling chart thumbnail; share buttons. ## 🎯 Conclusion: The 2023 report paints a global, education-forward picture of DevRel with a median compensation of $175,000 USD and growing non-U.S. representation. The central operational challenge is aligning product awareness goals with educational activities through better distribution and shared metrics. Wellbeing hinges on access to impact data, clearer expectations, and resourcing. For open-source ecosystems like WordPress and OSPO-minded organizations, the path forward blends strong contributor education with measurable activation and retention, supported by accessible, inclusive practices and data-informed storytelling. - Document Tags: [[devrel]] [[compensation]] - Summary: The content below is not provided. Please provide the content that you would like me to summarize. - URL: https://read.readwise.io/read/01h9js5d6j431tj1ev166qs76q Full text of this document omitted because this document is a PDF [Download original file →](https://readwise.io/reader/document_raw_content/87116824), The-2023-Developer-Relations-compensation-and-culture-report-by-Common-, , 01h9js5d6j431tj1ev166qs76q.