4 ms·

Hire older devs? Why focus on young devs?

• DanBC 11y ago
  OP isn't focussing on young devs but on retention of devs. OP also says they can't compete on price, so older devs (more experience, higher wages) may not be affordable.
  • greenyoda 11y ago
    More-experienced devs might actually be more cost-effective. If you can find an experienced dev who can do the work of 2 junior devs, you might be able to save enough money to pay them a more competitive salary that will keep them from leaving. The money that's "saved" by hiring junior devs and underpaying them is quickly eaten up by the costs of employee turnover: - Lost productivity of new devs: nobody sticks around long enough to actually become productive with the domain and the tech stack. (And their mental focus is on finding a better-paying job, not doing better in their current job.) - Lost productivity of senior devs: they're constantly spending time interviewing and training new junior devs. - Recruiting costs, such as headhunter fees. Also, two junior devs cost twice as much in benefits and overhead (health insurance, paid vacation/holiday/sick days, computer hardware, etc.) as one senior dev.
• orangeplus 11y ago
  Fair enough, what I mean are junior devs, which by and large tend to be younger.