I hear the temporary-work evaluation advocated on HN frequently, but this is a viewpoint almost exclusively held by junior developers. Those with families woul

I hear the temporary-work evaluation advocated on HN frequently, but this is a viewpoint almost exclusively held by junior developers. Those with families would find it difficult to accept the risk they may be terminated after the eval period. Senior developers aren't going to quit their job on the hope they won't be terminated at the end of the evaluation period. Job searching from scratch takes time and is stressful. Companies aren't going to spend half of the eval period training a new hire only to realize many of them aren't good enough (since they didn't screen them in a rigorous interview process). The risks don't align with anyone's incentives except for new grads, who have much less to lose. I hear the argument, "if you know you're good, you'll make it," but if the hiring decision is pushed out to the end of an evaluation period, then the same arbitrary factors that lead interviewers to decline good candidates will also influence the long-eval period method as well. Case in point: Google Finance hires new grads almost exclusively from their pool of interns. Most don't make it, though many are talented. For a student, taking an internship is a no-risk move, since they will be returning to classes anyway. I can't a rational developer with a family accepting a similar arrangement: where the odds suggest she won't make it.