4 ms·

There is something not right with both having a salary system like this and having it available to the public. I know I personally would not like to work at SO

There is something not right with both having a salary system like this and having it available to the public. I know I personally would not like to work at SO just because of this. It seems demoralizing, because it reduces your relationship with the company down to rules, shifting responsibility away from people. It may seem attractive on the surface, but in the long run I don't think it will serve the employees or the company well. People are so much more than just skill+experience+cost_of_living.

ZeroFries 10y ago
The 1-5 rating system is where personal judgement/responsibility come into play. If I were a very good developer but poor at negotiations, I would find this system to be the opposite of demoralizing.
- gtrubetskoy 10y ago
  Consider the other possibility, where you are the best, period (which is how you should really think of yourself IMHO). You get two offers, one from a company like SO, based on a system of rules, and another one based on personal judgement (it might still be based on a system of rules, but that aspect will not be advertised to you, which is key). And if the two offers are about the same, you will likely choose the latter, simply for the slight difference between "our system values you at $$$" vs "we value you at $$$".
  - softawre 10y ago
    Everybody should think they are the best? Isn't that how we got into this into the first place?
- blakeyrat 10y ago
  If you were poor at negotiations, you'd probably also be poor at the skills required to get a "5" rating (selling your own accomplishments, etc.) I mean I don't know anything about you, but devil's advocate.
  - ZeroFries 10y ago
    Not necessarily. Being good at negotiations requires the ability to handle potential disagreement and conflict. Demonstrating coding ability, on the other hand, usually doesn't lead to anything resembling conflict. There's definitely overlap on skill sets there, though, I'll give you that.

ZeroFries 10y ago

The 1-5 rating system is where personal judgement/responsibility come into play. If I were a very good developer but poor at negotiations, I would find this system to be the opposite of demoralizing.

gtrubetskoy 10y ago
Consider the other possibility, where you are the best, period (which is how you should really think of yourself IMHO). You get two offers, one from a company like SO, based on a system of rules, and another one based on personal judgement (it might still be based on a system of rules, but that aspect will not be advertised to you, which is key). And if the two offers are about the same, you will likely choose the latter, simply for the slight difference between "our system values you at $$$" vs "we value you at $$$".
- softawre 10y ago
  Everybody should think they are the best? Isn't that how we got into this into the first place?
blakeyrat 10y ago
If you were poor at negotiations, you'd probably also be poor at the skills required to get a "5" rating (selling your own accomplishments, etc.) I mean I don't know anything about you, but devil's advocate.
- ZeroFries 10y ago
  Not necessarily. Being good at negotiations requires the ability to handle potential disagreement and conflict. Demonstrating coding ability, on the other hand, usually doesn't lead to anything resembling conflict. There's definitely overlap on skill sets there, though, I'll give you that.