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I don't need money to motivate me to write code, I need money to motivate me to write code for you.

• throwaway2016a 10y ago
  I didn't see your message until after I finished posting mine but I was trying to get at the same point. Money may not motivate me to code but that doesn't mean it's not a motivation to get me to code what the company wants me to. I can choose what projects I want to work on. There are no shortages of team that will take good software engineers.
  • corobo 10y ago
    That's exactly it. If my own projects were paying the bills I'd be working on them full time. As they don't (yet!) I'll trade a bunch of my time for some guaranteed income working on something not as interesting. That's not to say I'm only there for the cash - I legitimately do like my job - but the salary offered is the sole reason I started working there over anywhere else. Raises and bonuses are what'll keep my eyes from wandering over other job ads in the long term.
• zaphar 10y ago
  This is exactly right. Good programmers can for the most part take their pick of job offers. The key part here is in order to motivate a good programmer to work for you you have to offer competitive pay and a competitive environment. The reality is that they can probably quit working for you and get a raise to boot if they feel unhappy.