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Managers assume that because one good programmer will do the job for $100k that all good programmers will. Many here point out that good programmers will genera
by binaryfinery 16y ago
Managers assume that because one good programmer will do the job for $100k that all good programmers will. Many here point out that good programmers will generally find a job that challenges them, and that pays them enough to live. They then conclude that if $100k fills one seat, then $100k is the right price.
This is totally wrong, and the key is "enough to live". I love programming as much as I did when I was 10. My expenses, however, are now somewhat higher than when I was 10. I have a wife, two kids, will not live in a small house, have very expensive car insurance, and I road-race big cars, hard on tires. If you want to hire me, it will cost a lot more than $100k.
Then there is the issue of mobility. Programmers tend to be loyal. They tend to be realists. If I make X here, and I know here to be fun, why would I risk moving for 1.1X, or even 1.5X?
What you have a reversible reaction in equilibrium. You want to bind seats to programmers. Programmers will bind to a seat for a while. But not all programmers will bind for the same price. Sure you can fill a seat for $100k. You might be able to fill a seat for $20k - but you'll have to wait a loooong time. If you want to fill all your seats, you're going to have to appeal to the largest possible pool of good programmers, and some of us need more money.
Even if you ignore the fact that those of us with higher expenses have more experience, the simple math of the equilibrium reaction tells you that if you want to fill more seats, you have to have a bigger pool. Even if we are of no more value than the 20 year old, the question is: Are 5 programmers better than 4 for your business?
Whether or not that makes economic sense for your business is up to you.
So yes RethinkDB, $125k for an Engineer III will get you some hires, but are you going to insist that this is the right price, even if it means that you have empty seats? What is your opportunity cost? It may be the right decision. But it may not.
- starkfist 16y agoThey have $1.2 million dollars, they can't pay more. $125K is a huge pre series-a salary.
- binaryfinery 16y agoThey're also offering stock of course, and it actually looks interesting :-) Plus they may not be so time sensitive: 4 programmers for 10 months vs 5 programmers for 8 months (yes I know). But if its $125k vs $150k will that $25k break the bank? Maybe. Maybe not.
- starkfist 16y agoI used to recruit and hire people and have been working with early stage companies for over a decade. The two companies I've worked with who tried this sort of hiring scheme blew through all their cash within 18 months, and they had a lot more money to burn.
- binaryfinery 16y agoI worked at a company that paid us fuck-all and still managed to burn thru $300 million. Are you in a position to tell us that the companies you worked with blew their cash on salaries, or are you just drawing making two causally unrelated statements in the same sentence?
- starkfist 16y agoYes, they blew all the cash on salaries.
- blacksmythe 16y agoThe real question is will two $150k programmers produce more than three $100k programmers. In Silicon Valley, my experience is yes. The same ratio probably applies anywhere, but the relative scale changes.
- jtheory 16y agoAh, but programmers don't come with these labels, do they? And of course the $100K programmers are happy to accept an offer at $150K as well (though they won't be any more productive), in which case you've actually just chopped out a third of your productivity.
- binaryfinery 16y agoWhy would you offer the $100K programmers $150K? Ah, you are saying that because programmers don't come with labels, you are unable to tell the two apart. I would suggest that you don't be involved in recruiting then.
- roel_v 16y agoThis is another one of those nonsense excuses. If they can't pay the proper price, they won't be able to get the best people. Period. I'd like to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo yet I'm stuck with a crappy Citroen. Do I go out and bitch on a blog about how I can't find Lamborghini's (with the implicit assumption that I can only afford 1/10 of the normal market price)? No I accept that I can't afford it and make due with what I have.