Totally. The "etc" I used in my quote is doing a lot of work here - I control for a fairly extensive list of observed factors from the dataset. I just listed o

Totally. The "etc" I used in my quote is doing a lot of work here - I control for a fairly extensive list of observed factors from the dataset. I just listed out a few because otherwise the list gets absurdly long. I control for domain knowledge via what programming languages, technologies, and tools the developers know. I use a proxy for importance to the organization by controlling for the control the developer has over buying decisions within their organization. I control for education levels and college major. I control for employment status (full-time, part-time, independent). Hours worked per week. The list goes on but those are a few. But your point remains that unobservables could be confounding the results, so one can never be sure. Thanks for reading!