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It depends on who you work for. If you work with us at BankSimple, you'd make the same as if you worked in our Brooklyn or SF offices. Normalizing salaries acro

by al3x 16y ago

It depends on who you work for. If you work with us at BankSimple, you'd make the same as if you worked in our Brooklyn or SF offices. Normalizing salaries across our three locations is the only fair thing to do, regardless of the fact that we think talented developers are worth a premium.

trustfundbaby 16y ago
I don't mean to come across as combative but how is that fair?
- djloche 16y ago
  If you value software developer's talents at $x per year, it shouldn't matter where they're located in the world. Perhaps you'd pay a slight premium for in-house workers vs telecommuters but only if that made sense for your business. Whether they're in New Delhi, San Francisco, or some no-name town in middle america, if they've got the skills to develop your software and provide a similar value (compared to each other), paying them a standard rate is fair. edit: I'll also note that "fair" isn't the standard for business these days, but it's interesting to see some companies attempting to do things differently.
  - trustfundbaby 16y ago
    Sounds nice ... but if it costs one developer $4000 a month just to take care of bills/rent/food and it costs the other $1000 then that is hardly fair. You are penalizing one developer based on the cost of living of the city they happen to be in.
    - jbermudes 16y ago
      In this world of airplanes and shipping services, there's no non-medical non-legal reason why you're stuck in any particular expensive city. Choosing to live in a big expensive city is an expense choice that you make, just like buying a premium brand.
      - rtaycher 16y ago
        jobs? especially in the computer industry.
    - jasonallen 16y ago
      You assume the person living in the expensive city doesn't benefit from doing so. Folks living in San Francisco choose to do so because they find the trade-off worthwhile. I choose to live in a relatively high cost-of-living area because I love the benefits it has.

by al3x 16y ago

trustfundbaby 16y ago

I don't mean to come across as combative but how is that fair?

djloche 16y ago
If you value software developer's talents at $x per year, it shouldn't matter where they're located in the world. Perhaps you'd pay a slight premium for in-house workers vs telecommuters but only if that made sense for your business. Whether they're in New Delhi, San Francisco, or some no-name town in middle america, if they've got the skills to develop your software and provide a similar value (compared to each other), paying them a standard rate is fair. edit: I'll also note that "fair" isn't the standard for business these days, but it's interesting to see some companies attempting to do things differently.
- trustfundbaby 16y ago
  Sounds nice ... but if it costs one developer $4000 a month just to take care of bills/rent/food and it costs the other $1000 then that is hardly fair. You are penalizing one developer based on the cost of living of the city they happen to be in.
  - jbermudes 16y ago
    In this world of airplanes and shipping services, there's no non-medical non-legal reason why you're stuck in any particular expensive city. Choosing to live in a big expensive city is an expense choice that you make, just like buying a premium brand.
    - rtaycher 16y ago
      jobs? especially in the computer industry.
  - jasonallen 16y ago
    You assume the person living in the expensive city doesn't benefit from doing so. Folks living in San Francisco choose to do so because they find the trade-off worthwhile. I choose to live in a relatively high cost-of-living area because I love the benefits it has.