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A quick breakdown from my recent experience hiring for 5 software developer positions. Entry Level Engineers - Easy to find but expensive to train Mid level e

A quick breakdown from my recent experience hiring for 5 software developer positions. Entry Level Engineers - Easy to find but expensive to train Mid level engineers - Difficult to find but minimal training required Senior engineers - Extremely difficult to hire almost no training required For a software team to be successful you need at minimum a strong mid level to keep everyone moving in the right direction but it's preferable to have a senior level engineer. I'd recommend everyone heavily invest in growing the people they have instead of playing the 'lets hire a senior lottery'.

shagie 5y ago
How many times do you want to train entry level employees over the course of a project for a few years? How much will that training cost in terms of time spent hiring and onboarding over the duration of the project? What is the productivity loss of doing the "lets hire a senior?" ... and not incurring the other expenses of training entry level who leave after a year?
- ehnto 5y ago
  That's part of the problem isn't it, so many software companies are short projects, not long term businesses. You can't afford the investment, because you'll never benefit from it by the time the project is done. You also can't start with a junior and teach them the platform, because the platform isn't even built yet.
- tenpoundhammer 5y ago
  I wish there were a simple answer but it's a complicated cost benefit analysis that has to be done for each organization taking into account their objectives. But most organizations don't have that many options because salaries are pre-defined and inelastic. There really aren't that many options 1. Invest in training the people you have 2. Offer some novel incentives 4 day work week or something. 3. Compete on salary by paying more In a lot of organizations 2 and 3 can't be changed by the people doing the hiring.

shagie 5y ago

How many times do you want to train entry level employees over the course of a project for a few years? How much will that training cost in terms of time spent hiring and onboarding over the duration of the project? What is the productivity loss of doing the "lets hire a senior?" ... and not incurring the other expenses of training entry level who leave after a year?

ehnto 5y ago
That's part of the problem isn't it, so many software companies are short projects, not long term businesses. You can't afford the investment, because you'll never benefit from it by the time the project is done. You also can't start with a junior and teach them the platform, because the platform isn't even built yet.
tenpoundhammer 5y ago
I wish there were a simple answer but it's a complicated cost benefit analysis that has to be done for each organization taking into account their objectives. But most organizations don't have that many options because salaries are pre-defined and inelastic. There really aren't that many options 1. Invest in training the people you have 2. Offer some novel incentives 4 day work week or something. 3. Compete on salary by paying more In a lot of organizations 2 and 3 can't be changed by the people doing the hiring.