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This is very real. I run Defiant Inc (at defiant.com) which makes Wordfence (at wordfence.com) - a popular firewall and malware scanner for WordPress. We're hi

This is very real. I run Defiant Inc (at defiant.com) which makes Wordfence (at wordfence.com) - a popular firewall and malware scanner for WordPress. We're hiring PHP devs that are senior level only. The job demands it because we deploy code weekly to over 4 million sites on a wide range of environments and configs, many of which are mission critical. We started hiring in 2015 and have always been 100% remote. We have a team of 38 now with around 25 full time US based employees. Hiring has always been a breeze for us because we've always been 100% remote. Until Covid hit and the word 'remote' started being used by basically everyone, even companies that are hybrid or are going to go back to in-office at some point. There's another factor, and that is growth in the tech sector. There is just a shortage of great engineers right now and very high demand. In response, we raised the salaries of our developers that are already part of the team significantly. Then we raised the advertised pay range for our PHP devs to $120K to 150K, we added a $20K signing bonus to all developer roles, and we started using recruiters for the first time. These changes have made a huge improvement to the candidates we're seeing. Keep in mind that these are 100% remote roles and always will be, with candidates based anywhere in the world - not confined to large tech hubs. Our benefits are incredible and we have 21 days PTO - just for additional context. I think the only viable solution for employers is to respond to changes in market conditions, and do what we've done. Pay your people more, increase your hiring salary range, consider a signing bonus that isn't bullshit, but actually is a huge additional tangible benefit for talented engineers joining your company. I don't think the kind of pressure tactics described in the article, like "exploding job offers" are the answer. You're just playing silly games and wasting a candidate's time and your own, plus potentially trashing your company's brand in the hiring market. I've have worked as an ops engineer and dev for a long time before building a successful tech business, and I've lived through a hot hiring market several times, as a talented engineer working to maximize my earnings potential. I'd strongly encourage you to look around and get a sense of what the market can offer you. Have conversations with a few recruiters. Don't let your company use meaningless enticements to make you stay. And don't get enticed by pressure tactics or things that don't actually help you earn more and have a better quality of life. Focus on the fundamentals when evaluating options - base salary, actual starting days of PTO, medical, 401K if you're USA based. And take action now, because this probably won't last. It's a great time to be a talented engineer, pretty much globally.

unnouinceput 5y ago
<< ...PHP devs to $120K ... 120k / 12 months => 10K/month salary 10K / 22 working days / 8 hours each day => ~$57/hour. Kinda low, don't you think? Especially for senior level.
- mmaunder 5y ago
  You picked the bottom of the range and didn’t add benefits. Top of the range with cost of benefits, which a contractor would have to pay for themselves is over $100 an hour. Keep in mind we pay for all certifications, exams, college degree programs, 21 days PTO which accumulates to even more, matching 401K, conferences with biz class travel, healthcare, etc.
  - quadrifoliate 5y ago
    I won't say too much about pay scales because others have, but 21 days of PTO is not "incredible" by any means, especially if you make people use it for sick time as well. At least if I was looking in a strong market, that would reduce the value of your other numbers downward to me. I recommend explicitly creating separate sick time, or switching to a minimum PTO (making sure employees take that time off).
    - mmaunder 5y ago
      Amazon, for example, starts at 10 days for FTEs and accrues to a max of 20 days once you've worked for longer than 6 years. We are roughly the same as Facebook and Google who are between 20 to 30 days per year, depending on how long you've worked there.
      - quadrifoliate 5y ago
        I am surprised to hear that Amazon is that low (rules them out as a target for me) - but your comp in terms of salary + stock is not competitive with FB/Google, so comparing to them on vacation time is not meaningful either IMO. In my experience, plenty of smaller companies are more flexible on vacation time over 20 days, so those would be the ones you're competing with. However, if things are working out well for you as an employer with your current pay + benefits stack, you probably grok the market better than I do. Wish you all the best!

unnouinceput 5y ago

<< ...PHP devs to $120K ... 120k / 12 months => 10K/month salary 10K / 22 working days / 8 hours each day => ~$57/hour. Kinda low, don't you think? Especially for senior level.

mmaunder 5y ago
You picked the bottom of the range and didn’t add benefits. Top of the range with cost of benefits, which a contractor would have to pay for themselves is over $100 an hour. Keep in mind we pay for all certifications, exams, college degree programs, 21 days PTO which accumulates to even more, matching 401K, conferences with biz class travel, healthcare, etc.
- quadrifoliate 5y ago
  I won't say too much about pay scales because others have, but 21 days of PTO is not "incredible" by any means, especially if you make people use it for sick time as well. At least if I was looking in a strong market, that would reduce the value of your other numbers downward to me. I recommend explicitly creating separate sick time, or switching to a minimum PTO (making sure employees take that time off).
  - mmaunder 5y ago
    Amazon, for example, starts at 10 days for FTEs and accrues to a max of 20 days once you've worked for longer than 6 years. We are roughly the same as Facebook and Google who are between 20 to 30 days per year, depending on how long you've worked there.
    - quadrifoliate 5y ago
      I am surprised to hear that Amazon is that low (rules them out as a target for me) - but your comp in terms of salary + stock is not competitive with FB/Google, so comparing to them on vacation time is not meaningful either IMO. In my experience, plenty of smaller companies are more flexible on vacation time over 20 days, so those would be the ones you're competing with. However, if things are working out well for you as an employer with your current pay + benefits stack, you probably grok the market better than I do. Wish you all the best!