I wish more companies were willing to consider option 1. it does mean a few months of less-than-ideally-productive time while they ramp up, and a corresponding

I wish more companies were willing to consider option 1. it does mean a few months of less-than-ideally-productive time while they ramp up, and a corresponding time commitment on the part of the senior devs to handhold them while they learn, but you get some very passionate and dedicated employees out of it. also, they don't have any bad habits they're attached to (: