7 ms·

> “notable GitHub profiles,” CS degrees from Stanford or MIT or currently employed at Google, Zynga, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Yelp and Square for upcoming auct

> “notable GitHub profiles,” CS degrees from Stanford or MIT or currently employed at Google, Zynga, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Yelp and Square for upcoming auctions. That is a narrow field, artificially scarce, driving up prices.

Matt_Mickiewicz 14y ago
Those were the developers represented in our first auction, but we're definitely not going to be turning away senior talent in the future just because they work at Amazon, LinkedIn, Etsy or Gilt Groupe.
- hashset 14y ago
  "...just because they work at Amazon, LinkedIn, Etsy or Gilt Groupe." What are you trying to say about the engineers at those companies?
  - Matt_Mickiewicz 14y ago
    That we'd love to have them!
    - ghettoCoder 14y ago
      I've been reading HN for a long time but I never registed since I never felt the need to comment, until now. What a bunch of navel gazing, elitist douchebags you are. Do you think actually think working a Zynga or Facebook makes you a good dev. Get a grip. In any sufficiently large set of individuals you will have everything from poseur to star. Facebook, Zynga and others are not immnune to this like you would have us believe. I was around during the previous tech bubble. Paid my dues in the trenches and earned my stripes. The last startup I was at I was a team lead. It is still around and growing but I guess since I didn't go a fancy school I don't exist. That's ok, keep promoting the hiring of greenhorns who think everything they dream up is new and then proceed to reinvent the wheel. Education does not make you smart, just educated. BTW: In case your wondering. I'm happily employed making 6 figures for less hours than your screened employers would expect. Epic. Fail.
      - calebio 14y ago
        Cool story bro.
      - daeken 14y ago
        I think you're seriously missing the point. The point is not "employees for company X are all awesome!", but rather "company X is a good filter". This is no different than saying "a CS degree is a good filter"; it's not the be-all end-all, but it's a nice initial filter. (Note: I have neither a CS degree (or even a high school diploma) nor have I worked for any of the companies mentioned.)
        ghettoCoder 14y ago
        Perhaps I was a bit harsh (I don't feel bad), but I don't think I'm missing the point. They are attempting to create an artificial scarcity that promotes their idea of what a good dev is. It is elitist.
        veyron 14y ago
        "They are attempting to create an artificial scarcity that promotes their idea of what a good dev is." No. They are catering to a group of people who specifically care about pedigree. They are trying to replace the role of the recruiters who do the same thing.
        hashset 14y ago
        Yeah, but this 'pedigree' being thrown around in these comments is starting to look more and more like blatant discrimination, which was something the recruiters hide pretty well.
        veyron 14y ago
        "which was something the recruiters hide pretty well." The recruiters actively sell the idea that pedigree matters.
        14y ago
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - LiveTheDream 14y ago
    That they are from companies that were not represented in the first group.
- derwiki 14y ago
  I just applied and have formerly worked at the aforementioned companies. Does that count?
  - Matt_Mickiewicz 14y ago
    Yes.
rhizome 14y ago
Ninja rockstars are notoriously protective.
patio11 14y ago
If you think that group of, hmm, 200,000 people is a narrow field which gets priced to match, wait until what happens when you start pitching yourself as being from a reference class of one.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  It's not nearly 200,000 people. It's a few thousand at best. Not only do they need to meet the criteria listed, they need to also meet the criterion of wanting to freelance.
  - patio11 14y ago
    I agree with you that for practical hiring purposes the supply of people with a credential available for hire is significantly smaller than the supply of people with the credential. From the perspective of somebody who is not in this in-group and wants to get hired, I would use the broadest possible reading of who holds these credentials (n.b. I really don't think I'm wrong about 200k) and the narrowest possible reading of people capable of substituting for my labor ("me").
    - mgkimsal 14y ago
      I got snippy with a potential client last year who balked at my rate. We'd talked earlier about how hard it was finding developers, and I mentioned a bit of a labor shortage, and he agreed. When rate came up, he balked, and started saying that lots of people could do what I was doing, blah blah blah, this was 'only' PHP (although it wasn't), etc. I calmly pointed out I was the only person talking to him who was available to come on site the next day to get started. We didn't get started - I suspect the 'this is an emergency crisis' issue suddenly was downgraded to "let's wait until we can find a part time person for $20/hour". I don't think I'm cocky about this, but I've grown more comfortable in knowing that while I'm not the best, I'm usually the best available. And that's not that I'm bottom of the barrel, but for pretty much any set of tech skills, I personally know people better than me. It's just that they're all employed (or over-employed), and I'm available. Some times. :)
ams6110 14y ago
Some would call it a circle jerk.
leh0n 14y ago
So they think that people who work at medium to large corporations are better engineers than people who work at startups. Personally I've found the opposite to be true.
nandemo 14y ago
Why is that bad? People who do art auctions, sell luxury cars or apparel make good money using artificial scarcity.

Matt_Mickiewicz 14y ago

Those were the developers represented in our first auction, but we're definitely not going to be turning away senior talent in the future just because they work at Amazon, LinkedIn, Etsy or Gilt Groupe.

hashset 14y ago
"...just because they work at Amazon, LinkedIn, Etsy or Gilt Groupe." What are you trying to say about the engineers at those companies?
- Matt_Mickiewicz 14y ago
  That we'd love to have them!
  - ghettoCoder 14y ago
    I've been reading HN for a long time but I never registed since I never felt the need to comment, until now. What a bunch of navel gazing, elitist douchebags you are. Do you think actually think working a Zynga or Facebook makes you a good dev. Get a grip. In any sufficiently large set of individuals you will have everything from poseur to star. Facebook, Zynga and others are not immnune to this like you would have us believe. I was around during the previous tech bubble. Paid my dues in the trenches and earned my stripes. The last startup I was at I was a team lead. It is still around and growing but I guess since I didn't go a fancy school I don't exist. That's ok, keep promoting the hiring of greenhorns who think everything they dream up is new and then proceed to reinvent the wheel. Education does not make you smart, just educated. BTW: In case your wondering. I'm happily employed making 6 figures for less hours than your screened employers would expect. Epic. Fail.
    - calebio 14y ago
      Cool story bro.
    - daeken 14y ago
      I think you're seriously missing the point. The point is not "employees for company X are all awesome!", but rather "company X is a good filter". This is no different than saying "a CS degree is a good filter"; it's not the be-all end-all, but it's a nice initial filter. (Note: I have neither a CS degree (or even a high school diploma) nor have I worked for any of the companies mentioned.)
      - ghettoCoder 14y ago
        Perhaps I was a bit harsh (I don't feel bad), but I don't think I'm missing the point. They are attempting to create an artificial scarcity that promotes their idea of what a good dev is. It is elitist.
        veyron 14y ago
        "They are attempting to create an artificial scarcity that promotes their idea of what a good dev is." No. They are catering to a group of people who specifically care about pedigree. They are trying to replace the role of the recruiters who do the same thing.
        hashset 14y ago
        Yeah, but this 'pedigree' being thrown around in these comments is starting to look more and more like blatant discrimination, which was something the recruiters hide pretty well.
        veyron 14y ago
        "which was something the recruiters hide pretty well." The recruiters actively sell the idea that pedigree matters.
        14y ago
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- LiveTheDream 14y ago
  That they are from companies that were not represented in the first group.
derwiki 14y ago
I just applied and have formerly worked at the aforementioned companies. Does that count?
- Matt_Mickiewicz 14y ago
  Yes.

rhizome 14y ago

Ninja rockstars are notoriously protective.

patio11 14y ago

If you think that group of, hmm, 200,000 people is a narrow field which gets priced to match, wait until what happens when you start pitching yourself as being from a reference class of one.

waterlesscloud 14y ago
It's not nearly 200,000 people. It's a few thousand at best. Not only do they need to meet the criteria listed, they need to also meet the criterion of wanting to freelance.
- patio11 14y ago
  I agree with you that for practical hiring purposes the supply of people with a credential available for hire is significantly smaller than the supply of people with the credential. From the perspective of somebody who is not in this in-group and wants to get hired, I would use the broadest possible reading of who holds these credentials (n.b. I really don't think I'm wrong about 200k) and the narrowest possible reading of people capable of substituting for my labor ("me").
  - mgkimsal 14y ago
    I got snippy with a potential client last year who balked at my rate. We'd talked earlier about how hard it was finding developers, and I mentioned a bit of a labor shortage, and he agreed. When rate came up, he balked, and started saying that lots of people could do what I was doing, blah blah blah, this was 'only' PHP (although it wasn't), etc. I calmly pointed out I was the only person talking to him who was available to come on site the next day to get started. We didn't get started - I suspect the 'this is an emergency crisis' issue suddenly was downgraded to "let's wait until we can find a part time person for $20/hour". I don't think I'm cocky about this, but I've grown more comfortable in knowing that while I'm not the best, I'm usually the best available. And that's not that I'm bottom of the barrel, but for pretty much any set of tech skills, I personally know people better than me. It's just that they're all employed (or over-employed), and I'm available. Some times. :)

ams6110 14y ago

Some would call it a circle jerk.

leh0n 14y ago

So they think that people who work at medium to large corporations are better engineers than people who work at startups. Personally I've found the opposite to be true.

nandemo 14y ago

Why is that bad? People who do art auctions, sell luxury cars or apparel make good money using artificial scarcity.