

Refer an Engineer - Get $20K + Your Genome Sequenced - bproper
https://dnanexus.com/blog/2011-06-21-referral-bonus

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repos
Am I correct in assuming that DNANexus does not bring anything new to the
table in regards to full genome sequencing? It seems they are just offering
better storage/analysis via cloud computing.

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sausagefeet
Yes, they are not a sequencing company, they are a post-sequencing
analysis/storage company.

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mjhoyer
I see that prize just increasing the number of bad referrals that they
receive.

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wccrawford
It will increase all referrals... Especially now that engineers know that they
are serious about hiring someone good. Maybe before they were on the wall and
didn't know if the company valued employees, or how much... But now they have
a number. It's worth $20k+ to them just to FIND a good employee.

Can you imagine the job security that brings? If they get rid of you, it's
going to cost them another $20k just to get started! They aren't going to fire
you on a whim, that's for sure.

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NonEUCitizen
A good engineer doesn't have to worry about job security.

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Shenglong
Is anyone else _much_ more excited about the DNA sequencing than the money? =\
As a person with 4 Tesla MRI images blown up into posters on my wall, I'd love
to have my DNA sequenced.

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repos
I know 23andMe provides _genotyping_ for relatively cheap, but that's a long
way off from full genome sequencing. We still need to develop better browsers
to parse and display the data meaningfully.

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psykotic
Wow, this is bound to backfire. Naively you'd think that this would be a win-
win-win situation for company, employee and referrer alike. But emotional
monkey-brain psychology intervenes. Frankly the idea of a friend of mine
getting that kind of scratch for referring me to a job would put a bad taste
in my mouth and poison the friendship. For whatever reason, if he were already
working there and the company had an internal referral program (as many
companies do), I'd feel fine about the arrangement, maybe because I'd assume
his motivation in that case would not be mercenary.

One good thing about this offer is that it's an attention grabber and signals
that they're willing to pay a very large multiple of that $20,000 to the
prospective employee as wages. But it also signals a certain level of
desperation and that they don't have enough hot shot, well connected software
engineers on staff to attract others in adequate numbers, with all that
implies about culture.

Or maybe it signals they're too stingy to pay a good professional recruiter's
fee. Or that they despise that peculiar semi-sentient, parasitic life form as
much as I do. :)

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wccrawford
I think you should re-examine. Referrals for jobs (and many other things) only
work if both parties are on-board. So he can't do it underhandedly.

He has provided a service for them (your name) and you (their name) and gets
some kickback in return. He would have done it for your for free, because
you're a friend, but the company is another matter.

His taking the money doesn't in any way alter your friendship. His finding you
a good job should be a bonus for the relationship.

Do you think that your friendship is sullied by him taking the money? If
someone offered me money to help one of my friends, I'd take it in every
circumstance I can think of. There's just no downside.

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rdl
I think the most disruptive company in this space is Halcyon Molecular -- ex-
PayPal guys, connected to Thiel/Founder's Fund, and working on making
sequencing as cheap as other blood tests. (I know a few great computer people
who have gone there; I don't really know the wet-side people.)

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repos
I wonder how close they are, they have been running for a while now.
Apparently it takes several hours to read 2000 bases.

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dman
I will gladly split the 20k 50-50 in case anyone here is interested in joining
dnanexus. Will the real engineers please stand up?

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earl
Could you maybe talk a little more about what the company is doing, either
here for via my email?

Thanks

