

Ask HN: What a senior dev looks on a job proposal - johntheoak

Now a days, what are the main issues that makes a senior dev change work place? Salary? Company size&#x2F;reputation etc?
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BraveNewCurency
The biggest issues are always soft stuff.

Salary isn't a big deal -- once you have a senior dev salary, a few grand
extra doesn't make a difference in lifestyle. A good developer can always
leave and go to work for the big guys (Google/Facebook/NetFlix/Amazon). The
reason they don't is that it's hard to make an impact at a big company.

Company size doesn't matter. Some big companies have small groups that do
cutting edge stuff, and some startups are run like big companies and/or have
bad managers. People don't leave companies, they leave bad bosses or bad
cultures.

Company reputation matters when trying to find a place to work. But once you
work there, the outside perception doesn't matter as much (because you're
working to change it, in theory.)

The 'rules' really matter. If a company has a dress code, a punch clock, or
requires a specific college degree, they are cargo culting. You can assume
that they have no idea how to treat knowledge workers.

The best piece of advice I ever got was "don't be the smartest person at your
company". If you aren't surrounded by awesome people, then you will be brought
down to their average. (See also "the Dead Sea Effect" for IT.)

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doobiaus
I'd say almost always it's the soft stuff: Respect, stress, suitable
challenges etc. I know very few Senior Devs who've left a great place to work
just for more money.

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johntheoak
Ok but how can we guess if a place is stressful? I mean, I csn only guess if I
know someone working there or Glassdoor, what do you think doobiaus?

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chudi
Here in South America, usually is more money, devs aren't paid that high.

Another factor is boring projects, but as you grow older, you start realizing
that boring projects pays the bills.

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johntheoak
How is the tech scene in South America chudi?

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rumdz
Stress. I'll take the 5k-15k less (while still making an enormous amount) for
a fraction of the stress.

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johntheoak
Even having cool perks such as more vacation days for example?

