I'm no Kent Beck, I'm just an average software engineer on the east coast with a bit less then 10 years experience. Recently I turned down 100K a year + 3 weeks vacation and all kinds of other benefits, from a large well known company. The people there were super nice and every developer got their own office with great windows. The job was just simple programming.
But I had no interest in the industry and chose a different offer.
Anyway, I am not sure what Kent Beck's financial needs are or what he means when he says that The prices for programming have fallen so far.. It seems to me any decent programmer should be able to make a good living just programming.
I like Joel's ideas as a long-term business strategy, but it seems like it would require a lot of initial capital and would be impossible to pitch to a VC. Unless you're made of money, those two drawbacks don't go together well. What's a sound business strategy for getting a "Coder's Heaven" off the ground?
Joel advocates consulting until the company can live off its products. Yes, it takes a while longer to get where you want to be, but the initial investment is only your own time (assuming you have a computer).
I'm not sure that consulting would be a bad way to go. I've seen a few companies that have cut staff only to hire them back as consultants at least part time, sometimes paying more for the person than they were before (minus benefits).
I wouldn't be so quick to say that consultants are the first to get the axe when the economy slows down. However, it is a different existence as there will be a constant turnover on contracts.
Anyway, I am not sure what Kent Beck's financial needs are or what he means when he says that The prices for programming have fallen so far.. It seems to me any decent programmer should be able to make a good living just programming.
Does anyone know what Kent Beck is talking about?