Let’s Say I’m Hiring 2 Software Engineers

Community General Discussion
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Let’s say I’m hiring 2 software engineers. The requirements are:

MIS, CS, or engineering degree
2-5 years of experience
C++ on Linux a plus

Candidate A has a masters in CS from UC Berkeley, 4 years experience as a systems programmer using C++ on Linux. Candidate B has a BS in MIS from some backwater state school and two years of experience doing front end development on Windows.

I like them both for various reasons and intend to hire them both. Should they both be offered the same salary?

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Depends. on their portfolio. but without that the safer bet is no. The lesser salary goes to Candidate B for obvious reasons.

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Were you and B in the same Frat? That might get them more money in some companies.

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As another poster said, far too little information to make an informed decision. To add to their portfolio question:

  1. What kind of projects did they work on?
  2. Did they have direct reports?
  3. Did you perform a technical evaluation during the interview?
  4. Are they certified for the systems they will use?
  5. What is the market rate for the position given their experience level?
  6. You stated you will issue an offer to both, how much are you willing to pay each if you undercut them?
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Would you like to offer us the rest of the context?

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if it says activision blizzard on their resume, i might go with the other person. dont want any sexual assault frat boy culture in my business

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All due diligence has been done on the evaluation front. The salary range for this position is $65k-$85k.

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If your hiring them for blizzard… which one has the largest bosom, and which was more receptive to flirting?

This is important information, apparently, that guides the selection process.

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So… punchline? Obviously you are trying to make a point that has specific people (probably from ActiBlizz) in mind.

As for pay, unless your company has strict pay tiers, it comes down to negotiation. Maybe the higher qualified person is very timid and accepts a very low offer, whereas the lower qualified person will have you eating out of their hand.

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Not to mention often people seek out qualifications because of personality issues.

I’d rather take some scrublord Windows front-ender than Johnny Six the Wizkid that can barely open his mouth without every man, woman, and dog losing every skele-bone they have ever had.

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If you are hiring for the same position: yes you should. Their salaries will stratify later based on skill.

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Degrees are kinda useless in this field. Go off experience.

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Disagree with this. It’s not the end all be all, but it matters. Especially during the formative years of one’s career.

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Which one is going to get along with your team and be a team player? Which one has the better communication skills? (Oops - you are going to hire both.) Years of experience doesn’t tell you much. What was the experience? 4 years of doing the same thing over and over? 2 years of experience - was it up and down the stack? Maybe some interaction with customers/marketing/IT too? Can’t tell who is better unless you dig deeper.

If they are given the same starting responsibilities and title, then yes, pay them the same. First thing we did as a new employees was go around and compare starting offers. Even though we were told that is unprofessional. lol

lol about the guy saying B was out of the question. Here is something they don’t tell you in school. Six months into your first job no one cares where you got your degree, or what your grades were. You can either do the job, or you can’t. Two to four years in, you should have some history and a few contacts in and out of your company to help you in your career.

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Their educational backgrounds are irrelevant to the situation. The important thing is if it’s for the same work.

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What geographic location? With 2 to 4 years experience, in the Portland OR metro area, I’d expect an offer from 90k to 105k. 85k would be considered a college hire starting salary.

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“hiring 2 software engineers”

Pay is the same, regardless.

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When I hire I tend to value past experience very little beyond helping make the decision to hire in the first place. Every job has a starting rate or salary and how much you make after that depends on what you do in our company

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Where the heck is this job located? 65k for what is a mid level programmer is really low.

If they are doing the same job, they should make the same base pay.

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Why does the OS matter for C++?

If this is legit, it sounds like you’re looking to pay at little as possible, so offer both your joke of a salary and see which one is desperate enough to take it.

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