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mshelmanmshelman 

Salary survey

Periodically there have been informal consultant pricing surveys on this board.  I recall one not too long ago when one of our independent consultants declared that he charged 150 USD per hour and 125 for non-profits.  However recently there have been postings advertising development work for 20 USD per hour and also requests for developers willing to work for a maximum of 20 per hour.  Is this just a sign of bad economic times or the inevitable result of Gresham's law? Can a developer who charges 20 USD per hour accomplish worthwhile results?
SteveBowerSteveBower

I was debating making some sort of comment along these lines as well.  I think the programming in some areas of technology may have reached commodity status.  You should be able to find an experienced VBA programmer for far less money than an experienced Java developer for example.

 

Having said that, I don't believe Salesforce is one of those area.  The technology is relatively new, the tools are somewhat immature and the integration between the code and the business requirements is tight enough that you can't just spec out the job and farm it out.

 

The engagements I've worked on have required that I get a good understanding of the business problem(s) they are trying to solve, make suggestions about possible solutions, and point out areas where there may be unintended side effects or consequences of various approaches.  They require solid written and spoken communication skills and the ability to work at levels from low level programmer to high level architect.

 

I don't see that anybody is going to buy that for $20/hour.   Best, Steve.

 

 
ClaiborneClaiborne

I definitely second Mr. Bower's comments. 

 

I have spent the past year implementing a rather complete ERP system in salesforce.com that tracks  product inventory, orders, raw materials, timesheets, quality  assurance, equipment maintenance, etc., etc. THere is a lot more to developing salesforce.com apps than just jockeying code.

 

I am sure that my client would have liked to have it done for $20 a hour, but he thinks he got very good value. It all works now.

 

And, as my granddaddy used to say, "Free and worth every penny." 
Ida AppsIda Apps
Dear All
 
My name is Mina and I am president of www.IdaApps.com an ISV partner. In my opinion, what we have seen in terms of Salesforce hourly rate is indeed clash of cultures!
 
Working with talented developers in US, China, South Africa, and India for many years, I find it not surprising to see low rates.

Many developers in countries other than US just need a way to get into the US/Europe dev market. As simple as that! No tricks and no teaser rates. 

Many of these developers are unaware of unspoken communication rule here in US: As a business owner we try to avoid disclosing rates until we find a good chemistry with the prospect,  prove that we listen well and can deliver more than Code; we are proud of delivering Solutions.

In my opinion and regardless of the rate, never underestimate a developer talent IF:
a) You have a very straight forward business requirement AND
b) You can document it well in ONE PAGE statement of work, AND
c) Your project duration is 10-20 hours OR 
d) You can Test Drive someones skills by defining a project for 10-20 hours.


Anything beyond that such as delivering a solution, solving a business puzzle, streamlining a given workflow, building a new business concept,  etc requires a different approach all together.

Regards
Mina 


Message Edited by Ida Apps on 03-10-2009 11:43 AM
Anastasia StefanukAnastasia Stefanuk
Greetings to all. This is a great question. The thing is here, that salary rate differs by location. Thus, $20 per hour is a good payment for a developer in some countries and it’s not because they are worse, it’s just because the economic situation is different there. If there’s a place for remote development, then it’s more efficient to hire someone from such a country. It’s possible to find an experienced professional there even if you have many requirements. For example, Demandware developers have to pass Salesforce certification and they have one of the biggest salaries in IT. Though, if you are to consider a remote one, you would be able to cut your recruitment costs a lot. Thus, a remote Dedicated Demandware developer from Ukraine (https://mobilunity.com/blog/hire-salesforce-commerce-cloud-demandware-developer-for-your-projects/) average salary is about $4,200 per month or 50,400 per year. You still get a certificated developer, only he works remotely. So, it is possible to hire a professional for such a small price and get a good result.
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