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There's no easy way to say this

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Re: There's no easy way to say this

#21

First the lead, now half the team. What is it with people jumping ship on KSP?

There's a lot of rumors of shady practices at that developer - shitty hours, below minimum-wage pay, poor management, intern exploitation, threats of litigation against ex-employees, profits being poured into pet projects of the founders...

Generally, but not always, these kinds of stories aren't told about well-ran shops. But hey, it's video games, so who knows?

Re: There's no easy way to say this

#22
post #20
post #7

Background: http://www.develop-online.net/news/squad-devs-blast-kerbal-s...

>“$2,400 was my yearly salary working a full time eight hours a day, 40 hours a week job.” Why would you ever choose to work there in the first place?

Because you're 21, and want to make video games, and live with your parents?

Re: There's no easy way to say this

#23
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$2400 a year? What US dev works for that in this market? You are better off at burger king.

This is $200 a month; unless you work part-time, it's likely illegal.

This is only as an employee. You're free to contract your own rate at whatever you'd like (including for free); while "salary" implies a full employment that doesn't look like the case here.

EDIT: none of what I said applies; this was in Mexico.

Re: There's no easy way to say this

#25
post #7

Background: http://www.develop-online.net/news/squad-devs-blast-kerbal-s...

$2400 a year? What US dev works for that in this market? You are better off at burger king.

None should, but this is ~2x the Mexican minimum wage.

I guess the question here (as per nine_k comment) becomes, if you are working remotely, for a position listed in country A, but you are located in country B, do country B's minimum wage laws apply? If so, does that mean the company in country A should pay you a higher wage, or simply means you don't qualify for the position (note that developer positions in Mexico with Mexican companies are often advertised with offer details such as the salary, in a way that is not common in the U.S.)

Edit: huge correction on the multiplier on minimum wage. For some reason I had been comparing monthly rates with annual ones and arriving at 24x. Upon careful examination, that is ridiculous, but the overall point remains. With the correction, this is actually hugely subpar wages for developers even in Mexico, but not quite illegal wages... for reference, entry level dev work at software companies might be around $20,000 MXP, which is currently $1,000 USD monthly.

Re: There's no easy way to say this

#26
post #7

Background: http://www.develop-online.net/news/squad-devs-blast-kerbal-s...

$2400 a year? What US dev works for that in this market? You are better off at burger king.

Farther into the article:

> To be fair to Squad, the Mexican minimum wage is about $100 USD monthly, so they weren't technically paying anyone lower than the minimum wage...

Re: There's no easy way to say this

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$2400 a year? What US dev works for that in this market? You are better off at burger king.

None should, but this is ~2x the Mexican minimum wage. I guess the question here (as per nine_k comment) becomes, if you are working remotely, for a position listed in country A, but you are located in country B, do country B's minimum wage laws apply? If so, does that mean the company in country A should pay you a higher wage, or simply means you don't qualify for the position (note that developer positions in Mexic…

[deleted]

Re: There's no easy way to say this

#28
post #20
post #7

Background: http://www.develop-online.net/news/squad-devs-blast-kerbal-s...

>“$2,400 was my yearly salary working a full time eight hours a day, 40 hours a week job.” Why would you ever choose to work there in the first place?

The article states that the minimum wage in Mexico is $100/month ($1,200/year). My guess is he moved to Mexico to work on this and gain experience. Pay sucks but the game is successful and if he didn't publicly come out against the company it would have likely led to higher paying jobs in the states due to association.

This may not be popular to many people but I'm sure it's well known on on Hacker News by now. Long hours in startup companies are not new nor are they going away. This was a startup for all intensive purposes.

Re: There's no easy way to say this

#29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$2400 a year? What US dev works for that in this market? You are better off at burger king.

None should, but this is ~2x the Mexican minimum wage. I guess the question here (as per nine_k comment) becomes, if you are working remotely, for a position listed in country A, but you are located in country B, do country B's minimum wage laws apply? If so, does that mean the company in country A should pay you a higher wage, or simply means you don't qualify for the position (note that developer positions in Mexic…

$2400 is their annual wage, not monthly. Only 2x

Re: There's no easy way to say this

#30
I spent less than 5 hours playing this game. But I think it is very, very important for gaming, for space travel simulation, flight simulation, and space exploration. Would buy it again and feel sad that development stops.
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