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Why I Will Never Feel Threatened by Programmers in India

blog.jpl-consulting.com

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Re: Why I Will Never Feel Threatened by Programmers in India

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is correct. Good programmers in India, like good programmers everywhere, cost more than bad programmers. If you would like to hire a decent shop, there are boutiques and larger firms available, but they will charge $40-50/hour, not $15. The problem isn't in the outsourcing, it's treating development like a $15/hour commodity. We all know that it doesn't work that way. The author described paying an hourly rate f…

But there are plenty of good programmers in the US that will work for $50 an hour, which ends up being about $100,000 a year. And if you can have your users, analysts, and programmers in the same building for what it costs to outsource, why outsource?

That's if you billed 2k hours a year, that's 100k revenue.

After corporate/employment type taxes and run of the mill expenses you would not incur as an employee, that's about 80k.

80k for lawyer-hours is not worth it. (2000 billable hours is a common law firm quota)

(To bill 2000 hours a year, you have to work much more like 3-5k hours, really expect to bill more between 1200-1600).

Re: Why I Will Never Feel Threatened by Programmers in India

#142
Just because you pay 1/10th of a price that you will have to pay in the developed countries does not mean that you are getting less quality people. The truth is that the cost of living in a country like India is comparitively less. 1 cent per minute is what we pay for telephones $2-3 is good enough to get a sumptuous food. It is the macro economic factors that make workforce available at a competitive price in India.

I think it is about lack of homework on the part of the outsourcer that causes the trouble most of the times. When you are smart enough to hire a developer at less than 1/10th of the price that you will have to pay you otherwise shouldn't you be atleast twice that smart. A clearly defined wireframes with specification document is a must before you start any project. Ask your developer questions on the basis of wireframe to ensure both of you are in sync. As a first step outsource 2-3 modules in phases to see if the developer is able to meet up to your requirements. And do the above irrespective of if you are hiring someone from India or any part of the world which promises kick-ass developers at $100 per hour.

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