Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
Does anybody have any idea how I obtain one such solid person? I'm not looking to go with a firm with major overhead and project management and whatever. I want to manage the project myself and just get someone who has a good command of English and can code well at a good price.
To find out if they are any good.. I tend to initially use them on smaller projects at first, that I can do the final implemntation on my self. That way my risk is small financially and a little more secure.
Trust is built, not earned. But the 'you get what you pay for' saying I read earlier on in this thread doesnt really apply... since $$$ have different values everywhere. Quality is not about the $ you pay.. it's about the person who your hiring.
A poster in this thread (who will remain anonymous) stickied me with an apology for his flame (kinda cowardly not to do so within the thread itself, if I think about it) then, after his apology, to say he's had tons of trouble with American coders, had to take several of them to court several times, and it was a very frustrating experience. He told me this to prove the point that just because you hire domestically doesn't mean you won't get inept or unethical help.
It's an assertion I'd never contest and in fact agree with: you will get bad or good work anywhere on earth, sure. But compare your legal recourse-- how to you stop payment on a foreign wire-transfer? How do you litigate--whom/how do you serve papers? What's your venue for reliable prior research on creds, and enforcement when deceived? Like, let's say when you're giving away little things like root permissions for an eCommerce site, with total access to all customer data including thousands of eMail addresses and credit card numbers.
fun fun fun
I tend to remember the little things people said in this thread that supported my side, sorry if you prefer to gloss on past them...one guy said he used to make a living repairing foreign code. Hmm. Another guy said he lost everything on his first hire, but felt it was worth it on the re-try. Fine. Just keep such things in mind when you make your choice. A choice to save money. Maybe in the 90's it was to save time or find a quality coder when all were in high demand, but not today..When I place a help wanted ad on CraigList I get MIT grads and former CTO's flooding my inbox and asking a relative pittance for wages.
Patriotic or not (and I'm not), I think you don't need an overseas chop shop, and all things considered, just acknowledge what is likely to come with the territory, despite all denials to the contrary from those who seem to prefer you live in denial. I have seen and heard an abundance of horror stories, and you need not look far to hear them yourself--just wander away from this thread...
Just beware of what you choose, and go into it with your eyes open. If I've injected just that bit of caution into whatever you decide to do, then I've been of some help. (though I wouldn't bother again--jeez, you guys)
