Ask HN: How do you find a decent PHP developer? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you find a decent PHP developer?

2 pointsbswuft7 comments

I've been let down by developer after developer. Tried Upwork/Odesk, reddit, craigslist, etc. All the code samples I get are uncommented and messy. Why is it so hard to find someone who adheres to best practices? Am I just looking in the wrong places? I'm willing to pay $15-30/hr which I know is somewhat low for the US, but not all countries.

I've been an engineer for about 20 years, so I know my expectations are probably a little too high, but I have yet to receive even one code sample that I would feel even remotely comfortable with...

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"Uncommented" doesn't mean "bad". Messy does, though.

"Best practices" is vague. If you're specifically asking for code that follows "best practices" you might want to tighten up your verbiage and be more specific so the expectations are clear.

Other than that, if you're looking to spend relatively low dollar, I'd probably expect to get relatively low quality.

I agree on all points. My issue is that I can get basically unlimited work at $60/hr and my schedule is completely full. In order to accept all the work, I'll need to have other people helping and I can't pay the full hourly rate or there's no point in accepting it at all....

If you are getting unlimited work at $60, I suggest that you up your rates.

I would, but its for a single client who isn't willing to pay more. I'm not really trying to go out and find more clients right now, but would like a way to maximize what I'm able to do for this one in particular. They are fine with me finding people to work with, but don't want to do it themselves.

I certainly don't fully understand your relationship with your customer(s). However, in the recent past I have raised my rates with existing clients by 50% with zero complaints. And if they expect you to find other programmers to accomplish additional work, your increase rate can be attributed to "management" fees.

You're trying to outsource work you charge $60/hr for, at 1/4 to 1/2 the cost. That's a lot of markup, given that you aren't having to actively find work, deal with potential bad clients, etc.

Yeah I know. I'm a little more flexible with what I'm willing to pay, but I know there will be a lot of management on my part, so some margin has to be there to make it worthwhile.

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