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Comment by schmookeeg | Hacker News Reader

I'm overemployed as a 40+ but this would get a CV from me pretty quickly.

Offer some part-time options and you'll get a custom-crafted cover letter professing my love and why I am a perfect fit as well. :)

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Part time sounds magical. I think there would be a ton of very talented people interested in only working (and being paid for) 20 hours/week.

I've been doing 20 hours/week with occasional "overtime" periods i.e. 30-40 hours during crunch for the last 15 years and can't imagine ever doing full-time again. The QoL improvements are truly unbeatable, granted I take a huge pay-cut but life is more important than money.

Does your employer call you a part-time worker or are you a consultant for those hours?

As an employer, expecting all the benefits listed in top of thread (unlimited time off, health benefits, etc) and part time status combined with what is likely a pay rate high enough to do well on part time income, etc. This type of expectation is exactly why you’re unemployed for >1 year. If you actually want work you can find it. You’re effectively being stubborn on trying to sell a $1m house that the market values at $500k. No one is going to force you to lower your prices but the market isn’t sad about your house being unsold for over a year either. The market is moving without you.

I’m sure there’s various nuances to this and I’m assuming you are actively looking for work versus passively waiting for a perfect situation where a buyer loves your house enough to pay a premium but this actually sounds kinda disconnected from reality if that’s not the case.

in germany that's actually the law (except for the unlimited time off). you can't hire a contractor on a permanent part-time basis unless that contractor has other clients at the same time.

and the rest of the argument makes no sense. even as a contractor you'll have to pay enough to make up for the benefits they'd otherwise be getting (pro-rated of course. half the work time means half the value of benefits included). the average contracting rate is twice as high as the average salary for a reason.

Does the law require hiring German talent?

I wasn’t really trying to make a global statement. The audience here skews a certain way and My assumption is this attitude is the US Bay Area tech workers, or other exFAANG, used to making >$300k USD and would be glad to make make half part time, probably living in another locale where that translates to megabucks and they still get all the other benefits. It just doesn’t exist for a reason here.

ok, with those assumptions, i agree of course. it doesn't make sense to expect bay area pay for remote work. full or part-time. but i don't see that expectation in the thread, which is why your response seemed a bit odd. for myself i'd be happy with $50k USD remote part-time. is that more realistic?

I'm talking in generalizations of course. Although I did a quick google search and it seems you are asking roughly 1.5-2x going rates in Germany even for experienced devs. I'm sure your more aware of market rates in your locale than me but it feels like I'm paying a premium at this price. For me, it would have to match up with some specialized skills or some 'reason' to justify it.

The larger view I hold, that many don't agree with, is a) if I've already decided to go remote and b) my budget is $50k then c) I could hire a small team in India/Asia. I've personally never had problems sourcing talent in those locales with my types of workloads; which I admit are rather basic (web apps, ios, devops, etc). I'm not sure if that would be the case if I was building something hard like a new database or something.

i was looking at the US market. and i am talking about the upper bound of the range that i think i can ask for. for germany my expectations are lower. since so many applications ask for a salary expectations (some requiring a number to be filled in to even be able to submit the application), it matters to pick a good number. it shouldn't be to low, nor to high.

Definitely your choice to make in terms of what salary you'd accept however I don't really understand the strategy of yours. I, or any US company, could just hire in the US if I was paying higher US rates. I could avoid the timezone issues, potential language issues, would be easier to get together in person if ever needed, etc. and I don't have to learn/concern myself with German employment laws.

All things equal, skills and such, I think it would be fairly easy to find a US based candidate at this price for part-time work. So why would I bother hiring from another country unless it saves me money?

there is no strategy. i see a job that is not limited to US only, that fits my qualifications and i apply. if there is a question about salary, i try to guess what i should put there. i am afraid if i don't put enough it is also a negative selection criteria. so that is what i am trying to figure out now. for jobs that don't even ask for a salary it's a moot point.

I don't have to learn/concern myself with German employment laws

if you don't have a subsidiary in the EU or some kind of employer of record through which you hire someone one from the EU, then the employment laws would not be relevant to you. it would just be a contractor relationship.

why would I bother hiring from another country unless it saves me money?

good point. definitely something to consider. thank you.

Part-time. When I put in overtime, I book those hours into our time-management system which I can use at a later date to take time off when things slow down.

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