The first issue you might find is to actually find a proper software architect, if your project is porn related. Like mentioned by edgeprod, programmers that are of senior level have more work that they can handle. That means that they choose what benefits them the most, in salary and in "fun at work".

Now, if your project is adult related, most senior software engineer won't touch your project. This is a problem most big adult related companies are facing.

But, if you are paying enough, you might be able to get a few. However, you need to know how to spot a senior software architect vs someone that thinks he is senior.

The best bet would be to talk about design patterns. If he can't name and explain the obvious ones, stay away from the guys. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_design_pattern )

Then, asks him questions related to Dependency Injection ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_injection ). If he can't answer, he is not a senior.

Then, asks him how he tests his softwares. If he is not unit & infrastructure testing all his code or if he's not creating reports related to his code's tests coverage, then he is not a senior.

Then, ask him questions about continuous integration ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_integration ). If he can't answer you, don't bother, he is not a senior.

Ask him about the books (related to software engineering) he reads and enjoys. Then, have a look on amazon and see if the books are related to any of the subjects mentioned above. If not, don't bother, he is not a senior.

Then, asks him about creating a RESTful API to encapsulate all your business logic, so that you can easily and quickly create sites, on different platforms, without re-writing all your business logic everywhere ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Represe...state_transfer ). If the guy doesn't know how to WRITE RESTful API's CORRECTLY, don't bother, he is not a senior.

That being said, if the guy is really a senior, expect to pay around 150k$ for his work. If quality is very important for you, you should invest in a senior software architect that write code.

However, if you need to create projects quickly and you are in the "we create demos and quick projects to test the water" mode, then go with a cheap hacker that can "get the job done". Then, when the project makes money and you need it to work properly, invest in a senior software architect to re-write your whole platform. Then, you will reach quality.

For a hacker that can "get the job done", the salary is around 60k-80k here in Montreal. These people normally have around 2-5 years of experience. However, some people stays juniors all their life.

For junior developers, the salary is around 35k-50k here in Montreal. Junior are basically developers that just got out of school or have less than 1-2 years of experience. However, some people stays juniors all their life.

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For the people that care...

You can unit test your code in php using PHPUnit: http://www.phpunit.de/manual/current/en/

Selenium is used to do Infrastructure testing: http://seleniumhq.org/

Jenkins is a continuous integration platform: http://jenkins-php.org/
Jenkins can be used with PHP: http://jenkins-php.org/

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Good luck finding someone!

Really man, why do you think it's not possible to have a senior programmer for less then 2,9k a month? Once i have free time, let's make an interview with few of my guys and you will see for yourself...
Top companies here are working with my guys and they are more then happy...
Maybe you are top of the top of the senior programmers and that's great... but other then that there are senior programmers with 5+ yrs of experience who works for less then 2,9k a month... We are not talking about west world...

We have one of biggest Microsoft development centers here and there is just not enough work for everyone...And they are more then happy to earn 2k+ a month with us in a country where average salary is 500, and they don't need to bust their brain to find a freelance work... Not everyone likes to hunt for work, lot of them loves steady and secure salary, keep that on mind.

And i like to say we have smart ppl down here, remember Tesla, Pupin, Milankovic,Einstein wife(math science) were all from here, so there are plenty of smart ppl to hire.... And we are country gone trough wars, very bad economy etc... And having 2,000+ american dollars... a month, steady income... is just amazing down here...
Tons of ppl here works for only 200 bucks a month, at least 50% of them... So ppl don't risk much here.

Too long to fully quote, but that was a very good post!

:thumbsup

I don't think anyone here takes PenisFlogger seriously anyway, so me and Dom aren't really worried about him.

High-5. Appreciate you, bro.


You're right, I shouldn't have assumed. I am reacting more to people throwing the term "senior" around loosely, rather than the price. I'd be happy to interview some of your coders.

good post

Thanks. Hopefully this will help someone ...

Without a doubt. All of that insight is golden. :thumbsup

HI HI HI... DO-MI-NI-CO is very angry today.

He has many reasons to be that way.

Eye for an eye, piriod.xxx

50 in house developers :)