vbordo

Not quite sure why you're getting downvoted. Might be due to your friend's unsubstantiated claim tech workers (on average) are overpaid while underdelivering. However, the core observation is reasonable. Layoffs create desperation in the labor pool which is likely to drive median tech wages down. This benefits companies opex long-term as they restart the hiring cycle over the next couple quarters. Doubtful we're seeing market-wide collusion on these layoffs but it certainly creates an institutional hiring advantage.

Because this program requires garbage collection :)

Agreed. You can also argue that inflated contract cost in a statement of work leads to artificial labor bloat on the project. This benefits the consulting firm while disadvantaging the client. The unnecessary labor can create collaboration friction and lead to technical decisions like adopting microservices despite not being necessary to fulfill the technical requirements of the project. This kind of complexity doesn't guarantee a higher quality product is delivered to the client. Instead, it's used to justify follow-on work, further extracting dollars from the client.

It's possible there's context we don't have that exponentially increases the complexity of their tech requirements and justifies the price here but I'm skeptical. Looks more like misaligned economic incentives commonly at play in engagements between consulting firms and the gov.

Hey, reach out anytime if you just want someone to chat with. Email is in my bio.

This is a misapplication of an ideological statement about abortion. Disregarding the guidance of health professionals such as wearing a mask and socially distancing means endangering other people's lives.

Individual action can lead to collective action in any community. The trick is to distribute the weight of the barbell across a group with shared goals. There's great power in this type of organizing. Movement is certainly possible.

Very cool. Have you written anything about your experience with it in prod and on side projects? I'd be interested to learn more.

Did you end up using Crystal in production?

I really like this idea. I'm unfamiliar with podcasting overhead in a marketplace model. What can you streamline to reduce episode prices?

A key difference overlooked in this perspective is that the professions you've listed don't actively probe about a candidates work outside of the hiring/talent discovery context. Their skill is judged by what they've produced that's directly relevant to the evaluation process. Comparing programmers to such a diverse array of disciplines requires a more detailed analysis.

A percentage of the software industry has a bias against programmers who don't code in their spare time because it's extremely difficult to evaluate technical talent. We lean on quality filters like number of hours spent on side projects that have sparse evidence to support their efficacy. While I'm skeptical that a general set of metrics exist we can use to perfectly evaluate technical skill across the industry, we can certainly do better.

Justin Vernon from Bon Iver strikes me as another pick for the PG of the music industry. He's an unconventional thinker, a bit of an outsider, and well-connected in the industry. This includes close ties to Kanye. Supposedly he's a fantastic collaborator too. It'd be fascinating if they partnered up to create the YC for artists.