HACKER Q&A
📣 blockwriter

How much would you pay an undergraduate full-stack developer?


I run a small literary publishing operation and I have been writing a little Flask based web app to augment the operations. I am in correspondence with a local university near Chicago that I reached out to about hiring a student. I am hoping to learn a lot about hiring a developer and developing a product. In time, this product may become public facing and commercial. How much would you pay an undergraduate? Would you pay them hourly or on a longer term basis?

If you want a little more context about the stack and etc., a brief write-up can be found here: https://www.broadaxepublications.com/home/2022/1/1/song-of-the-broad-axe-publications-is-hiring-a-full-stack-developer-rzzsn

Edit: I should say that I am not a professional developer. I think I did a pretty good job with the project, but it is the work of an amateur.


  👤 errantmind Accepted Answer ✓
I started a full time job with regular (junior) developer pay while in my senior year of college. IMO I delivered as much work as anyone else. I wouldn't have accepted less than a full salary but that may be just me.

If you are looking to be 'cost effective' I'd find someone actually interested in software engineering and not one of the many people who went into CS because of the pay.

Not knowing the specifics of your situation I'd try to find a student with some experience very similar to the work you are doing. The further away their experience is the lower your chances of success, as a student isn't likely to have a wide and deep skill set.


👤 uberman
Just a heads up that some students may be restricted by hours/pay due to Visa requirements.

I recommend you work with the career/placement department. They can likely give you feedback on pay.


👤 killingtime74
Are you trying to save money by hiring an undergraduate? Or giving them an opportunity to break into tech?