Does 'cheap' offshore (non-NA) talent exist?

Question

Since the pandemic forced so many software developers to work remotely, it seems remote work has become much more accepted (though some companies are still fighting against it). For example, before the pandemic, my company wouldn't have thought of hiring contractors from agencies based in countries that would prohibit devs from coming into the office. But now we embrace it as part of our culture.However, with so many embracing remote work, I think there are more global opportunities than ever before, and so available local talent is harder to come by, which means salaries are increasing at an arguably unsustainable pace. This is great for developers, but makes it harder for businesses to afford, thereby pushing some businesses to explore offshore/nearshore hiring.Unfortunately, the challenge doesn't end there. For example, the cost of living for many Eastern European countries is many times less than in North America, yet the cost of hiring developers in these countries can be the same or more than what you might pay for local talent. I've recently reviewed a number of candidates from agencies based in Bulgaria, Poland, and Ukraine - all of which are looking for ~10k USD/month for mid-level developers (3-5 years experience). These rates kill the viability of outsourcing, leaving us right where we started.Have you found talent in non-North American regions for an amount of any significant savings? Thanks for reading, I'm really curious to know your perspective/experience!

quickthrower2 · Accepted Answer

You want below market value talent, you will need to hunt.
Every good developer knows what money they can get. If a good dev is working for $50k a year in eastern europe it is because they love the job for some other reason or do not want to work for a foreign company.
If you want cheap and good you need to turn off a filter the mainstream uses.

tkiolp4 · Answer

Talented engineers know their value. It doesn&rsquo;t matter where they live. Do you really think that a talented ukranian or mexican developer would offer their services cheap? They are probably realistic enough to not charge 100% what Silicon Valley engineers charge, but they will charge at least 80%. They are not dumb.

neximo64 · Answer

It does, hire directly instead using an agency that is a middleman.

dstala · Answer

Exists, but very very hard to find without middle man agency. Hence escalated cost.
Services in India end up hiring from colleges, train and prepare for market. Hence they charge a premium.
Keep exploring in github, linkedin for direct hires. Have a good mechanism to shortlist. Good mechanism to evaluate. Good mechanism to validate culture fit
Sadly not many appreciate ESOPs though.

psikomanjak · Answer

Have you looked into non-EU member countries in Europe, say Kosovo or Macedonia? Let me know if you are interested and I can help. My email is in my profile.

Daishiman · Answer

Good engineers are still hard to find globally, news at 11.

bjourne · Answer

I think H1B visas might be the perfect choice for your company. Import highly experienced resources from third world countries that dream of living in the US. Pay them subsistence salaries. Let the resources know that you will terminate their visa if they complain about low pay or high workload. Win win for everyone!

highhedgehog · Answer

You can contact me, for instance :)