Thanks for your question. You bring up a valid point – perhaps we weren’t very clear with regards to the monetary compesation that we’re offering.

"Competitive Pay" to us means just that. For the right candidate, we’re willing to pay what it takes to get them to work here. Given the types of benefits that we’re offering (or will soon be offering), this should be in the average to slightly-above-average range. We’re hoping that the perks we offer will more than make up for any salary deficiencies. I’ll be honest though, if $$$ are all that matters, working for XYZ Big Corp is probably the best bet.

Perhaps what you’re trying to get at is more along the lines of "is this a _senior_ or _entry level_ position?". Or more specifically, is this an entry level salary, or a "senior" _salary_? Since we don’t really believe in titles per se, I would have to defer to "is it the right person?". If a "senior" developer came along that completely blew us off our feet, and _wanted_ the job (felt challenged, was a good fit, etc), I would pull strings and I would make it happen. That being said, if a truly talented entry-level person came along and completely wow-ed us, I would certainly hire them as well.

Simply put, we’re not looking for specific titles, or years of experience, or buzz words. We’re looking for solid developers that have a passion for what they do, and who long for something better than sitting in a cube farm in Corporate America. Period.

Thanks again for your comment. It has really sparked quite a bit of debate between Kevin and myself, and actually has inspired a nice "compensation" blog post, which should be posted shortly. Check back soon, or subscribe to the feed for that..

Cheers,
Dusty

I think what Dusty is saying, and please, correct me if I’m wrong, is that the salary of the position will be proportional to the skill of the employee (and their worth to the company as a whole), but is capped below that of a larger corporation’s limits.

The APPEAL of working at Brightmix versus one of those corporations is the atmosphere, and, perhaps, a sense of belonging and greater self worth. You’re part of a very small, *passionate*, _motivated_ team, and as such are going to be a happier, more fulfilled individual. You will be an integral part of every project, you will communicate directly with the owners and your ideas will be _equally_ as important, and you won’t have any additional stress beyond what the task itself demands.

If money is your greatest concern, put your skills to work at a large company.

If you want to make less than obscene amounts of mula but go home every day feeling like you accomplished something with the help of close friends in a stress free environment, work for Brightmix.

Unfortunately, perks don’t pay the mortgage, put gas in the car, or put groceries on the table.

That probably explains why older developers work for megacorps and younger developers work for the small non-traditional companies. The younger guys love their free Mountain Dew and blue jean dress code and make enough to keep their 3D hardware up to date while living in mom and dad’s basement or a studio apartment. The older guys have wives, kids, and mortgages. As I indicated above, free Mountain Dew and casual dress is great, but you can’t pay the bills with them.

The team I’m on today recognizes me as "by far the best developer," but how would you recommend quantifying something like that?

And I don’t mean to be specific to this position, I’m just working to improve my image to prospective employers without much in the way of "proof" of my skill set, and I want to see how a business looks at a resume.

* Know ASP.NET, SQL Server, Javascript, and CSS extremely well.
i know PHP, Javascript, MySQL, and CSS extremely well… asp.net, only have had a few experiences with.
* Are able to take ownership of a project.
I’ll Own you, no seriously I like being a leader as well as a team-mate.
* Are professional, disciplined, focused, and willing to have some fun at work.
I work PT at quiznos, yet retain the professional attitude that goes above and beyond anyone in that chain of command.
* Are smart and able to get things done.
Shouldn’t this one be a given? You don’t want dumb lazy people!

* Know or have at least played around with Ruby on Rails.
I <3 RoR.
* Read computer/programming blogs. Having your own blog gains you even more points!
You know, in 96 I started an online journal. Over the next few years I learnt php and made my own "blogger" software. Too bad i didn’t release it before blogger.com was live. It was the same thing. Still have and use it today! Does it get me extra extra points if I’ve "developed" my own blogging software?
* Define yourself as a developer, not just a programmer.
See above, I actually like to think of myself as a Digital Engineer. A programmer follows insturctions, a developer gives those instructions, but an engineer creates those instructions.
* Like us, live, breath, sleep and dream in code.
Does it matter that I wrote games in notebooks while at school at Walnut? Sure they were for Qbasic and Commodore 64, but that was the start.