[ticmasta]

Remote as a cost-cutting measure is the same as offshore, with the same poor results. There is no emphasis on quality; you've traded that dimension for some balance of cost & functionality.

As soon as you move beyond trivial software projects the true effort is in the domain which depends on visibility and communication. You can do this with remote but I think it actually costs more outside of all but the highest tier labour markets.

We really need to work to define remote as a supply sourcing solution and kill the notion of a cost control solution, otherwise we'll never be able to build fully integrated delivery teams out of globally-distributed people.

[weq]

As a dev who has worked in lucrative markets (defence contractor, tech-citys) for 10+ years, ive just taken a paycut (30%) to go remote only.

Everyone trades things off differently. I couldnt be more happier. When i was making more money; i had more debt and less time. That equation only gets higher as you get more senior. So yeh, i couldnt care less a google grad is making more then me - i dont work for an evil company, i can work flexibly, i can do overtime without having to travel, i can literly get in my car, travel 1000miles, setup my 4g next to a beach, and goto work. When i have a children i dont have to be an absent parent.

Money / Time / Happiness. Pick 2.

[sethhochberg]

For sure - if you make all of the same mistakes with remote teams that companies are so prone to making with offshoring companies (little to no integration into the rest of the business, little vetting of individual contributors, using metrics to incentivize all of the wrong kinds of behavior, chasing low costs instead of skill and business value) you'll get all of the same typically-horrible results.

[weq]

My company offshores, has remote only roles, has an in-house office, and wework offices across captial cities. They also pay their workers based on where the company headquaters is, not their locale.

Work of the future will need to be flexible. I envisage the rat race of the future being for unskilled labour.

[planetburgess]

Some countries are just cheaper to employ in. That dooes not mean that people there are any less talented.