[ChrisMarshallNY]

> people think former freelancers won't ever be loyal and leave once there is a better opportunity.

I think that's ironic. The entire software development industry in the US is based around retaining full-time employees for stints of 18-24 months.

I remember being lectured that no one wants to hire me because "I'm just waiting for retirement," and "won't be loyal."

Yet they don't have an issue with hiring someone that plans to use their gig as a stepping stone, and will leave behind a steaming pile of spaghetti code that they never had any intentions of maintaining.

There's a real good chance that offering senior developers stability and consistency will be valuable.

I ran a C++ shop, staffed by pretty high-functioning senior developers, for a long time.

When we finally rolled up the department, the engineer with the least seniority had a decade.