[winestock]

Just because you're not in a cubicle doesn't mean that you've escaped the Dilbert comic strip.

Now that the shutdown of Google Reader is in the news, about two weeks ago, someone posted an offer on Elance for a website with a few RSS feeds posted to it. When I made a proposal asking for details, I got an e-mail essentially asking for Google Reader but with a snazzier user interface. Yup, the asking price was "less than $500."

I sent an e-mail in reply pointing this out as diplomatically as I could. A few days later, I got an e-mail saying that the project had been canceled.

It saddens and enrages me to ponder how many people either have so little respect for programmers or so much ignorance of programming that they think that they can get away with this. Would these people try the same thing with lawyers? Or even plumbers?

[rlpb]

> Would these people try the same thing with lawyers? Or even plumbers?

I'm sure that lawyers and plumbers field questions from people who don't understand what they cost all the time. It's part of doing business.

[cpursley]

Exactly. Developers really get their panties in a wad over this. Get over yourselves.

[winestock]

I did not downvote you, nor do I think that you should have been downvoted. Sure, perhaps plumbers and lawyers get unreasonable price requests as much as programmers. Sadly, getting panties in a wad over this — in one way or another — is the only way to keep wages up. If we are not for ourselves, then who will be?

[rlpb]

Supply and demand determine our wages. We compete in an international market. You can choose to refuse to take the job. But somebody somewhere may be prepared to accept a lower price, and you cannot control this.

If you want to get your panties in a wad, then go right ahead. But that won't help your cause.

If you want to keep your wages up, then find a market where there is a supply shortage, or increase your own quality so that you can command a higher price in the market that you're in.

[rartichoke]

I feel like this happens much less often for lawyers. I never heard of someone say "let's hire a lawyer, it'll cost almost nothing". It's always the exact opposite. People assume a lawyer is going to be really expensive because they are.

Everyone seems to always know their uncle's friend's nephew's brother who makes web sites for $100 so they assume a 2 page static site of horribad quality will cost the same as anything else.

[rlpb]

I guess that makes sense. Could this be because lawyers artificially limit their supply, so all lawyers are expensive?

On the other hand, programmers do not. There exist programmers who are cheap.

[rartichoke]

I don't think they artificially limit their supply. I'm not a lawyer but I'm pretty sure you need to pass a fairly difficult exam and maybe need some formal schooling?

That's going to cut down on the supply of lawyers.

Programming can also be done remotely. Having someone working in India where the cost of living for them might be 50x less than NYC is going to result in them working for a cheaper price than a programmer in NYC.

You can't really hire a plumber or lawyer from another country and expect them to be able to do their job remotely too.

[ssharp]

> It saddens and enrages me to ponder how many people either have so little respect for programmers or so much ignorance of programming that they think that they can get away with this. Would these people try the same thing with lawyers? Or even plumbers?

I don't think it should sadden or enrage you. The vast majority of people posting on these sites have very little idea what it takes to get things done, what constitutes quality work, etc. If they see they can get a dev to work on something for $5 / hour and detail what they want and get it delivered, I fail to see how it affects you in any way. There is always going to be a low-end market for developers. If wages in countries currently popular for outsourcing/contracting go up, there will be another group of developing countries with people willing to work for "low" wages.

If you're looking for work, I know at least oDesk allows you to filter based on price, so you don't need to see these types of jobs. I know many people are willing to pay higher wages to experienced designers and developers who do quality work, are reliable, and can easily understand specs and offer expertise. While I imagine a ton of work on these sites are done for $5-10/hour, I do see some people getting paid $50+/hour for their work.

[powertower]

They are not trying to get away with anything. They most likely don't know what they don't know (as that saying goes).

[laumars]

I can't speak for lawyers, but how many people bodge their own plumbing because they underestimate the skill required by professional, trained, plumbers?

[altrego99]

You would see similar offers for other professions, if there were sites called rentalawyer.com or rentaplumber.com.