Joel On Software : “Hitting The High Notes”

Joel On Software : "Does it even make sense to talk about having the "best programmers?" Is there so much variation between programmers that this even matters? Maybe it's obvious to us, but to many, the assertion still needs to be proven."

Unfortunately the work I do is actually mostly "doing IT for some bank" as Joel refers to it, but it's still my opinion that if you've got a talented, motivated developer on the team, the work they can produce is often five, ten times the output and quality of the average developer who's just walked in the door. The difference between someone who "gets it", is productive, has been around the block a few times and intuitively seems to know how to solve a problem, and someone who's just been brought in because they're cheap and available is pretty significant, and once you've got someone good, it never fails to amaze me how they end up leaving shortly afterwards because of short sighted policies thought up by management. So there you go.