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Expensify CEO On 'Why We Won't Hire .NET Developers'

Posted by Soulskill on from the in-the-first-world-we-work-hard-to-discriminate dept.

TheGrapeApe writes "The CEO of San Francisco-based, VC-backed startup Expensify wrote a post on the company's blog about why he considers .NET experience on a resume a general liability, saying that it will 'definitely raise questions' when screening for developers in his shop. Quoting: '.NET is a dandy language. It's modern, it's fancy, it's got all the bells and whistles. And if you're doing Windows Mobile 7 apps (which the stats suggest you aren't), it's your only choice. But choosing .NET is a choice, and whenever anybody does it, I can't help but ask "why?"' Does he have a point? Or is it counterproductive to screen devs out based on what platforms or languages they have used in the past?"

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  1. Re:My experience by clifyt · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Yeah...and this is what short term nerds don't get.

    It is much easier to find a Windows Admin than it is a Unix admin...and generally much cheaper. I prefer Unix and I can admin it -- but I try to stay as far away from IT as I can these days...I technically still manage the nerds in my office -- but I can't find a single one that that knows UNIX and works within my price range.

    Even in the job I do now (psychometrics / psychological testing) -- I pull up a unix terminal and run unix based CLI stats apps to get my work done and even after trying to explain to my coworkers they can do their job in a 10th of the time if they learn how to use this, they refuse to because running unix or even the standard CLI app is beyond most people.

    To find staff members that could do this would be next to impossible as there aren't many psych nerds with the same background I do. So we use what people use...training would be VERY expensive...and by the time they learn, they'd be ready to move on (most are grad students).

    So, yes, TCO is very much real. It is also how I justify buying Macs when the rest of my staff uses Windows. Costs more for my MBP than the $500 Dell laptop of the week...but I get so much more done on it.

    People that don't understand TCO shouldn't comment on it. Sadly, nerds on this site really don't understand that 95% of the world isn't at their technical level...and once you get out of the IT realm, it is closer to 99% of the population. You quickly figure out that you can use something cheaper and more powerful and get no use out of it -- or you can use something more expensive and less powerful -- but you'll see results from your employees. TCO.