Let’s give respect to those sharp and serious hiring managers out there.

There are solid developers and there are fake ones. Some smart hiring managers will be able to tell the difference. They make wrong hires and they improve. They probably won’t rely solely on those silly threading questions or those standard questions from [[effective java]].

In the top echelon of well-run trading firms, there are smart hiring managers who know the market . Suppose the average rate is 80/hr corp to corp. If he himself is a solid hands-on developer (I think many are) he knows how to size up another developer. Suppose he is looking to impress his boss and he needs a really good, productive developer and he has a big budget like $200/hour,  what would he do? He won’t throw such big money on some fake guy.

He might advertize a rate of $100/hour corp to corp. He would do his phone screening, invites some 10% of the candidates onsite. If no one is quite up to the mark, some hiring managers simply wait for the right candidate to turn up.

Once you are selected, you must deliver. It’s possible that some team members are paid lower but are very good. It’s possible that some team members are paid the same as you but are very good. It’s easy to compare. If they realize you are slower, then they will make you improve, or….