Hold on! Don't hire anyone! I will complete your project for $199.95*. Just to be sure, post the spec. UML if you've got it. And a few use-cases too. Make sure the use-cases are comprehensive, preferably illustrated with stick figure drawings. Don't listen to your advisors on this thread, they're all FOS. * plus expenses
Guys what about doing a hybrid solution... Opening up the base I got so far AND hiring one guy to work an a open source project? If all goes well, I get free testers and potentially one (in effective terms) developer for free? Volonteurs... I'm looking at you Emilio
This kind of project is a good candidate for agile/iterative development i.e. BRUF (Big Requirements Up Front) is not mandated and can frequently act as a straight-jacket for both the developer and the product owner.
Hi, Can I ask how much you pay for these Uni kids? I need a programmer and thinking of going down this route. You can PM me if you like. Cheers.
Gekko, I paid to a professional programmer with 10 years exp... who charged an arm and a leg... for a half finished project...with bugs... this is dangerous territory!
Depends, I usually pay them whatever they ask - usually project based so not a set hourly rate. I've also been working with a few programmers (PhD candadites) from Moscow State University. They are very very very very very very smart and driven/hard workers and will do for me in $20k what someone from the US would ask $300k/year for. You have to develop your own connections/network for this. My wife works at a University so she brings me home flyers all the time from the boards "will code for food" type things. I just find them randomly and use trial & error to hang on to the good ones and not work with the others past their first project. I can't stress enough that its a very bad idea to work with programmers that are also traders.
This in no way translates to hiring one consultant... Because your Top 2-3 guys are doing all the complex work... And the rest are grinding out support code. If you hire one guy at $60K... 90% chance he wastes 3-6 months of your time... And leaves a mess when he disappears. Truly talented people... Are virtually all working on their own business ideas... You probably wouldn't meet any of them... They don't interview for $60K code grinding dead ends... Unless < 25 yo and building up startup capital.
This I absolutely agree with. Great software engineers... Have made a total commitment to their software careers... They are not dreaming of becoming "traders".
What do you think of software developers who USED TO BE traders and are now full time developers?? Thanks.
You are trying to ask one person to do the work of a team of professionals. The idea that you're going to finance an IB api client and automate some of your strategies on a <$250k budget when you don't know anything about the programming world is a total fantasy. That should be obvious at this point. Anybody who would even consider hiring university students or "will code for food" programmers to build a platform to put their risk capital into play is CRAZY. If you take your project at all seriously, get a copy of your local small business journal and identify a couple of ~100+ person consulting shops (preferably agile development shops) and get a project quote. Your eyes will be opened, and maybe then you can make an informed decision. Don't keep throwing good money after bad.