Perks for new programmers

Question

I intend on hiring 2-3 junior programmers right out of college. Aside from cash, what is the most important perk for a young programmer? Is it games at work? I want to be creative... I want some good ideas

Answer 1

I think having good challenges and learning opportunities is critical. That's true when you're above the junior level too.

Answer 2

The opportunity to work alongside experienced programmers.

Answer 3

I personally like the office my company gave me.

Answer 4

I always love going to conferences and training and consider that a perk. Not all companies pay to have their devs continue to learn. There's always more to learn. You benefit because they are learning more. They benefit from that too, but also have fun and get away from things for a couple of days and get to mingle with other devs.

Answer 5

be flexible about the starting hour.

Answer 6

Two flat-screen monitors, an optical mouse -- two things I don't currently have -- and each their own whiteboard with a few markers.

Answer 7

Flexible Schedule

Good PTO Program

Fun & Exciting Technology/Toys

Relaxed Work Atmosphere

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A great idea would be to let all your devs design their own workspaces. Different people need different environments to be productive.

Answer 8

The opportunity to work alongside experienced programmers.

And also the possibility of learn from them.

Answer 9

Philip Greenspun wrote about this once. He suggested making the office a better place to be than home, which is easier for young programmers. For example, domestic hardware that someone living alone cannot justify: expensive coffee machine, pool table, huge TV with DVDs to watch.

Make the office more sociable: put beer in the fridge and have a drink together at the end of the day. Provide better food (easy for people who can't cook): get deli deliveries or a caterer.

Answer 10

Good hardware: I'd be very interested if I was told that I would get a desktop system (WinXP is still my system of choice) and a Linux server box. Something I have root on and can run services on (local at a minimum, world visible would be nice.) A Virtual private server in the company data center instead of dedicated hardware would also work.

Another thing that would be nice would be access to good references: "We will buy you any books that are apropos to your job!" same with software to some point, "if it's under $60, we will just get it."

Edit: large screenS on pivot stands, good chairs, white boards, etc.

Answer 11

The access to training and mentors. The things that Junior developers want is pretty much what every programmer that I know wants. They want to work in a relaxed and flexible environment with people who are at least as smart as them if not smarter. They want to feel like they are a part of something. They want to constantly be learning.

Make sure that you have a training/book budget. Make sure that they are always learning and always have something interesting to work on. Make sure that you do team building or some kind of thing like that on a fairly regular bases. Lunch and learns are an increasingly popular tool these days.

One thing that Junior Developers might like more than more Senior developers is the use of cutting edge or even bleeding edge technology. Be careful about this one, cause it can byte you in the butt, but it always helps.

Answer 12

• Give them each a budget and let them configure their own computer setup. Make them submit a plan for what they intend to purchase. Talk over the plan with them. It will be a great way to kick things off.

• Give them a budget for a cell phone and unlimited plan that the company will pay for.

• Pay for their home Internet service.

Little things like these they will show their friends to the response of, "Cool - I wish my company did that!"

Answer 13

Treat them as peers

Answer 14

One nice perq we have here (beyond training, great environment, and the rest) is subsidized gym membership.

Answer 15

give them responsibilities and some degree of freedom.

make them feel like they are developing something for themselves, with passion

Answer 16

Being able to work remotely + flexible hours, Tech books give-a-way, and lots of love!

Answer 17

Lets them, on company time, do some private projects (things that could be useful for the company, but things they get to pick)

Answer 18

The Joel Test has some good ideas, although you might not consider them "perks".

Answer 19

I'm currently slightly experienced but I still call myself junior. Here is what I appreciate of my employer:

• Buys me books. I have a diverse taste from C# to perl to C to Asm to database design to tsql etc. Book prices vary from $20 to $50. This usually requires a PO and approval and such.
• Allows me to critique current projects. I've re-written a few project to be MUCH cleaner through the experience I gain. Each time I document why I made those changes. Every now and then I re-write my re-writes. It's amazing to see how much you change. I do this one on my own. I initiated it.
• A fast computer and a 24" monitor. This actually helps a lot, but for any developer. Less frustration and more code on the screen. Monitor also rotates for those kinds of days.

Answer 20

There are a number of things that come to mind, and not even for junior people.

• Training packages for use with conferences, certifications, or something similar. Showing a dedication to future growth in the field
• Provide flexiable starting times especially to those just getting out of college and not used to working a "day job"
• if In an environment where they must work from home, help them out a bit there, subsidize internet service, and/or company cell phone. If you must have access to them, giving them a way to do it helps.

Answer 21

In my experience, good programmers want to program with as few distractions as possible. Some of these are more relevant to big companies, and I'm not sure where you work, but here are some examples:

• Casual dress code: Young programmers in particular will have a tough time avoiding resentment of a strict dress code. "I'm just going to sit at my desk all day--why do I need to wear slacks/polos/other uncomfortable business clothes?" In my opinion, this is half rebellion and half honest productivity-seeking: It really is much easier to program in jeans and a t-shirt than slacks and a formal button-down. The question you probably need to ask yourself is if the potential productivity gain and morale boost is worth the potential loss of "professional" atmosphere. It all depends on your situation... there are startups and Fortune 500 companies out there which allow jeans & t-shirts.
• Few meetings: Almost nothing is more distracting than a constant stream of meetings. Try to avoid team-wide "status meetings" that could be carried out via individual e-mails or conversations. Programmers like it when their employer lets them program.
• Experienced coworkers: Good programmers want to improve. If any of your other employees have contributed to big open source projects, or have worked individually on some particularly successful internal projects, let your prospectives know!
• Private offices: This is rarely practical anywhere but venture-capitalized startups, but if you can offer candidates their own offices, they'll leave the interview with hearts in their eyes. Programming is so much easier when you aren't distracted by foot traffic and people singing happy-birthday one cube over.
• Cool stuff: If you can afford it, subsidize games for lunch breaks and post-work hang out sessions.
• Best practices: This will ensnare good programmers and intimidate less experienced ones: Show that your candidates will be working with reliable, sane version control, and that there are coding standards about unit tests or inheritance or anything. Organization is important.
• Don't nickel-and-dime: If you can be flexible with hours, do it! No one likes having to clock out every time they go to the restroom; it feels like you're not being valued as an employee.
• Dual monitors: Instant win for almost any programmer who's worked with dual monitors before.

Answer 22

Work from home. (for voting)

Answer 23

Casual dress (for voting)

Answer 24

Private offices (for voting)

Answer 25

Good hardware (for voting)

Answer 26

The chance to devote time to learning. Give them the chance to spend longer than expected for a task so that they can pore through books and search across the net to learn the best way to do things. Give them O'Reilly books. Encourage them to spend time reading them. Encourage them to make connections online and become familiar with sites such as this one where they can learn the habit of trying to program well instead of trying to program just to get done.

Yes, that's a perk. For them as well as for you. :)

Answer 27

• Admin rights to their PCs
• An internet connection that's not gimped by bizzaro proxy rules
• Dual Monitors
• Work from home privileges

• A soda fountain (not a drinking fountain that dispenses soda instead of water ala Brawndo, but like you'd use at the Taco Bell to refill your drink)

  

Answer 28

I won't claim this is the most important perk, but I know of a company that has season tickets to all the local sports teams, and employees can use the tickets for free on a rotating basis. It's pretty popular.

Answer 29

Actually, Joel Spolsky has a really good article on this subject that I refer to from time to time:

Joel on Attracting Developers

EDIT: I read Joel's book on hiring devs, Smart and Gets Things Done. In the book, he says that this article is an embarassing bubble-era relic and he has learned a lot since then. I don't think the blog post is all bad, but it's true that the book is a lot more sophisticated.

Answer 30

My company has purchased an O'Reilly Safari Online account for each of our developers. I have access to thousands of books online at any time.

We also have training videos available at online from CBT Nuggets but I find their content limited.

Also, some productivity tools, for Visual Studio, such as CodeRush/Refactor Pro or Resharper

Quality Coffee in-house.