In a software company, or a product company where the product has software in (like a car), where to developers sit?
I know at many engineering majors, engineers are seen as a cost - if you can do the same work with less engineers, then you make more money.
Does that mean that only pre-sales engineers and consultants billed to a customer are 'front office'?
It seems to me that the way to earn an unusually large amount of money is to get/stay hired for your name, and not as a commodity.
Name brand ex professor researchers at Google and Microsoft, consultants that the company knows customers know from speaking engagements, and engineers famous throughout a large company as being highly capable, earn a lot of money. You can see how much an engineer costs on salary.com. How much would you pay to hire Paul Graham?
Depends on the software company. And also the problem domain. In a software company that does a lot of customized work, engineers are closer to the front. If the company only incidentally produces software, you're closer to the back. Obviously these are gross generalizations.
I worked with some guys who did highly specialized embedded software development through a small consultancy. These weren't famous or highly pedigreed guys, just good at their niche. Given their billing rates, they probably made double what they would have doing similar work at a device company.
I know at many engineering majors, engineers are seen as a cost - if you can do the same work with less engineers, then you make more money.
Does that mean that only pre-sales engineers and consultants billed to a customer are 'front office'?
It seems to me that the way to earn an unusually large amount of money is to get/stay hired for your name, and not as a commodity.
Name brand ex professor researchers at Google and Microsoft, consultants that the company knows customers know from speaking engagements, and engineers famous throughout a large company as being highly capable, earn a lot of money. You can see how much an engineer costs on salary.com. How much would you pay to hire Paul Graham?