> I am in a situation in which a university has a set salary guideline for
> programmer position classifications and if I want to hire an entry-lever
> dev, the salary is too low to be competitive and if I want to hire a more
> experienced dev in a higher classification, the competitive salary amount
> exceeds what my library cannot afford. So as a compromise I am thinking
> about going the route of posting a half-time position in a higher
> classification so that the salary would be at least competitive. It will
> get full-time benefits on a pro-rated basis. But I am wondering if this
> strategy would be viable or not.
>
> Also anyone has a experience in hiring a developer to telework completely
> from another state when you do not have previous experience working with
> her/him? This seems a bit risky strategy to me but I am wondering if it may
> attract more candidates particularly when the position is half time.
>

I think your idea of trying to be more competitive in a higher
classification is a solid one. The way natural selection works when you
don't pay competitively is that the good people move along relatively soon
while those who are less employable tend to stick around. This causes
trouble in the long term.

Hiring from another state can work great, and you'll probably need to do
this if you can only offer half time. As a practical matter, it works just
as well as a short distance telecommute since you interact the same way .
Going the contract route can also work, but keep in mind that might have a
huge impact on your range of motion as policies governing outside
contractors can make simple things complicated. I would avoid contract
labor for anything you intend to maintain over the long term. Even if
someone can build something that somehow requires no troubleshooting or
maintenance, there will be heck to pay when technology cycles force
migrations.

kyle