Drupal Developer Rates - What is wrong with off-shore?

Why not off-shore the need for Drupal talent?

Although off-shore firms were under cutting local developers for a time 2007-2010, this period is coming to an end. Many clients have suffered trying to do their first update after getting a really cheap deal by working with an off-shore company. That is, if the site even got finished in the first place. Drupal's power is highly flexible and extensible, but this also leaves it ripe for abuse or poor workmanship. Word has gotten around about the quality of off-shore work and this is coming to an end. Clients are now recognizing that what they NEED is Quality and what they WANT is Cheap. Time to grow up! NEED and WANT are two different things. Better make sure you get what you NEED first! The client needs quality and If one can deliver quality in half the time are they not worth twice as much? or more?

An off-shore firm with a primary business model of under cutting local markets is misconceived from the start. Once a resource within one of these firms obtains talent, they leave because they can make a much larger rate on their own or with a company. These off-shore firms are leaking talent. I don't believe that there are any viable off-shore firms at this time (period). I would love to see an off-shore firm whose business model is built on quality first and cost second!

Don't get me wrong I am not speaking of the hordes of remotely working Drupal developers. Location does not matter so much. Hell, I have a client in NY and one in LA but I live in Iowa. Remote is viable. Under cutting the market so deeply is not sustainable as a business model, but it is really bad when those claiming to be Drupal developers do shitty work. Bad Drupal construction is the worst thing ever for good Drupal developers.

Staffing agencies are having the same problem locally. They are hard pressed to find and keep good Drupal talent at reasonable rates because the clients are going around the agencies. I personally get several solicitations a week.

Experienced Drupal Developer = Software Engineer

Gone are the days of building websites, we are building applications. Albeit some are small applications, but Drupal developers are software engineers and the client's lack of understanding of this is what keeps them from accepting higher rates.

My clients learn this (eventually). The internet is one big application. We think nothing of logging in anymore. We think nothing of filling out those image tests (captcha) to prove we are humans. We expect our websites to know who we are and what we want. They are applications doing everything for their potential client: Tracking, Nurturing, Selling, Up Selling, Knowledge bases, Customer Service, Billing and beyond. The good people are not developers they are Architects and Engineers.
When you find that gem of a Drupal engineer who can make your site do back bends in no time at all, quarantine them and feed them well. Keep them happy, busy and stimulated. And pay them fairly or someone else will.