The case for a team
One junior hire, or a team?
Hiring one junior "AI person" is the default move. Here is what it looks like over twelve months next to a team, using a model you can adjust with your own numbers.
This is a model, not a survey. The inputs are our estimates, listed below the charts. Change them to match your situation and the charts update.
Work delivered, cumulative
One unit is one scoped workstream, such as an agent, an integration or a dashboard.
Money spent, cumulative
Close to the same line. The difference is what you get for it.
Cost per unit of work delivered
Total spend so far divided by work delivered so far. A junior's ramp-up makes the early months expensive.
View the data as a table
Coverage
The job post asks for six skill sets.
Agents, databases, integrations, security, dashboards and private models rarely sit in one junior. A team covers them all without anyone learning on your time.
| Skill area | Typical junior generalist | Lynx AI Labs team |
|---|---|---|
| AI agents | Working knowledge | Strong |
| Databases and SQL | Working knowledge | Strong |
| Integrations and APIs | Working knowledge | Strong |
| Security | Still learning | Strong |
| Dashboards | Working knowledge | Strong |
| Self-hosted models (Qwen, Gemma) | Still learning | Strong |
Our own assessment of a typical junior generalist next to our team, not measured data.
How the model works
The assumptions, in plain sight.
- Junior cost is salary plus employer costs, spread evenly over twelve months. Recruiting fees are not counted, which favours the junior.
- Junior output is one unit a month at full speed. It climbs in equal steps over the ramp-up period, then is reduced by availability.
- Team output is the retainer's pace multiplied by 98% availability. The first month runs at 75% while we learn your stack.
- The pace multiples (1×, 2×, 3×) are our estimates based on several developers working in parallel. They are not guarantees, and the first-month scoping call is where we check them against your real work.
- Nothing here counts the cost of a bad hire, a resignation, or a rehire. Those would widen the gap.