Don't get me wrong, in Russia, you have many times more people with 6 years degrees in the industry than in US. That's a hard fact. And so is China for as long as you consider the part of the workforce born after economic liberalisation in parts of the country where the industry took off.
>not the broader question at stake
Well, I was just trying break the going narrative of "Internet troll" being thrown on every "looser" or basically unpopular person with Internet presence.
I'm confused, what does the comparison of the number of higher education degrees between the US, Russia and China have to do with taking your skills to a "developing nation"? Are China and Russia supposed to be considered developing nations in this comparison?
As such, your using them as examples or counter examples of developing countries is confusing (at least to me), and I think is misinterpreting the meaning of the original statement.
Indeed. Me coming back to Russia was nowhere near a typical "downshifting" case. If I were to compete with locals on the job market, I wouldn't have lasted long. People who can ace ACM olympics prequalification tests are only passing as junior devs here.
TFA is set in Tokyo, which is decidedly not the West. Yes, you can take your skills and go to a developing nation where you will probably be much more qualified than most of the locals, but that's not the broader question at stake, nor does it really take into account what the lives of locals are like. I have faith that the world will, eventually, be filled with mostly developed nations. These problems increasingly seem to be plaguing all developed nations.