Re:“I've had to relearn coding to get through the new interv...
by ghaff on Friday December 04, 2020 @08:49AM
(#25302169)
It's hard not to see Bay Area software developer wages, especially at the big "tech" companies, as something of a bubble. They're completely out of line with engineering and science jobs more broadly, including software engineering jobs in much of the US.
Which does suggest that someone going into software just for the money or, as GP or so commented, going through the motions and spending all their time prepping for Google interviews may be chasing a pretty transitory target.
Historically there's very little to suggest that the segment of one profession that's largely in one geographic area can sustainably capture super-premium compensation even though it doesn't really require a higher level of skill than many others have throughout the country (and the world).
And the fact that a lot more flexibility in living location has come in essentially overnight means that a lot of companies are going to start looking more skeptically at some of the premiums they're paying.
Lower labor costs mean lower costs passed on to the end users which means more products in the wild which means a bigger industry. It's only a problem if you're worried about being out-competed by "those hicks in the flyover states".
Techies complaining about companies moving out sounds a lot like the guy who worked the UAW system for 30yr so he could land a buddy position where he does nothing for $60/hr complaining about non-union factories and companies moving to Mexico. In both cases it's a tacit acknowledgement that the gravy train is unsustainable.
Yeah wages might be slightly lower in 40yr but that's a reflection of the difference between being an electrician in 1910 vs being an electrician in 1950 after the last of the line shaft industries had long been converted, once all the heavy lifting and low hanging fruit has been picked there's just a lot less cash sloshing around driving up prices and wages. The people who just want to be mediocre and punch a clock will still make a decent wage but the difference is that mediocrity and job hopping aren't enough to make you big bucks in a stable industry like they are in a rapidly growing industry flush with cash. In a stable industry you actually have to be worth the big bucks.