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So that specific company either doesn't hire, or hires for less compensation, if they can find it. But that doesn't mean that there's a shortage of workers. I

So that specific company either doesn't hire, or hires for less compensation, if they can find it. But that doesn't mean that there's a shortage of workers. It means that that company isn't paying the market rate and thus will pull the good old H1B trick.

cortesoft 11y ago
If lots of companies that have a need can't fill that need at a price they can afford, that is by definition a shortage. Of course a company could hire a worker if they spent enough money; even in the middle of a famine, you can find food if you have enough money. Are there a lot of engineers sitting around unemployed, not taking these jobs that are offered because they aren't paying enough? I don't think that is the case - if there were, those people would start taking those jobs at the lower pay. Since this isn't the case, imagine what you say starts happening - those companies with openings raise the pay enough to find a candidate. Where do you think that person is coming from? Not a pool of unemployed engineers, but from a pool of engineers working at other companies. So now, that other company has an open position. You have not changed anything, just shifted the problem to another company. Sure, an individual company can deal with a shortage by just paying more, but that doesn't fix the industry wide issue. I know as engineers, the shortage is great for us. It drives up our wages, and it benefits me greatly. I make a lot more than most other industries. But that doesn't mean there isn't a shortage.
- tankerdude 11y ago
  The pool of unemployed engineers is of decent size, especially people who are over 40. We know that ageism exists in tech, and many are deemed not even worthy of an interview. I will also disagree that these companies "cannot afford it". Who are the ones complaining? They are mainly very large corporations, or at least the ones that are being heard. Do you really think that hiring of an engineer here will make it so that they will become unprofitable? It's the old saying of, "if you've been unemployed for X number of months, you will get shunned". So again, it's supply/demand. If you want to pay less, why not just hire give the unemployed guys a shot at that lower pay? It's part of doing business. So pay less for less quality, but that's not what companies want. They want to pay less but for a higher quality. Like all things economics, we can have a substitute. It might be an inferior one, but you're not sure. As far as wages, meh. I dunno. Once you hit a certain level these days, you kind of top out in engineering, or what people _want_ to pay. And the top of the graph gets dragged down by the sheer number of H1Bs.

cortesoft 11y ago

If lots of companies that have a need can't fill that need at a price they can afford, that is by definition a shortage. Of course a company could hire a worker if they spent enough money; even in the middle of a famine, you can find food if you have enough money. Are there a lot of engineers sitting around unemployed, not taking these jobs that are offered because they aren't paying enough? I don't think that is the case - if there were, those people would start taking those jobs at the lower pay. Since this isn't the case, imagine what you say starts happening - those companies with openings raise the pay enough to find a candidate. Where do you think that person is coming from? Not a pool of unemployed engineers, but from a pool of engineers working at other companies. So now, that other company has an open position. You have not changed anything, just shifted the problem to another company. Sure, an individual company can deal with a shortage by just paying more, but that doesn't fix the industry wide issue. I know as engineers, the shortage is great for us. It drives up our wages, and it benefits me greatly. I make a lot more than most other industries. But that doesn't mean there isn't a shortage.

tankerdude 11y ago
The pool of unemployed engineers is of decent size, especially people who are over 40. We know that ageism exists in tech, and many are deemed not even worthy of an interview. I will also disagree that these companies "cannot afford it". Who are the ones complaining? They are mainly very large corporations, or at least the ones that are being heard. Do you really think that hiring of an engineer here will make it so that they will become unprofitable? It's the old saying of, "if you've been unemployed for X number of months, you will get shunned". So again, it's supply/demand. If you want to pay less, why not just hire give the unemployed guys a shot at that lower pay? It's part of doing business. So pay less for less quality, but that's not what companies want. They want to pay less but for a higher quality. Like all things economics, we can have a substitute. It might be an inferior one, but you're not sure. As far as wages, meh. I dunno. Once you hit a certain level these days, you kind of top out in engineering, or what people _want_ to pay. And the top of the graph gets dragged down by the sheer number of H1Bs.