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The tech worker salaries are completely unreasonable compared to other jobs. The characters from the article could just agree to work for $60 000/year (which st

The tech worker salaries are completely unreasonable compared to other jobs. The characters from the article could just agree to work for $60 000/year (which still is a lot) and wouldn't lose their jobs.

codedokode 10y ago
Of course it is easy to pay high salaries with investors' money. I doubt a business owner would like to pay $120 000/year from his own income.
briandear 10y ago
No. When the value of the input exceeds its cost, then no, it's not "unreasonable." What's unreasonable is paying someone $15 per hour for unskilled labor you could teach a teenager to do in 15 minutes. The cost of the work exceeds its value.
- codedokode 10y ago
  That unskilled labour is probably more hard and tiring than sitting in a comfortable chair before a computer. If only there were more tech workers the market would set adequate price.
lostboys67 10y ago
I don't understand why there are self hating developers on HN or those who don't seem to grock the free market system - there is no god given "fair " rate for the job.
- geebee 10y ago
  Yeah, it is a little strange. People make statements about a "shortage" of workers without mentioning pay and working conditions. Or, if they do, they'll discuss a shortage at the "market rate", without considering that the "market rate" itself is insufficient to attract talented people with freedom into the field.
geebee 10y ago
In San Francisco, softare developers earn at the median $117,700 a year. Keep in mind, that qualifies for subsidized housing for a a family of 4 in San Francisco. This salary is a bit higher than the median for dental hygienists, and considerably lower than for registered nurses. I'm not complaining about that, those are important jobs that should be well compensated, but we should acknowledge that software developers aren't paid outrageously compared to other knowledge based fields. The median for lawyers and physicians is, of course much higher. There's a higher potential upside to software development, but it is a lottery, and most don't end up making a huge amount of money. Senior dev positions at top tech companies do pay very well, over twice the median salary, but these salaries aren't remarkable compared to top professionals in other fields. The field comes with considerable age related issues, and the work environment (open offices, scrum) leave much to be desired. Honestly, I think the reason for the "shortage" is that people who have the choice (i.e., aren't bound by their visa to work in software) are rationally choosing to work in other fields. http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/software-developer/salary http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/software-developer... You can look around the site, it provides a roundup of BLS data by region.

codedokode 10y ago

Of course it is easy to pay high salaries with investors' money. I doubt a business owner would like to pay $120 000/year from his own income.

briandear 10y ago

No. When the value of the input exceeds its cost, then no, it's not "unreasonable." What's unreasonable is paying someone $15 per hour for unskilled labor you could teach a teenager to do in 15 minutes. The cost of the work exceeds its value.

codedokode 10y ago
That unskilled labour is probably more hard and tiring than sitting in a comfortable chair before a computer. If only there were more tech workers the market would set adequate price.

lostboys67 10y ago

I don't understand why there are self hating developers on HN or those who don't seem to grock the free market system - there is no god given "fair " rate for the job.

geebee 10y ago
Yeah, it is a little strange. People make statements about a "shortage" of workers without mentioning pay and working conditions. Or, if they do, they'll discuss a shortage at the "market rate", without considering that the "market rate" itself is insufficient to attract talented people with freedom into the field.

geebee 10y ago

In San Francisco, softare developers earn at the median $117,700 a year. Keep in mind, that qualifies for subsidized housing for a a family of 4 in San Francisco. This salary is a bit higher than the median for dental hygienists, and considerably lower than for registered nurses. I'm not complaining about that, those are important jobs that should be well compensated, but we should acknowledge that software developers aren't paid outrageously compared to other knowledge based fields. The median for lawyers and physicians is, of course much higher. There's a higher potential upside to software development, but it is a lottery, and most don't end up making a huge amount of money. Senior dev positions at top tech companies do pay very well, over twice the median salary, but these salaries aren't remarkable compared to top professionals in other fields. The field comes with considerable age related issues, and the work environment (open offices, scrum) leave much to be desired. Honestly, I think the reason for the "shortage" is that people who have the choice (i.e., aren't bound by their visa to work in software) are rationally choosing to work in other fields. http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/software-developer/salary http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/software-developer... You can look around the site, it provides a roundup of BLS data by region.