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Shit, sign me up, I'll work that job. I keep my expenses low enough out here in NYC as it is. The real issue in my opinion is that the postings exist, the inte

Shit, sign me up, I'll work that job. I keep my expenses low enough out here in NYC as it is. The real issue in my opinion is that the postings exist, the interviews are happening, but the company has no desire to actually hire anyone...

humanrebar 9y ago
You can do better in NYC with the median amount of experience and skill. You can certainly do better in another city, especially if you're good at keeping your expenses low. Though maybe the discrepancy between all that and the pay is why so many companies can't find good developers...
- quuquuquu 9y ago
  Let me put it to you this way. I send my resume and portfolio, I usually don't get a response. If I get a response, it is usually from a recruiter who is trying to "increase their metrics". Then I am denied by them or... I get in front of a hiring manager or even a VP. They string me out for a week or two. We talk for an hour or two, I do a presentation of my portfolio, I do a coding challenge. And then I'm denied ultimately, usually because I'm only able to do 9/10 things right, not 10/10. Question: the position goes unfilled for months. Is there really a position open then??? Hire me for 60,000 then. Make it a junior hire, at will hire, 1099 hire. What do I care? I'll work, and if you don't like it, you can fire me at any time. I don't understand why they only want to look for 150k rockstar-tier devs for 90k jobs.
  - humanrebar 9y ago
    Wow. Sorry about all that. I can't speak to your personal experience, but I'll stand by my experience that the salary is lowball. I would take that sort of listing as a signal that the employer doesn't really know much about market rate for engineers (or maybe hiring engineers in general). It's possible that you're seeing a lot of that sort of employer in your job search. If you're in NYC, I think a good tactic for a person trying to "break in" to the industry is to attend meetups for tech you're interested in. As you meet people and ask about their jobs, you'll get a feel for which employers are hiring for your expertise. And you might pick up some recommendations or relevant open-source experience, even, which would help in getting a decent offer. I'll also say that NYC is a rough city for breaking into tech. Rent's a lot cheaper in other cities. The jobs there can vary in sexiness, but an ultra-lowball pay rate is much more humane in a cheaper city. But even there, a ultra-low pay rate should be tolerated only long enough to prove, on your resume, that you are employable as a replacement-level warm body in tech work.
    - quuquuquu 9y ago
      Thank you so much for all of that advice!! It turns out that I am negotiating an offer out in SF. This absolutely confirms your statement about NYC, at least anecdotally. It's totally crazy, but my value is totally in the eye of the beholder XD

humanrebar 9y ago

You can do better in NYC with the median amount of experience and skill. You can certainly do better in another city, especially if you're good at keeping your expenses low. Though maybe the discrepancy between all that and the pay is why so many companies can't find good developers...

quuquuquu 9y ago
Let me put it to you this way. I send my resume and portfolio, I usually don't get a response. If I get a response, it is usually from a recruiter who is trying to "increase their metrics". Then I am denied by them or... I get in front of a hiring manager or even a VP. They string me out for a week or two. We talk for an hour or two, I do a presentation of my portfolio, I do a coding challenge. And then I'm denied ultimately, usually because I'm only able to do 9/10 things right, not 10/10. Question: the position goes unfilled for months. Is there really a position open then??? Hire me for 60,000 then. Make it a junior hire, at will hire, 1099 hire. What do I care? I'll work, and if you don't like it, you can fire me at any time. I don't understand why they only want to look for 150k rockstar-tier devs for 90k jobs.
- humanrebar 9y ago
  Wow. Sorry about all that. I can't speak to your personal experience, but I'll stand by my experience that the salary is lowball. I would take that sort of listing as a signal that the employer doesn't really know much about market rate for engineers (or maybe hiring engineers in general). It's possible that you're seeing a lot of that sort of employer in your job search. If you're in NYC, I think a good tactic for a person trying to "break in" to the industry is to attend meetups for tech you're interested in. As you meet people and ask about their jobs, you'll get a feel for which employers are hiring for your expertise. And you might pick up some recommendations or relevant open-source experience, even, which would help in getting a decent offer. I'll also say that NYC is a rough city for breaking into tech. Rent's a lot cheaper in other cities. The jobs there can vary in sexiness, but an ultra-lowball pay rate is much more humane in a cheaper city. But even there, a ultra-low pay rate should be tolerated only long enough to prove, on your resume, that you are employable as a replacement-level warm body in tech work.
  - quuquuquu 9y ago
    Thank you so much for all of that advice!! It turns out that I am negotiating an offer out in SF. This absolutely confirms your statement about NYC, at least anecdotally. It's totally crazy, but my value is totally in the eye of the beholder XD