4 ms·

That is interesting to me, as the small towns I have spent time around have the opposite problem. They cannot find enough people for all the work. The numbers i

That is interesting to me, as the small towns I have spent time around have the opposite problem. They cannot find enough people for all the work. The numbers indicate that there are more jobs than people in the town I hale from. And, as it relates to the parent comment, a large section of the community is connected with symmetrical fibre and the entire community is slated to be in the next few years. The biggest challenge for economic development is getting the word out. It seems in my experience that people have it in their mind that cities are the only place you can find work, so they don't even bother looking for jobs elsewhere.

Multicomp 9y ago
So what town would this be if that's not too personal a question? Can't tell if the 'town you hail from' is the town you are currently in (then please ignore my question) or were previously (possibly raised) in.
lotsofpulp 9y ago
I doubt it. The problem is the pay in a small town doesn't make up for the lost opportunity due to networking and having a selection of varied employers and colleagues. Also, the pay would have to incorporate a risk premium in case you lose your job, as it is perceived that it will be harder to find a new one.
- pnathan 9y ago
  > The problem is the pay in a small town doesn't make up for the lost opportunity due to networking and having a selection of varied employers and colleagues. Also, the pay would have to incorporate a risk premium in case you lose your job, as it is perceived that it will be harder to find a new one. Correct. There's no networking without working your arse off in those locales. And if there are only 3-4 employers in town, you better believe that you don't want to lose your job, ever. I can not recommend, in today's economy, a software engineer ever moving to a place without knowing there is an existing job creation engine running. It's too risky. On the other hand, I'd move to Detroit if the employer was willing to 100% financially derisk the move (full relo, golden parachute on departure for any reason, massive funding of retirement, massive pay). :)
  - randomdata 9y ago
    > I can not recommend, in today's economy, a software engineer ever moving to a place without knowing there is an existing job creation engine running. I don't see that being a big concern. There are several cities within easy commuting distance that are known for the tech industries. If worse comes to worse, I can still get to major tech hubs without any real hardship. Although I also think that tech industries within small towns are vast underestimated by, again, those who don't know to look. You'd be surprised what companies are writing their own software. I continually am. I recently learned even the little mom and pop funeral home in my town has their own custom-built software (and were, when I learned about it, looking for a developer to work on it). It is not just Facebook and Google who need developers. But the best part about small towns with more jobs than people is that employers will literally hire anyone. They aren't in a position to be choosy. You don't have to limit yourself to software engineering. You can do just about anything that is needed. If you really cannot find work as a developer, you can go do something else. No problem. I agree that you probably shouldn't move to any random town, but with careful planning you can have the best of all worlds.
- randomdata 9y ago
  That may be true for top professionals, but I have my doubts that someone working at McDonalds is going to make any more in the city. In fact, I'm certain they could make a lot more, even before accounting for the substantial savings in living costs, by getting out of the city. For what it is worth, the median individual income in the aforementioned place is 30% higher than in the nearest major city as well. I'm not sure I agree with the risk premium either. With the numbers showing that there are more jobs than people, something that is definitely not the case in the city, you are comparatively better off as you can walk into virtually any job out there. If you are hung up on doing one specific job, that may be a different story, but I'm not sure someone at McDonalds is only willing to work at McDonalds.

Multicomp 9y ago

So what town would this be if that's not too personal a question? Can't tell if the 'town you hail from' is the town you are currently in (then please ignore my question) or were previously (possibly raised) in.

lotsofpulp 9y ago

I doubt it. The problem is the pay in a small town doesn't make up for the lost opportunity due to networking and having a selection of varied employers and colleagues. Also, the pay would have to incorporate a risk premium in case you lose your job, as it is perceived that it will be harder to find a new one.

pnathan 9y ago
> The problem is the pay in a small town doesn't make up for the lost opportunity due to networking and having a selection of varied employers and colleagues. Also, the pay would have to incorporate a risk premium in case you lose your job, as it is perceived that it will be harder to find a new one. Correct. There's no networking without working your arse off in those locales. And if there are only 3-4 employers in town, you better believe that you don't want to lose your job, ever. I can not recommend, in today's economy, a software engineer ever moving to a place without knowing there is an existing job creation engine running. It's too risky. On the other hand, I'd move to Detroit if the employer was willing to 100% financially derisk the move (full relo, golden parachute on departure for any reason, massive funding of retirement, massive pay). :)
- randomdata 9y ago
  > I can not recommend, in today's economy, a software engineer ever moving to a place without knowing there is an existing job creation engine running. I don't see that being a big concern. There are several cities within easy commuting distance that are known for the tech industries. If worse comes to worse, I can still get to major tech hubs without any real hardship. Although I also think that tech industries within small towns are vast underestimated by, again, those who don't know to look. You'd be surprised what companies are writing their own software. I continually am. I recently learned even the little mom and pop funeral home in my town has their own custom-built software (and were, when I learned about it, looking for a developer to work on it). It is not just Facebook and Google who need developers. But the best part about small towns with more jobs than people is that employers will literally hire anyone. They aren't in a position to be choosy. You don't have to limit yourself to software engineering. You can do just about anything that is needed. If you really cannot find work as a developer, you can go do something else. No problem. I agree that you probably shouldn't move to any random town, but with careful planning you can have the best of all worlds.
randomdata 9y ago
That may be true for top professionals, but I have my doubts that someone working at McDonalds is going to make any more in the city. In fact, I'm certain they could make a lot more, even before accounting for the substantial savings in living costs, by getting out of the city. For what it is worth, the median individual income in the aforementioned place is 30% higher than in the nearest major city as well. I'm not sure I agree with the risk premium either. With the numbers showing that there are more jobs than people, something that is definitely not the case in the city, you are comparatively better off as you can walk into virtually any job out there. If you are hung up on doing one specific job, that may be a different story, but I'm not sure someone at McDonalds is only willing to work at McDonalds.