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For bonus points these people typically take on an "act two" career while continuing to pile up the pension benefits. Great example of this - spoke last year t

For bonus points these people typically take on an "act two" career while continuing to pile up the pension benefits. Great example of this - spoke last year to a retired San Jose cop who now works as head of security for a San Jose school district. Public employees have thought strategically about retirement. Tech workers haven't. In twenty years this will be a big deal, particularly for techies in expensive metros who never even got as far as building up equity in a home.

yborg 8y ago
>Public employees have thought strategically about retirement Public sector employees have unions, which thought strategically about retirement. Tech workers don't, by and large, because we are too smart to fall for the union meme and will all retire early by virtue of our elite skills, not some kind of sinecure. Blue collar private industry workers once had solid pension plans as well, which died along with union membership. The reason that public sector unions survive is because their membership is paid by property taxes, and don't directly affect a corporate bottom line. The likes of the firefighter and police unions are also protected by the general "patriotism" umbrella, even the most conservative anti-labor constituency will avoid criticizing public safety workers.
- claydavisss 8y ago
  Techies tend to fare comparatively better than their peers early on - most programmers in SF aged 27 are probably out-earning their peers from college. From this stems the notion that techies do not need organization. We'll see what happens in twenty years - my guess is programmer wages will be severely depressed by the older generation that can't stop working and will accept a lower "survival" wage.
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    "We'll see what happens in twenty years - my guess is programmer wages will be severely depressed by the older generation that can't stop working and will accept a lower "survival" wage. " It will be interesting. You already have that weird curve where people start pretty high, climb some more for the next 10 years and then either stagnate or often go down in salary. I don't know of any other profession where you often make less the more experience you have.

yborg 8y ago

>Public employees have thought strategically about retirement Public sector employees have unions, which thought strategically about retirement. Tech workers don't, by and large, because we are too smart to fall for the union meme and will all retire early by virtue of our elite skills, not some kind of sinecure. Blue collar private industry workers once had solid pension plans as well, which died along with union membership. The reason that public sector unions survive is because their membership is paid by property taxes, and don't directly affect a corporate bottom line. The likes of the firefighter and police unions are also protected by the general "patriotism" umbrella, even the most conservative anti-labor constituency will avoid criticizing public safety workers.

claydavisss 8y ago
Techies tend to fare comparatively better than their peers early on - most programmers in SF aged 27 are probably out-earning their peers from college. From this stems the notion that techies do not need organization. We'll see what happens in twenty years - my guess is programmer wages will be severely depressed by the older generation that can't stop working and will accept a lower "survival" wage.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  "We'll see what happens in twenty years - my guess is programmer wages will be severely depressed by the older generation that can't stop working and will accept a lower "survival" wage. " It will be interesting. You already have that weird curve where people start pretty high, climb some more for the next 10 years and then either stagnate or often go down in salary. I don't know of any other profession where you often make less the more experience you have.