4 ms·
Software engineer salaries have been rising in a globalized market. Companies can already hire wherever they want. Many do. I have no doubt that if companies c
by femiagbabiaka 8y ago
Software engineer salaries have been rising in a globalized market. Companies can already hire wherever they want. Many do.
I have no doubt that if companies can pay workers less then they will. But that’s not what’s happening.
- pishpash 8y agoRising compared to what? Junior engineers are doubling or tripling up to live near work in metropolitan areas or face crushing commutes. It's a sign that even in software engineering, capital is crushing labor.
- femiagbabiaka 8y agoYou're describing two different problems. Housing supply in the Bay Area and New York -- the areas I'm assuming you're talking about, because most other metropolitan cities are building to keep up with supply just fine -- is incredibly low. In addition, in the Bay Area especially, the incredibly high salaries in combination with that supply is causing skyrocketing prices.
- emiliobumachar 8y agoBe aware that Silicon Valley is an extreme global outlier in real estate prices.
- AYBABTME 8y agoNot really, there's cities all over the world with conditions that lead to crazy high real estate/housing costs. Most every metropolis ends up with a similar situation. Slightly different settings that all sum up to "high demand low supplies". NYC, London, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Tokyo, ...
- ben_w 8y agoSF is an outlier compared to London. From expatistan.com: Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in NORMAL area: SF: $3,663 (£2,789) London: £1,766 Difference: 58%
- foldr 8y agoWorth noting that the difference there is exaggerated somewhat by the unusually low value of the pound at the moment.
- onlyrealcuzzo 8y agoWorth noting that tech workers in London make about 1/2 to 1/3 of what they do in the Bay.
- foldr 8y agoIt might be worth noting in another context, but tech worker salaries don't determine London rents.
- ben_w 8y agoThe unusualness of the pound is about 10%, +/- the usual variations, isn’t it?
- foldr 8y agoDepends on what period you're considering: https://www.macrotrends.net/2549/pound-dollar-exchange-rate-historical-chart https://www.macrotrends.net/2549/pound-dollar-exchange-rate-... If you take 1.6 USD = 1GBP as typical of recent times, then it's more like 20%.
- harimau777 8y agoIs this true when you are comparing similar conditions? Something along the lines of: Large cities with significant multiculturalism, high tech jobs, significant culture (arts, media, entertainment, museums, etc.), public transportation, and openness to various ways of life
- bluGill 8y agoYes. Try moving to Minneapolis, which has plenty of everything you ask for and housing prices are not out of control. If you don't need a large city, Des Moines does well too on the rest of your qualifications.
- C1sc0cat 8y agoNot Compared to London though - London does have a much better transport system so living 60-70 miles away and commuting isn't as bad as it would be in SV.