7 ms·

This was my thinking as well. The power and wealth of the big-five tech companies is staggering, with their smaller siblings (Uber, Cloudflare, AirBnB, Dropbox,

by ttul 7y ago

This was my thinking as well. The power and wealth of the big-five tech companies is staggering, with their smaller siblings (Uber, Cloudflare, AirBnB, Dropbox, etc.) trailing not far behind. It is very tough for startups to compete with public companies who can offer liquid RSUs monthly along with whatever salary is necessary to close the deal.

ttul 7y ago
.. I should add: This is a great time to be an engineer. Enjoy it while it lasts. The time to be a founder will be after the next recession.
- Lambdanaut 7y ago
  Quite a bold claim. Care to give reasoning?
  - dilippkumar 7y ago
    A colleague explained it to me like this: "During a recession, all the big companies will tighten their budgets and not throw money to copy your products" They then pointed out that all the companies that took off in the 10s started during the 2008 recession. Look at what happened to Snapchat for an example of what happens when other companies have money to spend to catch up with your product quickly.
    - mallorypaine 7y ago
      2008 was also when the iPhone SDK unleashed massive opportunity.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- mc3 7y ago
  My non US experience is I have seen no correlation of the boom/bust cycles and "how good it is to be an engineer". I realize that FAANG employees are of course raking it in like never before. But I thought that was because of a lack of a salary cartel and general software eating the world.
  - gryn 7y ago
    Yes GP probably meant it's a great time to be an engineer in the US other countries not so sure.
    - zapita 7y ago
      There is a cascading effect on software engineer compensation worldwide.
      - ChuckNorris89 7y ago
        True to a degree. Thanks to the huge influx of SV companies opening up shops in Eastern Europe, even if it's just outsourcing the "boring stuff", has led to an increase in local tech salaries that they're now rivaling Western Europe.
        fierarul 7y ago
        Not that Western Europe has big IT salaries compared to the US. It never seemed to me that IT is viewed in EU as this big growth engine compared to the USA and salaries and prestige seem to reflect it.
        zapita 7y ago
        That is changing as well. US tech companies are hiring more and more across Europe, and the local startup ecosystem is growing also. Some local founders who have made money in the US are coming back and seeding local startups, which has an accelerating effect. Another factor is remote work, with some developers getting nearly US-level salaries while living in Europe. The result is a new class of ultra-well-paid software developers enjoying the good life in many European cities. It's still a niche phenomenon, but not for long. The SF Bay Area was in the same place around 2011-2012. I expect a massive wave of gentrification and anti-tech sentiment in Europe in 2-5 years, similar to what the US is experiencing now.
pliny 7y ago
Waymo offers Waymo RSUs which are not liquid.
- ttul 7y ago
  Yes, but they are worth waymo than your typical startup options.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]

by ttul 7y ago

ttul 7y ago

.. I should add: This is a great time to be an engineer. Enjoy it while it lasts. The time to be a founder will be after the next recession.

Lambdanaut 7y ago
Quite a bold claim. Care to give reasoning?
- dilippkumar 7y ago
  A colleague explained it to me like this: "During a recession, all the big companies will tighten their budgets and not throw money to copy your products" They then pointed out that all the companies that took off in the 10s started during the 2008 recession. Look at what happened to Snapchat for an example of what happens when other companies have money to spend to catch up with your product quickly.
  - mallorypaine 7y ago
    2008 was also when the iPhone SDK unleashed massive opportunity.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
mc3 7y ago
My non US experience is I have seen no correlation of the boom/bust cycles and "how good it is to be an engineer". I realize that FAANG employees are of course raking it in like never before. But I thought that was because of a lack of a salary cartel and general software eating the world.
- gryn 7y ago
  Yes GP probably meant it's a great time to be an engineer in the US other countries not so sure.
  - zapita 7y ago
    There is a cascading effect on software engineer compensation worldwide.
    - ChuckNorris89 7y ago
      True to a degree. Thanks to the huge influx of SV companies opening up shops in Eastern Europe, even if it's just outsourcing the "boring stuff", has led to an increase in local tech salaries that they're now rivaling Western Europe.
      - fierarul 7y ago
        Not that Western Europe has big IT salaries compared to the US. It never seemed to me that IT is viewed in EU as this big growth engine compared to the USA and salaries and prestige seem to reflect it.
        zapita 7y ago
        That is changing as well. US tech companies are hiring more and more across Europe, and the local startup ecosystem is growing also. Some local founders who have made money in the US are coming back and seeding local startups, which has an accelerating effect. Another factor is remote work, with some developers getting nearly US-level salaries while living in Europe. The result is a new class of ultra-well-paid software developers enjoying the good life in many European cities. It's still a niche phenomenon, but not for long. The SF Bay Area was in the same place around 2011-2012. I expect a massive wave of gentrification and anti-tech sentiment in Europe in 2-5 years, similar to what the US is experiencing now.

pliny 7y ago

Waymo offers Waymo RSUs which are not liquid.

ttul 7y ago
Yes, but they are worth waymo than your typical startup options.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]