4 ms·

exactly this. i'm pretty surprised at the number of people buying homes in far out locations, like this "new normal" is going to be the "new normal" ongoing. I

exactly this. i'm pretty surprised at the number of people buying homes in far out locations, like this "new normal" is going to be the "new normal" ongoing. I don't buy it (yet). There are a few companies that have bought in, and if you work there then at least you're set for a bit. But people only stay at a tech job for a few years typically - what happens when you want to switch companies?

davidw 6y ago
I too want to wait and see, but I could see things shifting more permanently. When employees get benefits, they tend to be "sticky": they're not easily given up. Working remotely in a nicer place is a pretty good benefit for a lot of people.
toomuchtodo 6y ago
You only interview at companies that support remote (or with hiring managers who will support you being remote in an org that isn’t fully committed to remote) and you keep a large emergency fund to give you substantial runway between jobs (~1 year expenses). Very easy to do on a tech salary and you moved to a low cost of living area with cheap housing (<$1k/month mortgage, reasonable property taxes).
cactus2093 6y ago
It's certainly possible that people have taken a liking to remote work and decided it's the right move for themselves. Whether in 5 years remote work is much more prevalent than it was in Feb 2020 or about the same doesn't necessarily affect your own individual decision making.
- shajznnckfke 6y ago
  If you’re used to receiving BigCo pay and bought a mansion in a remote vacation hotspot, you could be in for a rude awakening if you find other remote jobs pay half as much and your employer knows that and stops giving you refreshes.
  - wtracy 6y ago
    This. The FAANG crowd is used to pulling down $100k-$150k. Developer jobs that are advertised as remote from day one tend to be closer to $50k-$70k. (These numbers are based on a combination of rumors and job board postings, so no, I don't have a source to cite.)
    - rabidrat 6y ago
      Erm, in my experience (20 years, good but not a superstar) the numbers are 2x that. My last BigCo offer was $300k total comp and jobs with smaller companies (all remote) were around $120-150k. One startup offered me $190k to work remote (but I would have been the only remote worker). That said, I agree that your average non-FAANG job pays about half of FAANG. Although this is true regardless of remote-ness.
      - tolbish 6y ago
        You are getting those offers because of your 20 years of experience, not because remote work is inherently lucrative. Most people with 10 or fewer years of experience are used to seeing remote-only offers of less than $100k.
        _t0du 6y ago
        I have less than 20 years experience (less than 10 even) and I have gotten/seen a bunch of offers/jobs/etc with remote-only or remote-first over 100k
        tolbish 6y ago
        Do you believe your experience is common, or that you are an outlier?
        _t0du 6y ago
        It's less me, and more the experience of myself, my close friends and professional colleagues. But as with everything, I would assume it's a mix of both.

davidw 6y ago

I too want to wait and see, but I could see things shifting more permanently. When employees get benefits, they tend to be "sticky": they're not easily given up. Working remotely in a nicer place is a pretty good benefit for a lot of people.

toomuchtodo 6y ago

You only interview at companies that support remote (or with hiring managers who will support you being remote in an org that isn’t fully committed to remote) and you keep a large emergency fund to give you substantial runway between jobs (~1 year expenses). Very easy to do on a tech salary and you moved to a low cost of living area with cheap housing (<$1k/month mortgage, reasonable property taxes).

cactus2093 6y ago

It's certainly possible that people have taken a liking to remote work and decided it's the right move for themselves. Whether in 5 years remote work is much more prevalent than it was in Feb 2020 or about the same doesn't necessarily affect your own individual decision making.

shajznnckfke 6y ago
If you’re used to receiving BigCo pay and bought a mansion in a remote vacation hotspot, you could be in for a rude awakening if you find other remote jobs pay half as much and your employer knows that and stops giving you refreshes.
- wtracy 6y ago
  This. The FAANG crowd is used to pulling down $100k-$150k. Developer jobs that are advertised as remote from day one tend to be closer to $50k-$70k. (These numbers are based on a combination of rumors and job board postings, so no, I don't have a source to cite.)
  - rabidrat 6y ago
    Erm, in my experience (20 years, good but not a superstar) the numbers are 2x that. My last BigCo offer was $300k total comp and jobs with smaller companies (all remote) were around $120-150k. One startup offered me $190k to work remote (but I would have been the only remote worker). That said, I agree that your average non-FAANG job pays about half of FAANG. Although this is true regardless of remote-ness.
    - tolbish 6y ago
      You are getting those offers because of your 20 years of experience, not because remote work is inherently lucrative. Most people with 10 or fewer years of experience are used to seeing remote-only offers of less than $100k.
      - _t0du 6y ago
        I have less than 20 years experience (less than 10 even) and I have gotten/seen a bunch of offers/jobs/etc with remote-only or remote-first over 100k
        tolbish 6y ago
        Do you believe your experience is common, or that you are an outlier?
        _t0du 6y ago
        It's less me, and more the experience of myself, my close friends and professional colleagues. But as with everything, I would assume it's a mix of both.