> On the other hand, if you’re applying to a local dinosaur of a tech company that pays below-average compensation and takes 3 months to respond to candidates,

> On the other hand, if you’re applying to a local dinosaur of a tech company that pays below-average compensation and takes 3 months to respond to candidates, all bets are off. The key word here is tech company. There are many other sectors that employee below average labor for HR recruitment but the work an engineer can do there can be quite amazing, especially when the engineer realizes there is lots of room to innovate and optimize their workforce and what/how they output.