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Big tech has become the new oil and gas industry. Boom and bust cycles that leave a trail of destroyed companies in their wake, eye-popping salaries for junior

Big tech has become the new oil and gas industry. Boom and bust cycles that leave a trail of destroyed companies in their wake, eye-popping salaries for junior workers without any experience, long hours. With two big differences: oil is a finite resource. Software is inexhaustible. You can always make more of it. And you can work remotely.

ChuckNorris89 4y ago
It's not though. The big money in SW is in hyper growth industries that get a cut every time consumers earn/spend money on your platform or click on ads. The more consumers you onboard and the more they make/spend, the more you can make. I have developed SW for cars, trains, elevators and security access systems and those gigs pay significantly less than those web gigs targeting consumers, despite being indispensable to modern society, since they're sunk cost products and vendors don't get a cut every time someone takes the elevator, enters the building, starts their car or takes the train.
rr808 4y ago
The other difference is O&G has to be where the oil is. Software doesn't have to be in SV.
- fullshark 4y ago
  Flipside is this means as a laborer you are competing potentially with laborers over the entire planet for jobs instead of people physically in key locations.
blackhaz 4y ago
We were about to look for a sales manager in the US. For fuck's sake, people are asking $160K with just two years of experience on angel.co.
- p1esk 4y ago
  160k in SV is basically the poverty line. Middle class starts somewhere at 300k.
  - brokensegue 4y ago
    For a family of 4 maybe. You can live just fine on 160k individually
    - p1esk 4y ago
      What kind of a place can you buy in, say, Mountain View while making 160k?
      - brokensegue 4y ago
        I only know the rental market. Definitely one bedroom places to rent at 3-4k/mo which easily fits into that salary.
        p1esk 4y ago
        If you cannot afford to own even a modest 2br apartment you’re definitely poor. Middle class starts where you can afford an average house.
        brokensegue 4y ago
        You could also afford a 2 bedroom on that salary. But you aren't in "poverty" if you can't afford an extra room. You would have lots of extra money to save or eat out in this scenario.
    - Zerverus 4y ago
      Sure you can but why should you settle for it? Who decided that it’s ok?
      - brokensegue 4y ago
adamisom 4y ago
Except software isn't long hours. Or at least there's plenty of good-WLB jobs where 40h/week avg is an upper limit, not lower.
- ChuckNorris89 4y ago
  Then why are burn-out so common in the SW industry?

ChuckNorris89 4y ago

It's not though. The big money in SW is in hyper growth industries that get a cut every time consumers earn/spend money on your platform or click on ads. The more consumers you onboard and the more they make/spend, the more you can make. I have developed SW for cars, trains, elevators and security access systems and those gigs pay significantly less than those web gigs targeting consumers, despite being indispensable to modern society, since they're sunk cost products and vendors don't get a cut every time someone takes the elevator, enters the building, starts their car or takes the train.

rr808 4y ago

The other difference is O&G has to be where the oil is. Software doesn't have to be in SV.

fullshark 4y ago
Flipside is this means as a laborer you are competing potentially with laborers over the entire planet for jobs instead of people physically in key locations.

blackhaz 4y ago

We were about to look for a sales manager in the US. For fuck's sake, people are asking $160K with just two years of experience on angel.co.

p1esk 4y ago
160k in SV is basically the poverty line. Middle class starts somewhere at 300k.
- brokensegue 4y ago
  For a family of 4 maybe. You can live just fine on 160k individually
  - p1esk 4y ago
    What kind of a place can you buy in, say, Mountain View while making 160k?
    - brokensegue 4y ago
      I only know the rental market. Definitely one bedroom places to rent at 3-4k/mo which easily fits into that salary.
      - p1esk 4y ago
        If you cannot afford to own even a modest 2br apartment you’re definitely poor. Middle class starts where you can afford an average house.
        brokensegue 4y ago
        You could also afford a 2 bedroom on that salary. But you aren't in "poverty" if you can't afford an extra room. You would have lots of extra money to save or eat out in this scenario.
  - Zerverus 4y ago
    Sure you can but why should you settle for it? Who decided that it’s ok?
    - brokensegue 4y ago

adamisom 4y ago

Except software isn't long hours. Or at least there's plenty of good-WLB jobs where 40h/week avg is an upper limit, not lower.

ChuckNorris89 4y ago
Then why are burn-out so common in the SW industry?