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The irony of James' point – that engineers are in such high demand because of how cheap it is to start a startup – is that engineering salaries are actually bei
by darrellsilver 13y ago
The irony of James' point – that engineers are in such high demand because of how cheap it is to start a startup – is that engineering salaries are actually being prevented from going up as a result.
There's too little supply of qualified engineers, but startups can't afford to compete in salary with the big guys (basically Facebook, Google, Amazon and the financial sector). So we compete on cheaper things like nice offices, gym memberships, etc. Basically, feel good stuff that doesn't cost much.
Facebook's budget for engineers is a good 20-50% higher than the salary a startup can pay.
Thus, it's not actually crazy that a law school student can become an engineer worth $80,000/year in only eight months. It's the startup's only option.
And that's a good thing: Companies like ours (http://www.thinkful.com/ http://www.thinkful.com/) are finding a way to build products in a way that doesn't break our budget. We're also providing great opportunities to people who want to become engineers. The only caveat is for companies greater than 50 or so people – they're struggling most of all: Too small to attract great talent that wants stability, too large to attract hungry new talent or accept junior talent that needs to learn on the job.
There's an upper limit, but our research indicates that there's a durable demand for engineering. This demand will look decidedly less sexy once startups become less cool, but software engineering will be an in-demand skill well beyond the current hype cycle.
- omegote 13y agoI'm sorry, but a law school student cannot "become an engineer" in only eight months. That's an insult for people that either have studied an engineering degree (like I have) or have earned enough experience through the years to call themselves an engineer, experience that can't be earned in eight months. That's ridiculous.
- darrellsilver 13y agoSorry – should be more clear: What I mean to say is that there isn't a fixed definition of becoming "an engineer." One's level of expertise and proficiency is defined by the hirer... It's not for me to judge, especially in the abstract, what it takes. If an employer thinks you're qualified, then you're qualified. What's happening in the market right now is that people who may not have previously been considered qualified are now considered qualified. This is because there's so much demand.
- itsybitsycoder 13y agotoo large to... accept junior talent that needs to learn on the job. Huh? Being larger should make it easier to do this, not harder. The company I currently work for has done this for its last 3 developer hires, and it's about the same size as yours.
- darrellsilver 13y agoYeah – This was too quickly worded. What I'm saying is that these middle-size companies are too large to be seen as sexy startups that can make you millions, yet still too small to provide the mentorship needed for jr talent. One or two jr hires can be mentored, but that won't meet the demand, and is super expensive.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]