7 ms·

New York is the heart of a new digital economy.

51 points by shakes 13y ago

RTesla 13y ago
hardly new
- l33tbro 13y ago
  My guess? Upvoted to front by site's authors for traction.
- vcavallo 13y ago
  The study was just release today, so it is about as new as it gets - if you're talking about the study results.
geekbri 13y ago
Now let's get some of those jobs out onto long island.
heydenberk 13y ago
The claim made in the headline is not supported by the text that follows, which doesn't provided data on tech employment in any other cities or metros. It'd be better to say "New York's tech scene is thriving" if that's what the data support.
tootie 13y ago
The tech sector has always been big in NYC, but it's not the same as a Silicon Valley. There's far fewer pure tech companies and a lot more tech services especially around our traditional big industries, finance and media. There's a handful of significant tech shops, but mostly it's consulting, IT and the like. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
- jgalt212 13y ago
  Yes, it definitely seems like the best play to make in NYC is to build a business catering to, or symbiotic to, one of the big existing NYC industries. This way you can leverage off the time/place advantages of being in NYC.
kimmel 13y ago
Another New York is the best at X story. Every time another city does something good New York tries to copy it. They have to keep this kind of PR up to promote living in an ultra expensive area.
mhurron 13y ago
The industry will be in a better place when there no longer is any physical center to a 'digital economy.' When people don't feel the need to move to places they can't afford to 'make it' and instead can work where they are or where they want to be and still do what they want to the maximum their product or service allows.
- hahahafail 13y ago
  ^this. The $39.50/hr they quote (~80k salary) isn't much for NYC, especially with a family. I make more than that in my small town working remotely for a SF bay area company and I wouldn't move there without ~$125k minimum.
  - santaclaus 13y ago
    If you factor in the hit or miss quality of public schools and the cost of sending a child to private school, NYC starts to look incredibly expensive. Elementary school tuition can crack $30k, more than many Universities! [1] [1] http://theschool.columbia.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid http://theschool.columbia.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-a...
- bowlofpetunias 13y ago
  You realize that there are a lot of "they" who don't want to spend all of there lives in NowhereVille in the state of NothingEverHappensHere ? In fact there are many people who select their career exactly because it allows them to move to places like that?
  - mhurron 13y ago
    "can work where they are or where they want to be" Maybe read the whole thing, if they wanted to move to NYC, that would fall under where they want to be. And that doesn't justify the current environment that you basically must move to these spots to do things, whether you want to or are paid enough to. “Those who do not read are no better off than those who cannot.”
  - 13y ago
lnlyplnt 13y ago
Regardless the the somewhat deceptive title, this is still an impressive collection of stats. The full study does a great job of explaining how the tech economy is also good for the traditional economy and those without technical backgrounds as well. Some of the anti-tech set in SF could stand to learn from it.
cpwright 13y ago
"The average NYC tech ecosystem hourly wage is $39.50 49% greater than the NYC median (AND 44% OF THOSE JOBS DO NOT REQUIRE A BACHELOR’S DEGREE.)" This seems like a terrible abuse of statistics. The average wage of $39.50 may be 49% greater than the NYC median, but what is the median tech ecosystem hourly wage. It is probably lower than the average. Of those jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree, how many are actually held by people without a bachelors degree, and what is the average (or better yet median) wage for those without a bachelors degree.
- candybar 13y ago
  The average-median thing seems to be just a mistake by whoever wrote that summary. If you look at the full report, this is what they have: "Workers in the New York City tech ecosystem earn 49% more than the average City-wide hourly wage. The hourly wage for the tech ecosystem is $39.50, while the average City-wide wage is $26.50." Your other points are valid, of course. Edit: this is the full report and is quite a bit more informative than the summary: http://www.hraadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/NYC_Tech_Ecosystem_032614_WEB.pdf http://www.hraadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/NYC_Te... Edit2: no longer completely sure what they are talking about: "As of 2013, the average New York City median hourly wage was $26.50. Tech ecosystem jobs pay above the City-wide average. In fact, tech ecosystem workers are paid 49% more than the City-wide average of $26.50. In comparison to this average, tech workers in tech firms earn 75% more, tech workers in non-tech firms earn 51% more, and non-tech workers in tech firms earn 25% more." I suspect their "average" "median" income is median income by job category averaged together. With that said, it looks like they arrived at the tech average wage in a similar fashion.
ludicast 13y ago
It really is awesome being in NYC. I have lived here my whole life, from when every neighborhood was dangerous to now when even harlem is hoarding hipsters. I have no basis of comparison, but this city really kicks ass. The restaurants, the activities, the opportunities for work. If something is holding you or your startup back, that something is not NYC.
- ryanSrich 13y ago
  Cost of living, mostly just rent. Why would I choose to live and start a business in NYC when places like Seattle, Portland, Austin, Chicago, and DC all have drastically lower costs of living?
  - a8da6b0c91d 13y ago
    Taxes in New York are a big problem, same as in CA. If you're moving from a jurisdiction with sane taxes you need a substantial pay hike just to break even, never mind the crazy rents.
  - j10t 13y ago
    If saving money is your top priority, stay out of NYC. Move to Springfield, Memphis, or Wichita Falls. If you enjoy certain characteristics of urban living -- dense, progressive, diverse, bustling -- NYC is peerless.
    - ryanSrich 13y ago
      > If you enjoy certain characteristics of urban living -- dense, progressive, diverse, bustling Plenty of cities have these characteristics that have a much lower cost of living than NYC. I love NYC. It's a great city, probably the greatest city on earth, but there are plenty of other options out there.
      - j10t 13y ago
        Those traits are no more boolean than cost.
zaidf 13y ago
The saddest part of the New York tech economy are the dozens(if not hundreds) of ad "tech" companies selling retargeting disguised as some new proprietary technology.
- avn2109 13y ago
  I am about to be job hunting in the city. Can you name some names to save me a bit of trouble down the road? Who should I avoid?
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
LynchDeez 13y ago
These types of bombastic headlines certainly show that a (bizarrely-motivated?) segment of the New York tech scene has confusingly concluded that there's some value in claiming to be the "heart of the new digital economy"... even if there was, this article has mostly just left me convinced that the same subsegment of New York's tech scene also believes that they're the "heart" of everything, and they're willing to pick inapplicable statistics to prove it. They'd do more for the tech companies in their city by letting the work of those companies speak for itself.

51 points by shakes 13y ago

RTesla 13y ago

hardly new

l33tbro 13y ago
My guess? Upvoted to front by site's authors for traction.
vcavallo 13y ago
The study was just release today, so it is about as new as it gets - if you're talking about the study results.

geekbri 13y ago

Now let's get some of those jobs out onto long island.

heydenberk 13y ago

The claim made in the headline is not supported by the text that follows, which doesn't provided data on tech employment in any other cities or metros. It'd be better to say "New York's tech scene is thriving" if that's what the data support.

tootie 13y ago

The tech sector has always been big in NYC, but it's not the same as a Silicon Valley. There's far fewer pure tech companies and a lot more tech services especially around our traditional big industries, finance and media. There's a handful of significant tech shops, but mostly it's consulting, IT and the like. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

jgalt212 13y ago
Yes, it definitely seems like the best play to make in NYC is to build a business catering to, or symbiotic to, one of the big existing NYC industries. This way you can leverage off the time/place advantages of being in NYC.

kimmel 13y ago

Another New York is the best at X story. Every time another city does something good New York tries to copy it. They have to keep this kind of PR up to promote living in an ultra expensive area.

mhurron 13y ago

The industry will be in a better place when there no longer is any physical center to a 'digital economy.' When people don't feel the need to move to places they can't afford to 'make it' and instead can work where they are or where they want to be and still do what they want to the maximum their product or service allows.

hahahafail 13y ago
^this. The $39.50/hr they quote (~80k salary) isn't much for NYC, especially with a family. I make more than that in my small town working remotely for a SF bay area company and I wouldn't move there without ~$125k minimum.
- santaclaus 13y ago
  If you factor in the hit or miss quality of public schools and the cost of sending a child to private school, NYC starts to look incredibly expensive. Elementary school tuition can crack $30k, more than many Universities! [1] [1] http://theschool.columbia.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid http://theschool.columbia.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-a...
bowlofpetunias 13y ago
You realize that there are a lot of "they" who don't want to spend all of there lives in NowhereVille in the state of NothingEverHappensHere ? In fact there are many people who select their career exactly because it allows them to move to places like that?
- mhurron 13y ago
  "can work where they are or where they want to be" Maybe read the whole thing, if they wanted to move to NYC, that would fall under where they want to be. And that doesn't justify the current environment that you basically must move to these spots to do things, whether you want to or are paid enough to. “Those who do not read are no better off than those who cannot.”
- 13y ago

lnlyplnt 13y ago

Regardless the the somewhat deceptive title, this is still an impressive collection of stats. The full study does a great job of explaining how the tech economy is also good for the traditional economy and those without technical backgrounds as well. Some of the anti-tech set in SF could stand to learn from it.

cpwright 13y ago

"The average NYC tech ecosystem hourly wage is $39.50 49% greater than the NYC median (AND 44% OF THOSE JOBS DO NOT REQUIRE A BACHELOR’S DEGREE.)" This seems like a terrible abuse of statistics. The average wage of $39.50 may be 49% greater than the NYC median, but what is the median tech ecosystem hourly wage. It is probably lower than the average. Of those jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree, how many are actually held by people without a bachelors degree, and what is the average (or better yet median) wage for those without a bachelors degree.

candybar 13y ago
The average-median thing seems to be just a mistake by whoever wrote that summary. If you look at the full report, this is what they have: "Workers in the New York City tech ecosystem earn 49% more than the average City-wide hourly wage. The hourly wage for the tech ecosystem is $39.50, while the average City-wide wage is $26.50." Your other points are valid, of course. Edit: this is the full report and is quite a bit more informative than the summary: http://www.hraadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/NYC_Tech_Ecosystem_032614_WEB.pdf http://www.hraadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/NYC_Te... Edit2: no longer completely sure what they are talking about: "As of 2013, the average New York City median hourly wage was $26.50. Tech ecosystem jobs pay above the City-wide average. In fact, tech ecosystem workers are paid 49% more than the City-wide average of $26.50. In comparison to this average, tech workers in tech firms earn 75% more, tech workers in non-tech firms earn 51% more, and non-tech workers in tech firms earn 25% more." I suspect their "average" "median" income is median income by job category averaged together. With that said, it looks like they arrived at the tech average wage in a similar fashion.

ludicast 13y ago

It really is awesome being in NYC. I have lived here my whole life, from when every neighborhood was dangerous to now when even harlem is hoarding hipsters. I have no basis of comparison, but this city really kicks ass. The restaurants, the activities, the opportunities for work. If something is holding you or your startup back, that something is not NYC.

ryanSrich 13y ago
Cost of living, mostly just rent. Why would I choose to live and start a business in NYC when places like Seattle, Portland, Austin, Chicago, and DC all have drastically lower costs of living?
- a8da6b0c91d 13y ago
  Taxes in New York are a big problem, same as in CA. If you're moving from a jurisdiction with sane taxes you need a substantial pay hike just to break even, never mind the crazy rents.
- j10t 13y ago
  If saving money is your top priority, stay out of NYC. Move to Springfield, Memphis, or Wichita Falls. If you enjoy certain characteristics of urban living -- dense, progressive, diverse, bustling -- NYC is peerless.
  - ryanSrich 13y ago
    > If you enjoy certain characteristics of urban living -- dense, progressive, diverse, bustling Plenty of cities have these characteristics that have a much lower cost of living than NYC. I love NYC. It's a great city, probably the greatest city on earth, but there are plenty of other options out there.
    - j10t 13y ago
      Those traits are no more boolean than cost.

zaidf 13y ago

The saddest part of the New York tech economy are the dozens(if not hundreds) of ad "tech" companies selling retargeting disguised as some new proprietary technology.

avn2109 13y ago
I am about to be job hunting in the city. Can you name some names to save me a bit of trouble down the road? Who should I avoid?

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

LynchDeez 13y ago

These types of bombastic headlines certainly show that a (bizarrely-motivated?) segment of the New York tech scene has confusingly concluded that there's some value in claiming to be the "heart of the new digital economy"... even if there was, this article has mostly just left me convinced that the same subsegment of New York's tech scene also believes that they're the "heart" of everything, and they're willing to pick inapplicable statistics to prove it. They'd do more for the tech companies in their city by letting the work of those companies speak for itself.