5 ms·

Boston is a beautiful city with amazing seasons and probably the single greatest concentration of smart people in the world. It's also, at least historically, t

Boston is a beautiful city with amazing seasons and probably the single greatest concentration of smart people in the world. It's also, at least historically, the spiritual capital of Lisp (thanks to MIT). All taken together, I'm a huge fan of the place. Unfortunately, my experience with Boston companies (I've interviewed with a few, and had the misfortune of being reverse-acquired by one) is that they're not progressive. One hiring manager told me (this was a couple years ago, I think I was 27 or 28 at the time) that I was too old to be a programmer (wat?) but too young to be a manager. Another tried to give me a position with "junior" in the title-- this was in mid-2013, so I had 7 years of experience. (I know that titles are bullshit, but if they're going to exist, I'll take an inflated one rather than a deflated one.) Boston is a beautiful, under-appreciated place. Its climate is ideal (cold, snowy winters, perfect springs and falls, mild summers). I like the people a lot. But I see a culture where there is too much deference to authority and too little "fuck it, let's do it anyway". While the Valley is too youth-obsessed and flighty and sociopathic, New England seems to take the other extreme: too seniority-bound and stodgy and prone to following rules. The ideal, for tech, is somewhere between the two.

ghc 12y ago
I'm curious about where you interviewed, and how big the companies were. I've never had that experience with startups in Boston (only big companies out near Rt. 128). Engineers are in high demand here, so most "interviews" are really cap table discussions and salary negotiations over a drink. In fact, multiple startups over the past five years have used their VCs or EIRs to approach me; I can't imagine a situation where a company would look down on a 27 year old developer. I do know exactly what you mean by deference to authority, but outside of the MIT professor-run startup bubble, I think it's mostly dead (well, I can't speak for biotech...). I just hope it isn't replaced by ageism, as you suggest.
kylequest 12y ago
I'm curious if there's another Boston and New England :-) The Boston where I lived 10+ years had a lousy weather where you can't survive without an air conditioner during summers because it's so humid. Moving to Seattle/Redmond was a good idea in more than one way :-) Doing a startup in Boston is definitely no fun. That's true.
- will_work4tears 12y ago
  Everybody has their own preferences and all but I don't personally consider >(cold, snowy winters, as an ideal climate. My Dad's side of my family is from Boston, so while I've never lived there, I have been there from time to time (usually in the summer) and they didn't seem that mild to me. Must like the Summers I was used to in the Midwest (which is [just] one reason I left the Midwest).
  - kylequest 12y ago
    Even the snow isn't that great :-) You get really nice snow one day. It starts melting the next day and the day after it gets really cold and everything turns into ice. Not great conditions for snowboarding/skiing...

ghc 12y ago

I'm curious about where you interviewed, and how big the companies were. I've never had that experience with startups in Boston (only big companies out near Rt. 128). Engineers are in high demand here, so most "interviews" are really cap table discussions and salary negotiations over a drink. In fact, multiple startups over the past five years have used their VCs or EIRs to approach me; I can't imagine a situation where a company would look down on a 27 year old developer. I do know exactly what you mean by deference to authority, but outside of the MIT professor-run startup bubble, I think it's mostly dead (well, I can't speak for biotech...). I just hope it isn't replaced by ageism, as you suggest.

kylequest 12y ago

I'm curious if there's another Boston and New England :-) The Boston where I lived 10+ years had a lousy weather where you can't survive without an air conditioner during summers because it's so humid. Moving to Seattle/Redmond was a good idea in more than one way :-) Doing a startup in Boston is definitely no fun. That's true.

will_work4tears 12y ago
Everybody has their own preferences and all but I don't personally consider >(cold, snowy winters, as an ideal climate. My Dad's side of my family is from Boston, so while I've never lived there, I have been there from time to time (usually in the summer) and they didn't seem that mild to me. Must like the Summers I was used to in the Midwest (which is [just] one reason I left the Midwest).
- kylequest 12y ago
  Even the snow isn't that great :-) You get really nice snow one day. It starts melting the next day and the day after it gets really cold and everything turns into ice. Not great conditions for snowboarding/skiing...