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Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

crainsnewyork.com

101–110 of 209 posts

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#101
post #99

I'm sorry if this is off topic, but I'm just looking for some advice I guess. I'm currently an electronics engineer in NY and I've been trying to switch to something in software for about a year now because there are essentially no electronics jobs here in my field. I've had a hard time convincing employers how my electronics experience is relevant or how well it would translate to a software role, because, basically…

Do any FPGA work? There's demand for that.

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with these numbers is that adjusting an entire salary for cost of living only makes sense for people living paycheck to paycheck. The real question is how much wealth a tech worker can accumulate in each city. If you're saving 10% a year no matter where you live, you're best optimizing for salary and ignoring cost of living.

Except that saving 10% makes you a homeowner in some places and a roommate in others. If you view your job as temporary pain and plan to relocate or retire before starting “real life,” that makes sense. If you’re trying to build a long-term sustainable and fulfilling life that includes a tech job, not so much. Nominal value in a bank account is useless; you need purchasing power.

Well, the argument is the same with respect to most consumer goods. The new XPS 13 is the same price in Wyoming and San Fransisco. Adjusting the electronics budget of a household for cost of living generally doesn't make sense, which was my actual point.

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#103

The best part about tech in NYC is that it isn't a non-stop, in-your-face bubble the way that it is in SF/SJ. I work in tech but enjoy having friends in fashion, finance, real estate, advertising, etc. The conversations here are much more diverse. Interestingly, that same diversity helps improve the tech sector.

I completely agree. I also love the influence NYC industries have on tech startups. Warby Parker is tech+fashion, Buzzfeed is tech+media, Betterment is tech+finance.

Seems like it's time to stop calling companies tech companies just because they hire software engineers and leverage some degree of modern technology to provide their product or service. Warby Parker sells glasses and Buzzfeed is a media company - I have a hard time seeing how either of these qualify as tech startups.

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#104
post #71
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a tech worker raising my family in Brooklyn and it's quite lovely. Expensive, yes, but lovely. Whether you find it a "rat race" of a lifestyle or not is much more dependent on your internal psychology than the city itself.

I have heard Brooklyn is gentrifying at a rapid pace, but back when I was there, Brooklyn just wasn't an option.

"Is" gentrifying? How many decades ago was the last time you went to Brooklyn? And where exactly did you go?

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#105
post #99

I'm sorry if this is off topic, but I'm just looking for some advice I guess. I'm currently an electronics engineer in NY and I've been trying to switch to something in software for about a year now because there are essentially no electronics jobs here in my field. I've had a hard time convincing employers how my electronics experience is relevant or how well it would translate to a software role, because, basically…

Build a website and an iOS (and/or Android) app and get them up and running and give them away for free. It may be a lot harder and take a lot longer than you think to convert hardware -> software skills. If you do it in your spare time as a hobby you will ramp up at your own pace and have something to show future employers.

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#106
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the criteria you chose seem like bad proxies for the things that really matter. I would count the following as the fundamental metrics that really count. - Average (high-end) programmer salary - Amount of VC funding - Total number of full-time tech workers The 1st and 2nd criteria determine how attractive the city is, for employees and founders respectively. The 3rd criteria determines how much clustering/network…

You sort of prove the cherry picking argument. Average salary means nothing in a vacuum without cost of living considered. And when it is... Unsurprisingly NYC comes in at the bottom of the list, https://www.codementor.io/blog/best-cities-software-engineer... Seattle is actually #1

[deleted]

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#107
post #89

"official" FTEs is one way to slice it, but kind of dumb. Seattle is home to two of the five biggest tech companies in the US. Boston has had an IPO every year for the last ten years that exceeds any in NYC history. LA has had the only 11-digit IPO in the last five years, outside of the bay area. It's also capturing the zeitgeist in a way that NYC no longer does (that's subjective, of course, but I'd debate it). Just…

All the criteria you chose seem like bad proxies for the things that really matter. I would count the following as the fundamental metrics that really count. - Average (high-end) programmer salary - Amount of VC funding - Total number of full-time tech workers The 1st and 2nd criteria determine how attractive the city is, for employees and founders respectively. The 3rd criteria determines how much clustering/network…

You get paid more gross in NYC than Seattle, but the take-home is less due to taxes. Cost of living is also approximately double. I did the math last year -- offer was 5% higher in NYC, but the after-tax and living disposable income was 50% higher in Seattle.

2/3rd the gross pay in Austin probably gives a significant "raise" in terms of relative standard of living and maybe 1/4 the money in many parts of Asia would move you even higher.

All I'm saying is that Average Salary is probably a bad way to compare across geographies.

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#108
post #99

I'm sorry if this is off topic, but I'm just looking for some advice I guess. I'm currently an electronics engineer in NY and I've been trying to switch to something in software for about a year now because there are essentially no electronics jobs here in my field. I've had a hard time convincing employers how my electronics experience is relevant or how well it would translate to a software role, because, basically…

Do any FPGA work? There's demand for that.

In NYC?

I think he might find work in some HFT specialty firms looking at custom hardware. But yeah I’d be looking at SF or even Boston to leverage the EE degree.

My guess is a bootcamp would help out on the resume.

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#109

What is Boston doing wrong? In the 80s thanks to the 128 Tech Row, it was on par with Silicon Valley as the top spot, then it lost ground and now NYC is considered #2? We have the highest concentration of collegiate tech talent, the same weather as NYC (obviously worse than SV), lower cost of living than both cities, and there's been a ton of investment in real estate for tech companies in the Seaport District. Too l…

If I remember right, non-competes are still a thing in Boston.

Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city

#110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A group of 5 engineers, left to their own devices, would probably produce about $100k worth of value. An effective manager can extract two million dollars worth of value out of those same 5 engineers. If you don't believe this, you may have never had a great manager.

And an effective manager given engineers who can't write a for loop will produce $0 worth of value (or worse). I don't find this line of thought convincing. A better answer is "that's the market clearing price for good managers".

>And an effective manager given engineers who can't write a for loop will produce $0 worth of value (or worse)

No, an effective manager given engineers who can't write a for loop will replace those engineers with more talented ones.

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