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…
Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
101–110 of 209 posts
Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
#102Earlier 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.
Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
#103The 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.
Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
#104Earlier 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.
Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
#105I'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…
Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
#106Earlier 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
Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
#107"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…
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
#108I'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.
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
#109What 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…
Re: Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
#110Earlier 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".
No, an effective manager given engineers who can't write a for loop will replace those engineers with more talented ones.