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Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

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Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#251
post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've reversed cause and effect.

well, yes, though at some point it begins to resemble a reinforcement feedback loop

One cause is that these companies earn lots of money and have great business models. Another cause is that specific land itself is highly desirable for those with lots of money, for variety of reasons (weather/geography/location/culture/etc). Everything else is an effect.

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#252
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the rest RSUs? Only a select few that work for big publicly traded companies get to benefit from those...

Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple all have more than 100k employees, this is close to the full SF population, so doesn't look like "select few" to me.

These employees are not all software engineers getting paid out the yinyang with RSUs...

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#253
post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd need to study math just to get a managerial job that doesn't use any of these math and academic skills. I'd need to answer questions like, how many marbles would it take to reach the moon. I'd be surrounded by aspie workaholics who rank low in creativity, high in analytical skills and are fully deficient in sense of humor. Literal-minded math nerds fronted by a smattering of HR people who portray the company as e…

Ok, I get it. You need to be contrarian and repeat some California is bad talking points. But let’s be honest, life in California is way better than NYC. Nobody sipping Russian river pinot while overlooking Lake Tahoe has said “I wish I was in NYC”

I was harsh but replying to the, we make so much more money here, original post. My point is there's more than money for consideration, a very pedestrian observation.

All that said, if the news reports are any indication, there are a lot of people exiting California for other states, so a lot of contrarians.

I do love the Sonoma Chardonnays myself, the Cali Pinots are a lot riper/sweeter than the Burgundy ones.

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#254

Meanwhile, EU salaries are stagnating and it's one of the worst places to be a software engineer. An average salary for a software developer in Germany was 46000 Euro per year in 2020, and don't forget, it's one of the richest countries in Europe. The average in EU is even lower... After paying taxes a single person with that salary will only have 2400 Euro per month (~ 2800 USD). The guy who cleans our house in Germ…

When I left Germany in 2007, I was making 52000 Euro per year. Crazy to hear that salaries remained practically flat. When I went to Silicon Valley, my pay practically doubled overnight, and now 13 years later I make 10x as much (and my job hasn't really changed much). Curious though how your house cleaner is making more than a software engineer?

You make half a million Euros a year as a software engineer?

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#255
post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, and say Munich ~ Toronto in that regard https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cou... So why move to Canada?

> So why move to Canada? Get Canadian citizenship after 3 years, and become eligible for TN visa, which is not subject to any lotteries or quotas.

Not that easy! TN visa is kind of automatic if one have engineering degree from Canada or related job offer. Even for 'software developer' it can be tricky. Also Canadian citizenship after 3 years is in reality 3 years + 1-2 years of the wait time. Source https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/se...

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, but in Germany many companies will not hire you, if you don't have a degree. So you must also spend a lot of time (3-5 years) and money to get a Bachelor/Master degree.

Money? What money? AFAIK degree programs in German public universities are nearly free.

In public universities yes, but not in private universities. You will also have other expenses as well when you study (rent an appartment, food etc.)

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

L7 is rare though, and most of them have more than 12 YOE (or maybe they have 12 YOE at the company). Levels.fyi seems to only have 38 data points for FB for example ( https://www.levels.fyi/company/Facebook/salaries/Software-En... ) and 47 for Google ( https://www.levels.fyi/company/Google/salaries/Software-Engi... ) vs. 490 and 457 L5 entries. It's probably safe to say if you get to L7 you're in the top 5% of engin…

Where are all the people with 15-20y experience?

Depends, is it winter or summer?

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#258
post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you can live in this house, which is >2k sq ft, on 0.53 acres, in a 10 rated school district and only 16 miles from SF https://www.redfin.com/CA/Orinda/28-Tara-Rd-94563/home/19147...

Why do you think it is relatively so much cheaper? There has to be some reasonable explanation? Maybe it is because it is not Silicon Valley? Maybe commute to Mountain View or Sunnyvale takes 4hrs off your life each day?

You can easily access SF jobs, but South Bay jobs are harder to get to. But it is no different than living in Oakland or Berkeley when it comes to commute

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#259
post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, I get it. You need to be contrarian and repeat some California is bad talking points. But let’s be honest, life in California is way better than NYC. Nobody sipping Russian river pinot while overlooking Lake Tahoe has said “I wish I was in NYC”

I was harsh but replying to the, we make so much more money here, original post. My point is there's more than money for consideration, a very pedestrian observation. All that said, if the news reports are any indication, there are a lot of people exiting California for other states, so a lot of contrarians. I do love the Sonoma Chardonnays myself, the Cali Pinots are a lot riper/sweeter than the Burgundy ones.

Those news reports are full of shit

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/California-SF-Ba...

Re: Silicon Valley stays on top as tech salaries climb across U.S.

#260
post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's incredible to me that most of the surplus wealth generated by all of humanity's innovation in the 21st century has basically accumulated to property owners in the Bay Area and Seattle. This is only a slight exaggeration.

“Most of the surplus wealth” seems like a massive exaggeration. I don’t see too many FAANG employees spending “most” of their wealth on real estate.

FAANG employees don't spend most of their wealth on real estate but all the non tech employees do because rent is a significant portion of their income.
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