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I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

cushychicken.github.io

341–350 of 927 posts

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#341
post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if you read the links you posted, a large portion of these are from people who weren't ready, or had kids with disabilities or adopted without enough vetting, or were not financially ready, etc. all parents go through difficult periods where they do regret not sleeping, or the work. but on the whole, the vast majority would not trade their kids for lonely family-less early retirement. just because you found 10k comme…

> just because you found 10k comments on the internet doesnt imply this sentiment applies to 7bn people. No, but at least the parent provided some kind of source to back up their assertion. Where's yours? I don't think it's safe to assume "nearly everyone who has kids don't have regrets". I went through a phase 5+ years ago where I was reading a lot about this sort of thing, and found that there are more people who r…

i've met plenty who have regretted the timing, or having 3+ kids instead of two. but never about having 1 kid instead of zero and it preventing their otherwise early retirement.

having one kid will delay any kind of FIRE strategy significantly for all but the top 0.01%.

the GP's argument is that people just dont have the willpower to make the necessary sacrifices to retire early...such as simply skipping having those pesky, retirement-draining offspring!

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you seriously think people making $1M/yr browse this website

There was a guy yesterday that said he's doing four remote swe jobs right now at the same time. Takes roles that he's comfortable with and capable at, gets stuff done and nobody complains. Sounds like he's +1 million. Sort of like a 4x Tim Ferris program.

Wouldn't this be hugely problematic in terms of NDA's?

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

20% seems very low to me. In the 2 FAANG's I've worked at, the RSU's ended up being 100+% of my salary (which was average for my level).

Initial grant was 100% of one year's salary you mean right? So +25% of yearly salary before appreciation? Otherwise you're saying something like a 250k base, 1MM RSUs before stock appreciation... which is a very lopsided looking offer

It can be over 100% per year depending on level (more senior = more equity). Check out https://www.levels.fyi/

If you're senior L5, it can be around 100% per year even before appreciation. Above that and it starts going above 100% per year.

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#345
post #8

There comes a point where the money just isn't a motivating factor anymore, and companies are struggling to figure out how to work in that environment. This bit from the author hits the nail on the head: >Is an extra $10k per year worth learning a new org, a new skillset, a new set of expectations, a new set of coworkers, and a new boss? For many engineers, the answer is: “No.” Yes I could quit and get a ~20k raise b…

> > Is an extra $10k per year worth learning a new org, a new skillset, a new set of expectations, a new set of coworkers, and a new boss?

> For many engineers, the answer is: “No.” Yes I could quit and get a ~20k raise by shopping my resume around, but I don't need the money.

Would you feel the same if you were enticed to switch jobs with offers of 1.5x, 2x or more than what you're currently making?

I think plenty of people would consider leaving their current employer, even with the headaches that comes with doing so, to make 50% to 100%+ over their current compensation package. I know I would.

I agree that engineers might not jump ship for a $10k increase in income, and it seems to me that the market rate for engineers based on current demand isn't captured by offers of $10k to $20k above current salaries. That would suggest that if employers are truly that desperate for engineers, like they say they are, then they'd need to offer more money to outbid their competitors' offers.

Truthfully, I have a feeling that many employers' choices of not offering larger compensation packages to potential employees don't stem not a rational economic choice, but from a feeling that such offers are "too much" for engineers. Some companies would rather not hire, and make less money, than hire new employees at their market rates and profit from their work.

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The highest paying software companies employ LeetCode style interview Ugh yeah it’s ridiculous. We can’t hire anyone! Have you considered not putting candidates through months of studying to memorize a bunch of algorithm tricks and then grilling them for 5-10 hours total on those? No - that’s not what the cargo cult manual says.

I dunno if it's that ridiculous. Having to spend a couple of months studying to get a 100k raise, seems not a completely unfair trade.

It’s selecting for certain attributes that don’t have a major effect on job performance. I would actually paint it as pseudo scientific at this point.

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#347
post #87

The article is concise but missing a lot of real-life examples: * The highest paying software companies employ LeetCode style interview. That is off-putting to a lot of people even though the money would be super sweet to have. * Some wannabe startups also employ LeetCode style interview even though they don't pay anywhere near FAANG/Unicorns. * You know what's worst than LeetCode style interview? LeetCode style inte…

Can you define PIP, please?

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#348

Is there a linear slope between awesomeness of work and salary? In that case, wouldn’t it theoretically be possible to convince an engineer to work for free given enough awesomeness? Or, conversely, convince them to work on something profoundly uninspiring given infinite salary?

Isn't that exactly how it is now? for free given enough awesomeness = FOSS something profoundly uninspiring given infinite salary = facebook

It seems even a Java logging framework for enterprises is enough awesomeness for free.

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#349
post #87

The article is concise but missing a lot of real-life examples: * The highest paying software companies employ LeetCode style interview. That is off-putting to a lot of people even though the money would be super sweet to have. * Some wannabe startups also employ LeetCode style interview even though they don't pay anywhere near FAANG/Unicorns. * You know what's worst than LeetCode style interview? LeetCode style inte…

People have been bitching about LC interviews for 10 years. That's eons in tech, yet companies continue to use it. Maybe, because it works extremely well? Tech companies are taking it in more every year.

More likely it works "good enough" rather than extremely well.

Re: I think I know why you can't hire engineers right now

#350
post #87

The article is concise but missing a lot of real-life examples: * The highest paying software companies employ LeetCode style interview. That is off-putting to a lot of people even though the money would be super sweet to have. * Some wannabe startups also employ LeetCode style interview even though they don't pay anywhere near FAANG/Unicorns. * You know what's worst than LeetCode style interview? LeetCode style inte…

People have been bitching about LC interviews for 10 years. That's eons in tech, yet companies continue to use it. Maybe, because it works extremely well? Tech companies are taking it in more every year.

People have been bitching about a lot of things for a long time and they’re still in use… amount of bitching is just not correlated with anything.
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