Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

cushychicken.github.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

371–380 of 927 posts

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

#371

Post by zibzab »

Off topic: As someone who doesn't even like Star Trek I feel attacked.

While we are off topic, that opening by apenwarr (linked in the article) was epic:

> Recently a security hole in a certain open source Java library resulted in a worldwide emergency kerfuffle as, say, 40% of the possibly hundreds of millions of worldwide deployments of this library needed to be updated in a hurry. (The other 60% also needed to be updated in a hurry, but won't be until they facilitate some ransomware, which is pretty normal for these situations.)

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

#373

Post by aeternum »

carabiner wrote: post #227
didip wrote: 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.

Depends on how you define works. It does effectively filter the people that can't code, but it also filters a lot of people that can code and just can't or don't care to do it under time or environment pressure.

In the past that was fine, candidate pool was large enough that a heavy-handed filter was okay. That may be changing.

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

#374

Post by lpapez »

Apocryphon wrote: post #46
reikonomusha wrote: post #29

Purely anecdotal: In my experience as a hiring manager seeing trends change over the past 10 years, and selecting from the top 10% of candidates by some vague metric, it's primarily about "does it pay a lot" and secondarily "does it offer full-remote"? A lot of my friends, former colleagues, and candidates I've failed to hire end up going to either a FAANG or a very successful brand-name company (typically a SV compa…

On the flip side, dissatisfaction about engineering work conditions at AMZN (the notorious PIP culture) is a rising deterrent.

One of my friends said: "In this market good people can choose where they want to work, but even the bad ones can choose where they don't want to work"

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

#375

Post by ngc248 »

version_five wrote: post #42

A lot of corporate jobs I see look more like they want someone to come act a part in a play than actually do meaningful engineering work. That's why I think it's hard to hire. Offer a real job, or offer a ridiculous salary.

This is exactly it. I have faced a similar experience, where even though I wanted to contribute more, I was not allowed to. Even though I had actual experience in the domain, I was not the one picked for working on the project, coz someone else needed to lead the project to be promoted.

In the end the project failed, but the guy got promoted. It was just like a play. The script was pre-ordained by the management chain and we all had to play our parts.

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

#376

Post by b112 »

pjmlp wrote: post #365
eyjafjallajokul wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Healthcare, 30 paid holidays, unions, paid overtime, weekends and calls off work come extra (it is 40h week period, want more pay for it), retirement, flex time, ... If you are in your 20's, it is totally worth moving to the US where you can get paid 500K+ per year if you navigate your career efficiently. I posit that making this much money more than covers any of these additional expenses that you call out.

Assuming success and a better career outcome away from home without support from anyone.

Yes, but, it is trivial to pack bags when young, show up for job, rent a furnished place, and just start living.

If the job doesn't work out, you can just pack and go home.

Worst case, you get to see a new city, meet new people, and have some memories.

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

#377

Post by solididiot »

didip wrote: 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…

There's something much worse than Leetcode. Take home unpaid long projects that end up in rejection or lowball offers.

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

#378

Post by verst »

Wiseacre wrote: post #363
eyjafjallajokul wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100k is below starting salary in the Bay Area or Seattle. Most senior folks make 300-450k with Staff level engineers making 600-800k.

Most? As in over 50% of all senior folk in the Seattle industry make 300-450k?

Definitely not. Total comp of senior engineers at Microsoft in Seattle is nowhere near this. (I am one of those at this point in time)

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

#379

Post by emrah »

Author doesn't make a distinction between those earlier in their careers vs those much further along.

For "senior" devs, I think there are two additional things just as important as the mentioned three: good compensation & minimal BS.

The techno-utopian perspective tends to fade away with time (and acquiring of a significant other), replaced with pragmatism and realism which brings these two elements much more into focus with time.

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

#380

Post by b112 »

nikanj wrote: post #364
hguant wrote: 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…

If money isn't motivating people, you're not using enough. $10k is not worth learning a new skill, but $100k might be. "Learn Rust and pay for your kids' college in three quarters" sounds more appealing than "Learn Rust and maybe get a nicer trim level on your car"

Weird world you live in! I see endless employers post job postings with specific reqs, and presume engineers cannot learn new languages or skills.

Oh no! You don't code in lang $x, but know 12 other languages? Clearly, you're not a fit for this job!

Post reply on HN