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Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

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Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#101

Post by giantg2 »

mikhael28 wrote: post #91
giantg2 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"who don’t actually like to program, or who have very staunch/stagnant attitudes." Were those in the comment? Seems these would be more than just enjoying learning and growing. I might be getting there now. That wasn't the case in the past. Office politics and poor management ruined me early in my career. I'm just a burnt out low performer now. I have seen many others who also fall into the category of enjoying learn…

Take a sabbatical dawg. Or save up to take one. Being burnt out is no way to live, and is blinding you to your potential. You appear to have little to no professional confidence.

Not possible in my situation. I'll just drag on for another 16ish years and them take a job at Walmart, if I don't get fired.

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#102

Post by welshwelsh »

giantg2 wrote: post #45
JCM9 wrote: post #17

Tech is a rare industry where you can easily pivot into it later in your career, start at an entry level position, work your way very high up the ladder and get paid very well along the way. I know folks without a college degree that started as tech support reps who worked their way up to senior roles in big tech that make multiples more than most physicians I know or others that had to go down a rigid path to get to…

"Easily" my ass. "The industry favors eager people who are hungry to continually learn and grow. While there can be short term bumps in the road, those that fit these characteristics have and will continue to do extremely well." That wasn't my experience. The people you describe making so much money are statistical outliers who got lucky. I'd love to live in whatever bubble you do. All I'd have to do to make stupid l…

I think an important part they left out is- if you want to make a lot of money, you need to optimize for money.

That means everything you do should have the goal of landing a higher paying job. Instead of studying things you find interesting, focus on learning skills that are frequently mentioned in job postings. Learning how to make your own compiler, for example, might not be the most profitable investment of your time.

To a salary-maximizer, work is simply a way to improve their resume. Before committing to a project, consider whether talking about that project will help you in an interview.

Most importantly, to make more money you need to constantly apply to better jobs even if you already have a high paying job you are happy with. This is where the majority fail, as most people won't apply for other jobs unless they are unemployed or unhappy. Some people are so deluded that they think they can get a better salary through promotions, simply by working hard at their current job, rather than through job hopping.

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#103

Post by stcroixx »

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #13
jasoneckert wrote: post #2

Big news headlines seem to be positioned in a way to scare people away from tech jobs right now, but the hard reality is that every organization relies tech people, not just those few big tech companies in Silicon Valley that over-hired during the pandemic.

If you were an average engineer destined to work in cookie-cutter roles in tech consultancies, would you still pursue a tech career, knowing that your job will sooner or later be taken over by AI? Remember that careers last 30 years, and if you're the average engineer, you're more likely to fall into the 80% of the pareto half than the 20%. Can you be confident that AI won't displace you in 10, 15, or even 20 years?…

Not many can afford a career as short as 30 years, particularly average engineers making average salaries.

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#104

Post by giantg2 »

908B64B197 wrote: post #93
giantg2 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't $150k the standard number for the common top end grade? They make adjustments based on location for COL. So it could be more there. Even so, the majority of developers live outside of SV where even the $150k number is attractive (given the national dev median is around $110k).

> Isn't $150k the standard number for the common top end grade? They make adjustments based on location for COL. COL adjustments are HR policy, not laws. SV caliber talent typically don't get those, wherever they end up working from.

"COL adjustments are HR policy, not laws."

We're talking about federal jobs. Compensation is infact laid out in regulation. Stuff like a GS15 step 10 (top) has a set base number, but is then adjusted for duty location.

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#105

Post by bombolo »

rippercushions wrote: post #57
bombolo wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh please stop with this meaningless fear mongering. AI is a (not so good) tool. Yes it can write very short snippets that often make sense, but in no way can understand requirements, do debugging or maintain existing code.

The ChatGPT 4 developer demo showcased literally all three of those. https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-watch-first-d...

Lol, I talked about very short snippets and you counter my argument with a video showing very short snippets.

If I wasn't scared before, I'm even less scared now.

But if all you do is write trivial code anyone can learn to write in 1 week, with extremely detailed instructions, perhaps your job is in danger indeed. That's not what a software engineer does anyway.

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#106

Post by projectazorian »

throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #62
nytesky wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, we hire a ton of technical Fed contractors, but the pay range capps out at $150k and starts at a level most of HN would find insulting. But it’s considered “tech” at least by NPR.

Those of us who don't live in San Francisco that have been job searching have found salaries average about $125k. Over here in the real world tech doesn't make that much money. Also, it's crazy that anyone would complain about that salary. By any metric $125k is more than enough money for a decent living.

> Those of us who don't live in San Francisco that have been job searching have found salaries average about $125k. Over here in the real world tech doesn't make that much money.

Incorrect. Most people I know in this industry never lived in SF and make well over that amount. Putting in some time on the West Coast is not a bad idea though - doesn’t have to be SF.

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#107

Post by bombolo »

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #70
bombolo wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh please stop with this meaningless fear mongering. AI is a (not so good) tool. Yes it can write very short snippets that often make sense, but in no way can understand requirements, do debugging or maintain existing code.

boggles my mind that we had a tool that was smart when it was first launched in November 2022, experienced a massive generational improvement in the next iteration (GPT-4) within 4 months...and people on HN are ready to assert that this is the best it will ever be. It improved drastically in quality within 4 months, yet for some reason, the nex 10 years will see 0 progress in a field with literally tens of billions a…

We will certainly see hype like for cryptocurrencies…

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#108

Post by projectazorian »

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #70
bombolo wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh please stop with this meaningless fear mongering. AI is a (not so good) tool. Yes it can write very short snippets that often make sense, but in no way can understand requirements, do debugging or maintain existing code.

boggles my mind that we had a tool that was smart when it was first launched in November 2022, experienced a massive generational improvement in the next iteration (GPT-4) within 4 months...and people on HN are ready to assert that this is the best it will ever be. It improved drastically in quality within 4 months, yet for some reason, the nex 10 years will see 0 progress in a field with literally tens of billions a…

Most revolutionary technical changes like this tend to hit a plateau in progress right after they hit the top of the hype cycle. It’s unlikely that AI/ML will be an exception.

Not bad news for anyone involved in this work, though. That period is when the real business and societal changes happen. It’s also when most of the money gets made.

People and businesses need time to test new technology and adapt it so that it works reliably for their specific use cases. GPT and other LLMs are no exception.

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#109

Post by projectazorian »

bombolo wrote: post #107
spaceman_2020 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

boggles my mind that we had a tool that was smart when it was first launched in November 2022, experienced a massive generational improvement in the next iteration (GPT-4) within 4 months...and people on HN are ready to assert that this is the best it will ever be. It improved drastically in quality within 4 months, yet for some reason, the nex 10 years will see 0 progress in a field with literally tens of billions a…

We will certainly see hype like for cryptocurrencies…

No coincidence that a lot of the web3 grifters have pivoted to hyping up AI.

Re: Tech jobs remain a good bet despite mass layoffs in Silicon Valley

#110

Post by lisasays »

unionemployee wrote: post #46
JCM9 wrote: post #17

Tech is a rare industry where you can easily pivot into it later in your career, start at an entry level position, work your way very high up the ladder and get paid very well along the way. I know folks without a college degree that started as tech support reps who worked their way up to senior roles in big tech that make multiples more than most physicians I know or others that had to go down a rigid path to get to…

pivot into it later in your career How "later"? Age discrimination seems somewhat problematic in tech. Edit: Two other "old" replies pop up at the same time.

Age discrimination seems somewhat problematic in tech.

It was supposed to be a happy, feel-good article. Don't let messy reality intrude.

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