Om Malik: Silicon Valley's Talent Crunch • Hacker News Board

Re: Om Malik: Silicon Valley's Talent Crunch

#11

Post by ericflo » Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 5:00 AM UTC

mkramlich wrote: post #10

I think another factor Om didn't mention, which is also at play, is that an increasing number of talented engineers and designers are striking off on their own and building their own startups. It's not so much they're being poached by other companies as they are poaching themselves. There's so much cheap infrastructure, frameworks and open source packages today that I think the balance of power in software startups i…

Yeah, I think top engineers have realized that even if they don't succeed as a business, companies like Facebook will often buy them for their talent with more upside than they would have gotten being hired through the normal means.

But at some point that will stop being true, so now more than ever I think it's important to be trying to build real, sustainable businesses.

Re: Om Malik: Silicon Valley's Talent Crunch

#12

Post by jmspring » Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 6:03 AM UTC

Personally, I am at a crossroads. I have suitable spare time to start pursuing ideas I think will provide the basis for a good idea or even work on the side with an interesting startup. I'm into boring backend things like pipes, data, security and infrastructure (software not hardware). However, owning a house and living in the South Bay puts geographic limits on where I am willing to engage with companies on a daily basis.

In addition to people starting their own thing, I've also noticed that a number of people are trying to focus a bit more on the work / life balance. Trying to get out more and enjoy nature/work out/etc. instead of working 20 hours a day. And, in some ways, this is impacting their decisions between startups and large companies.

Re: Om Malik: Silicon Valley's Talent Crunch

#13

Post by mkramlich » Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 6:57 PM UTC

ericflo wrote: post #11

mkramlich wrote: post #10

I think another factor Om didn't mention, which is also at play, is that an increasing number of talented engineers and designers are striking off on their own and building their own startups. It's not so much they're being poached by other companies as they are poaching themselves. There's so much cheap infrastructure, frameworks and open source packages today that I think the balance of power in software startups i…

Yeah, I think top engineers have realized that even if they don't succeed as a business, companies like Facebook will often buy them for their talent with more upside than they would have gotten being hired through the normal means. But at some point that will stop being true, so now more than ever I think it's important to be trying to build real, sustainable businesses.

yep, plus when you work for somebody else in a traditional job you get put in a narrow slot. just an engineer. just a designer. whereas if you start your own business or (sometimes) work at a startup you can be an engineer, graphic designer, UI, product, writer, marketing, sales, biz dev, bookkeeper, etc. plus pick your own tech, tools, office, hours, dress code, etc. And even when you "lose" at a startup or self-employment venture you still win in many ways because of all the skills and experience you exercised and how much better your resume can look.