Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find it strange, as software developers, that we discuss the effects on automation all the time, but no one seems to understand that automation has made searching for new employees incredibly inexpensive and efficient compared to the past. So in technical roles there are a lot of companies that are always hiring. Recruiters work for free until they find you someone and placing job listings online is so inexpensive…
"I find it strange, as software developers, that we discuss the effects on automation all the time, but no one seems to understand that automation has made searching for new employees incredibly inexpensive and efficient compared to the past." Yes, just like Tinder and other assorted dating apps and sites have made it incredibly easy and efficient to search for a mate, but relatively few people end up in a relationsh…
We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
431–440 of 810 posts
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#432I feel like a broken record, but I'm going to say it anyways. There is NOT a shortage of software developers. That myth was developed by big tech, and pushed all the way up the ladder, to the top of government. The goal? Reduce labor costs. Big tech has always been 1 step ahead of the employee, just like coal, and metal working was. They saw the huge need for developers and realized their costs would increase unless…
150% - devs are slowly waking up to this fact. Behind the efforts to teach everybody to code are more sinister motives: lowering the salaries for engineers.
Depends on the dev; most higher level coding roles require proficiency in many domains and a certain level of polish. Frequently to cover the tail of the person hiring them.
I've been paid quite a bit for coding... but the premium was due to the projects requiring: a) statistical expertise, b) finance & pricing knowledge, c) transaction system design, d) discretion to deal with HR / restructuring information, e) quality assurance required for contentious BOD projects, and f) willingness to accept a fair amount of uncertainty, screwed up schedules, and outright abuse from senior level leaders without snapping back or ripping their heads off.
Good luck finding that at boot camp!
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#433It does not surprise me that this is out of Atlanta. One of the former Atlanta Business Chronicle writers that covered tech rightfully calls it the Bangalore of the South. https://twitter.com/Urvaksh/status/1092948535627137024 https://twitter.com/Urvaksh/status/893087188451196928 Tech in ATL is a second class citizen and the salaries reflect that, plus there is a glut of marketing and business people. The other issue…
I would have loved to stay near Atlanta since it's near my family, but you're right. It was difficult to find tech jobs there, despite Georgia Tech having a world class CS program. So I moved to the Bay Area.
Great place to run a business though... cost of living is low.
(Granted, you get funding / talent lift from the Bay Area)
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#434I had a recruiter call me a year ago with what sounded like a really amazing offer. Working for a well funded startup on a problem in which I happen to be a domain expert. They're aren't many expects in my field with my background and skill set and they said the right things to get me to interview (compensation won't be a concern). Anyway... Went in for 4-5 interviews. Took me about 10 hours in total to interview wit…
I don't do the 4-5 interview thing any more either. If you cannot make a determination in 1 or 2 interviews in person - in combination with my work history and references then you are wasting my time and yours.
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#435It does not surprise me that this is out of Atlanta. One of the former Atlanta Business Chronicle writers that covered tech rightfully calls it the Bangalore of the South. https://twitter.com/Urvaksh/status/1092948535627137024 https://twitter.com/Urvaksh/status/893087188451196928 Tech in ATL is a second class citizen and the salaries reflect that, plus there is a glut of marketing and business people. The other issue…
There is a good pool of talent in ATL and the cost of living is low compared to SF. Kabbage, Cardlytics, and a couple others operate a model of high turnover and low pay. It costs more than the mythical man month method overall, but the output of the product group is more predicable and there is less risk of a small group of 10x engineers leaving and gutting the product team.
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#436Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find it strange, as software developers, that we discuss the effects on automation all the time, but no one seems to understand that automation has made searching for new employees incredibly inexpensive and efficient compared to the past. So in technical roles there are a lot of companies that are always hiring. Recruiters work for free until they find you someone and placing job listings online is so inexpensive…
Interviews take 2-3 man days from a company per candidate you end up doing a full onsight interview. That is on the order of $1000’s per interview, and you generally have to do several per role. Then for high demand roles even the best will take several months to ramp up which costs a large fraction, say 25-50% of their total compensation. So replacing a dev can cost you in total $100k+ at least. That is not really c…
I wonder at what point would it make sense to start exposing a part of your "software development pipeline" to the external world and then hiring people after they've proven themselves on your pipeline (with compensation). Think lambda school but for your own company.
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#437Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why write "must have" when it's not a "must have"? Why not admit that you'd consider people not ticking all the boxes?
Why go to a restaurant and ask "can I get a diet Coke, please"? Why not admit that you'd consider other sugar free, carbonated, cola flavored soft drinks? Because both parties should already be aware that it's a negotiation between people and not a blockchain contract to be mechanically evaluated according to a spec.
Indeed, you say "can I get a Coke please", not "it must be a diet Coke" - or if you do, you probably want to make it clear that you'd not consider alternatives. Similarly, enough companies use actual-must in job offerings (for all or for some requirements), and enough companies are clear about (some) requirements being a preference that expecting candidates to divine which employers do and which don't mean it when they say "must" means you'll loose out on some candidates, for no good reason.
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#438Earlier quoted context omitted.
>>This practice favors the employer so much that it is illegal in California (and a few other states) to ask for salary history. That's interesting....when submitting resumes for US Federal government (GS) jobs, their resume guidelines include salary, hours worked, and points of contact for each position. I wonder how positions advertised in the State of California can be reconciled with what you've shared?
I would imagine the federal government has enough transparency and process regarding pay scales to make this moot.
Lemme clarify: your application FOR a Federal position is expected to include your PREVIOUS salaries, regardless of whether they were public or private sector. So if you are a California resident and you submit an application for a Federal position in California, but you don't disclose your previous salaries, I wonder if they consider your application incomplete? If that was used as justification for rejecting your application, would you have grounds to dispute that rejection legally?
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#439Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this an American thing? I live in Eastern Europe and make decent buck here (close to 5000 EUR/mo after taxes in a country where you can cover all expenses under 1000 EUR/mo). I never had any trouble getting quality work in my country but a few times I got approached by companies from the US and oh boy, weeks of tiring recrutation process and the pay was ALWAYS worse than local. I feel like they do it on purpose ma…
I highly highly recommend Lab Rats by Dan Lyons. Dissects the forces behind the current state of the workforce in the US. Very well written and exposes the brutality and destruction resulting from focusing on short term profit at any cost.
Thanks, added to my list. The topic looks kinda depressing though...
Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage
#440Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where are you located?
I'm located in EU. I think this is part of the problem. Based on my job search, I've noticed that there is much more (interesting) jobs in USA.
Yeah. I moved to the Bay Area for an interesting gig, and now I get 3-5 recruiter pitches a day, many of which are from interesting companies. Same Ruby/Js background. It’s so much recruiting it’s gone from amazing to annoying actually, but it’s a good problem to have. If you can find a way to get here I think you’ll have an easy time finding a nice job.