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We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

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Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#471

Post by m0zg »

retiredcoder wrote: post #294
m0zg wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a former "VP of X" at a startup, titles don't mean shit at startups. If a startup can hire a janitor for less if they call him a "VP of Janitorial Services", they will offer that title to a janitor. I'm exaggerating, of course, but not by very much. The corrolary of this is: not everyone knows this, so _after_ you're done negotiating salary, equity and benefits, it might be a good idea to inquire about a grandiose…

And as result of title inflation, a lot of titles are losing meaning even in big companies. I know people becoming principal eng at FAANG who are just playing their cards right.

Becoming principal engineers is usually just playing the cards right in general. Very rarely does anyone get this far on technical merit alone. I know several people at Google who easily deserve the title based on quality and volume of their contributions, and several "principal" engineers who do not. Life isn't fair, what can I say. In addition to being good, you have to be at the right time at the right place, please the right set of people, and "play your cards" in other ways. In fact, if you do the "soft" things right, "being good" at technical stuff matters very little, beyond a certain basic threshold.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#472

Post by repler »

wolfgke wrote: post #398
repler wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ask candidates to tell me about something they created they are proud of, and why. All you have to do after that is listen.

> I ask candidates to tell me about something they created they are proud of, and why. Never be proud of anything that you created - since it probably is not of "top of the world quality". Even in the rare case that it is - it is very likely that even "top of the world" can still be improved.

No offense, but that's pretty sad. I hope you find more rewarding work before you retire. We're only on this Earth once.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#473

Post by SllX »

CapricornNoble wrote: post #438
dannypgh wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 a…

That’s easy: California has no jurisdiction over the Feds. The Federal Government isn’t a private employer subject to California labor laws and regulations.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#474

Post by muse900 »

code_chimp wrote: post #434
burtonator wrote: post #5

I 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.

Completely agree with you, and if am going on a 4-5 interview step thing and blackboards are presented etc then I want you to be able to offer same sign on bonuses and perks big companies can offer.

If the only thing you have to offer is equity (risk) and a lower salary than what I was getting/market salary why don't I just save me some time and risk it all by starting my own company.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#475

Post by Scoundreller »

cheez wrote: post #209
rubicon33 wrote: post #208

I 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…

But nurse practitioners... God forbid they prescribe you antibiotics.

Uhhh, they can prescribe antibiotics just like prescribing any other non-controlled drug.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#476

Post by Fjolsvith »

CapricornNoble wrote: post #438
dannypgh wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 a…

I believe that by applying for a federal job, you are agreeing to federal jurisdiction.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#477

Post by slv77 »

CapricornNoble wrote: post #342
sundaeofshock wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they use for the basis of their offer. Most people don’t really know what the market is paying for the skills and experience, so they are already operating blindly. A 15-20% increase over current salary sounds like a lot, particularly if the potential employee is unaware that the market supports 50% (or more) above their current salary. This practice favors the employer so much that it is illegal in Californi…

>>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?

State laws don’t apply to the federal government.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#478

Post by alain94040 »

b212 wrote: post #381
bufferoverflow wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US salaries are on a whole new level when it comes to senior programmers. $200K+ base is normal, if you're good. $150/hr for consulting gigs is also normal if you're good. So your $5K after taxes wouldn't even register on my radar.

This is relative. 5000€ is $5623. You can maintain a "normal" life standard around here for about $800 (renting a studio / two room flat in the city centre + all the expenses, no car but I never needed one - the subway takes me to the furthest parts of town in 25 minutes, walking to work is not unusual). So you're saving more or less 5000$ every month. How much do you have to earn in SV to rent a place for your own n…

First of all, who cares about base, what matters is total compensation. In Silicon Valley, I would say it takes about 5 years of experience, for good engineers, to rent a nice place close to work, if they want to. See actual data here: https://thestartupconference.com/2018/09/21/about-that-silic...

After 10 years of experience, you are looking into buying a house. Granted, the price of the house is exhorbitant compared to its size, but that's the market.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#479

Post by barrkel »

pm90 wrote: post #264
fma wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've posted this elsewhere (forgot here or reddit). I'm gainfully employed. A former colleague who is now in a hiring position at a new company reached out to me. Said they have several openings and are having a hard time hiring good people. It would be a much longer commute, working/rewriting some older tech to be cloud ready (I did that at my current and previous employer). We started talking about salary. I told h…

> I told him what I made. Never make that mistake. Never ever disclose your salary information to someone that you potentially could work for. I think a situation where we were required by law to disclose, or a company where such a thing was common (GitLab) would be exceptions. But otherwise, I've found it to be a huge mistake to disclose your exact salary or numbers to anyone.

It's worth disclosing it to rule out pointless conversations early on if you have strong reasons to believe you're on the higher end of the salary distribution. I wouldn't say it precludes you from asking for more if you can articulate a value proposition that makes you an even better fit for the next opportunity.

Re: We Don't Have a Talent Shortage. We Have a Sucker Shortage

#480

Post by WheelsAtLarge »

This happens in other industries too. A few years ago 60 Minutes did a story about a manufacturing company desperately looking for people to fill their positions. They interviewed the CEO and he said that the shortage was so extreme that they had to partner with a local college to create a training program to get the needed workforce. They went on an on about how hard it was to fill their positions and could not understand it since at the time the unemployment rate was relatively high. Finally, the interviewer asked what the salary for the position was. They, in an extremely serious tone, responded with $13.00/hour. And this was at a time when you could get a fast food job for $10-$11 without a bit of experience.
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