

I thought The Social Network was a superhero movie until I went to the Valley - skeletal
http://petersiemens.com/the-demystification-of-silicon-valley

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smt88
Basing an impression of a region/culture on a movie is just as irrational as
basing that impression on a single hackathon.

It makes sense that many of the engineers and companies in SV _will_ be highly
accessible to a talented engineer. Engineers like people like themselves, and
companies are still looking for top-tier talent.

The question is whether you'll ever be one of the people who makes enough
money to make a career in SV worthwhile. Yes, you read a lot about the
engineers who succeed there. But that's giving you selection bias.

There are a lot of engineers who fight against the cost of living and grueling
work hours, burn out, and leave without making as much as they would have in a
different city.

Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum (burnout to Zuckerberg), chances
are nearly that you'll be anywhere close to the Zuckerberg end of the
spectrum. Starting your own company is a great way to lose a lot of money
(yours and others'), and it's delusional to think of them otherwise. It's
delusional to gamble on your own talent when talent and meritocracy aren't
what make successful startups, and it's delusional to invest vital amounts of
time and money in something with a 0.5% chance of success.

That said, if you have a financial safety net, can survive the repeated
failures, and don't feel like you can do anything else, starting a company
might still be for you.

~~~
skeletal
I agree completely.

I'll admit that it sounds like I'm sending the message of "go try to start
your company in Silicon Valley." But the main point I was trying to get across
(which I realize may not have been made clear enough) was that the mere
barrier to entry isn't as large as one might think.

Myself and a lot of my peers were always under the impression that you had to
come from a prestigious school or really impress somebody in order to have a
shot in SV. I've spoken with classmates who dismissed the idea of ever going
there because "they aren't smart enough to work at Google" or don't "have a
Stanford education."

The media creates a picture of the industry that is very intimidating. Is it
irrational to believe it? Yes. But it's hard when you hear so much about the
"rockstars" of Silicon Valley and the constant company and university name-
dropping.

I just wanted to convey the feeling of relief I felt when I got there. Even
though it might not be totally rational, the impression I felt was vastly
different than what I had prepared myself for.

~~~
smt88
I see what you're saying. The point I wanted to get across was that finding
welcoming people doesn't mean anything when you have something that they want.

Most successful entrepreneurs still go to top-tier schools. It's still an
elite club. But, as an engineer, you're a limited resource that all tech
startups need. That means you're going to be treated nicely, but you're not
necessarily going to be a longshot investment from a VC firm.

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kra34
I don't think anybody ever said a young white male software engineer will have
a hard time fitting in Silicon Valley.

------
Cshelton
I have hired grads without even asking where they went to school. Only after
when they started working I realized I didn't even know where they went. It
didn't seem to matter.

