

Upstarts raid giants for talent in Silicon Valley - pramodbiligiri
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/technology/unicorns-hunt-for-talent-among-silicon-valleys-giants.html?_r=0

======
smikhanov
Lucky engineers in Silicon Valley. Nowhere else in the world developers have
it so easy.

~~~
adaml_623
In the UK they have articles where companies complain about skill shortages
and developers with unrealistic salary expectations. The laws of the supply
and demand are slow to move some markets.

~~~
cylinder
UK startups aren't flooded with easy VC money to the extent that Valley
startups are. That's how they're able to throw around big salaries and equity,
it's almost funny money. Once these companies mature and have to come back to
the reality of managing costs, the talented engineers will once again bail to
the newest hypergrowth startups.

~~~
GVIrish
I'm sure startup money is a large part of it, but bottom line is that
corporate culture at-large still hasn't adjusted to the reality that great
technical people can make or break your company and that maybe they actually
are worth the kind of money that used to be reserved for management types or
sales.

------
trhway
the higher the chimney the stronger the draft. Sucking up high talent into the
upstarts means good openings in the giants for the rest of us :)

~~~
optimusclimb
Or maybe it just means try harder to follow the momentum and go for those
upstarts?

Years ago, I thought, "Why would I want to bust my butt to join Goog or
similar and be a cog in a giant machine?" It seemed to me like you try hard to
prove yourself to get in just to be on the bottom of the totem pole where
being recognized would be very hard. So I didn't bother and worked at other
smaller companies.

In retrospect, it seems like your best move in the Valley IS to just try to
get in to the biggest, best name, with the most talent flowing into it. IF and
when you want to leave for somewhere smaller (or start your own), you'll be
well served for having done it, networked, gotten the resume boost, etc.

So while yes, it may be true that the updraft opens up spots, maybe if you get
one, you'll be looking back and seeing that during those years, having Goog or
similar on the resume will not be as boosting to your career as Uber or AirBNB
et al.

~~~
trhway
>your best move in the Valley IS to just try to get in to the biggest, best
name, with the most talent flowing into it.

even better to get into such a company before it becomes that "best name".
Unfortunately, on couple occasions i wasn't able to recognize it - they were
such ugly ducklings back at the time :)

~~~
keithwhor
Isn't every successful startup an ugly duckling at some point?

~~~
humanrebar
Zynga was an ugly duckling for sure.

~~~
StavrosK
When did Zynga blossom into a beautiful swan? It just grew up to be an ugly
duck.

~~~
humanrebar
Exactly. Well put. Sometimes ugly ducklings grow up to be ugly ducks.

------
CmonDev
_> Two of the chefs who prepared meals for Googlers, Alvin San and Rafael
Monfort, have been hired away by Uber and Airbnb in the last 18 months._

Ha-ha, can't even keep the catering staff! Time to wake up and pay the market
wage.

 _> In addition, a nimble recruiter from a much-talked-out start-up can still
move faster than even the most competitive companies like Google._

And reply to every email, instead of leaving candidates waiting for weeks.

------
graycat
> technology companies wage war on one another for top prospects by doling out
> six-figure salaries

First, how far does a "six figure" salary go when living within commuting
distance of a job in Silicon Valley? Can such a job buy a house, two late
model cars, and support a wife and family, at at least a moderately high
standard of living, while saving for emergencies, education for the kids, and
retirement? Right, I thought not.

Second, early in my career in a hot job market, my annual salary was a little
over six times what a new, high end Camaro cost. And where I was living the
cost of living was not especially high. So, to do that now, say, a Camaro for
$50,000, would need $300,000 a year plus another 100% for Silicon Valley,
$600,000 year, plus more for higher Federal taxes now, plus more for higher
California taxes, entry level, non-management. Are people getting that in
Silicon Valley? I thought not.

Third, Silicon Valley is still the HQ of H1-B fraud, right? I thought so.

Fourth, in a successful startup, other than founders and a few of the early
employees, how many of the employees ever see any significant financial gain
from their stock? Only a tiny fraction? Thought so.

Fifth, what's this stuff about "talent"? Can that be measured by SAT scores,
college grades in computer science, good projects in computing successfully
completed, a world class research university Ph.D. in applied math with
published work in nearly all of the topics in _data science_? Will HR even
look at such things? I thought not. Instead they want why manhole covers are
round? And they want _skills_ \-- Linux, Java, Python, etc., to hack code, 100
hours a week, on a laptop, at a folding table, in a big room, with all the
tables packed with other _coders_? I thought so.

Question: Why does the NYT publish such absurd, misleading, potentially
harmful propaganda?

~~~
niccaluim
"Support a wife"? That's precious.

~~~
graycat
Gates did and does. Same for George W. Bush, Trump, and millions more. Darwin
is interested in that subject and has some things to say!

