
Are Qualcomm Layoffs a Disaster for San Diego---or an Opportunity? - jbaylin
http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2015/07/27/are-qualcomm-layoffs-a-disaster-for-san-diego-or-an-opportunity/
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hwstar
Short term, the engineering job market in San Diego will be terrible as the
laid off engineers flood the market. Hopefully some of these engineers will
start their own small companies and this is where it gets interesting...

There has been a dearth of small electronics technology company creation in
San Diego since the start of the 2008 recession. Part of me says that this is
about to change, but global competition, regulations, and barriers to entry
may put a damper on it.

It's very hard to start a hardware company these days. There are lots of
capital-intensive requirements such as adhering to safety, toxicity, and
emissions regulations and performing the necessary testing to gain
certification. These tests and reports can run in to the tens of thousands of
dollars, and they have to be re-done several times as a product evolves.

I suppose this is why software-only companies have been popular recently. They
are not subject to the same requirements as hardware companies. This may
change in the future as more things are controlled by software, and the
process becomes subject to regulation.

Please note that I am not against regulation to protect consumers and
customers, I'm only concerned about the financial burden it presents to newly
formed companies. The regulations are necessary and required, but the costs
are a real barrier to entry.

