

Why It's So Hard For NYC Startups To Hire Developers - pathik
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-its-so-hard-for-nyc-startups-to-hire-developers-2010-5

======
ig1
It's hard for startups everywhere to hire developers. SF, Boston, London,
Cambridge, etc. There's a huge global shortage of developers.

I don't think people realize how fast the global demand for software
developers is growing. In the UK it's now the 16th most common full-time
occupation for men. The UK simply isn't producing developers anywhere fast
enough to keep up with growth. I doubt any other country can either.

~~~
gamble
My husband and I are both programmers, and as he has dual UK/Canadian
citizenship we were looking into a move to the UK. We found that developer
salaries in the UK were shockingly low, even in comparison to Canada. (Which
is itself not exactly high-wage compared to the US) Not to mention that the
cost of living in the UK is extremely high. If there really is that much
demand for programmers, it isn't reflected in salaries.

~~~
ig1
What sort of figures are you talking about ?

The UK varies quite a lot by location and field. In general for a experienced
developer in London I'd expect a salary in the region of 35k-60k GBP/57k-96k
CAD (the financial sector somewhat above this range; academia below it).

~~~
gamble
The salaries I saw advertised were mostly around the lower end of that range
(~35k GBP) for London. Less elsewhere. In Canada, that's starting salary for
someone fresh out of university. $80k-100k CAD would be a good salary for an
experienced programmer.

Of course, that doesn't take into account the exorbitant cost-of-living and
higher taxation in the UK. Plus, it seems like most of the programmer jobs are
clustered in the most expensive area around London. Even if we didn't have to
take a pay cut to live in the UK, our money would still buy far less than it
does here.

~~~
ig1
35k is what a graduate would get in the UK for somewhere like Google or a tech
consultancy, but you wouldn't get that from most non-tech firms.

You're right most jobs are clustered around London though and due to the high
rent of London it's definitely less affordable than Canada.

