On: What STEM shortage? Electrical engineering lost 35,000 jobs last year

[roc]

> "It seems to me there's a big shortage of people in the less 'fun' tech jobs like desktop support or QA or Java corporate development."

And yet the wages being offered for these jobs haven't gone up. It's pretty hard to have a labor shortage if the remaining workers aren't seeing wage increases as demand exceeds supply.

[shawabawa3 → roc]

> And yet the wages being offered for these jobs haven't gone up. It's pretty hard to have a labor shortage if the remaining workers aren't seeing wage increases as demand exceeds supply.

Isn't it possible the jobs just aren't worth that much?

There could be hundreds of unfilled positions, but not filling the positions is only costing say ~$50k in revenue. It's not worth paying someone $51k for that position

[dangerlibrary → shawabawa3]

You have described an equilibrium condition in which, by definition, there are not hundreds of unfilled positions.

[DrJones1098 → shawabawa3]

That seems like a pretty good point. Especially considering I.T. is considered a cost center to most businesses.

[AmVess → roc]

The starting pay at a (formerly) local company was $14.25/hr in 2000. They pay $10.25 for the same job 14 years later.

The nearby Costco pays better, has realistic working hours, and offers actual benefits.

I can't remember when it was that I saw such a job that paid a living wage.