Re: Okay, So I'm Not Done After All :D (WAS: WHAT did you say?)

[Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM>]

John -

<peeling back the cover, inspecting message contents carefully> Yup, it's a
rant. And like most rants, it's got it's share of misstatements and
exaggerations.

John Gilger wrote:

> It isn't that we aren't around, George, it is just that the companies have
> an insane expectation that we are willing to lower our lifestyles for the
> privilege of living in Silicon Valley or some other high-cost-of-living
> location without the necessarily higher compensation.
>
> WARNING: <RANT>
> The fact is that their claim of US citizens not being available is an excuse
> to import people who are willing to work cheaper and improve the corporate
> bottom line so that the CEO can live in luxury in Silicon Valley.</RANT>

Living in Napa and San Diego hardly qualifies one for commenting on the real
lifestyles of Silicon Valley. Check any good map, John -  Napa is about three
hours north of Silicon Valley, and San Diego is in that Other Country, Southern
California.

Yes, it's true that pay on a job-for-job comparison basis is higher in Silicon
Valley than in other parts of the country. And yes it's true that the cost of
housing is outrageous.  And yes it's true that commuting is a nightmare,
although it's absolute bliss compared to commutes I've experienced in the Los
Angeles, San Diego, and Boston areas.  What makes a difference here is the
intellectual infrastructure - the kind of "I know someone who..." networking
that happens on the sidelines at your kids' Saturday afternoon soccer games, or
at the checkout counter at the local Home Depot, or in the produce section of
the local Safeway.

The biggest problem with getting qualified people is simple lack of real,
experienced talent in substantial numbers. THAT is why companies here look
outside of Silicon Valley, even outside of the US, for qualified people.  Yes,
CEO's here make a lot of money. But they usually make less than the financiers
in New York and Texas who put the M&A's together, or provide a lot of the
funding behind the venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road.  In fairness, we
should also point out that it's not just the CEO's who make lots of money, but a
lot of people who work for startups when they're young and stick around long
enough to cash in when said startup goes public or gets bought.  Sure, the execs
at Netscape made a bundle when it went public, but so did about 200 or so geeks
and other hard-working folks who began working at Netscape when it was small.

But let's be fair about things: diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.  Not
everyone likes the fast-paced lifestyle of Silicon Valley, and not everyone
likes other aspects of life here.  That's fine with me.  They make their
choices, I make mine.  The fact remains that in Silicon Valley there are still
more unfilled jobs requiring serious technical talent than just about anywhere
else in the world.  George's original complaint about people not knowing basic
good writing was simply the tip of the iceberg - there aren't enough really
qualified programmers, technicians, engineers, or project managers either. And
THAT is why local companies have to look outside the US for qualified talent.

Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems


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