The worst part is that in the country I am, software engineers don't get no respect. There's virtually no startup culture here.
That's 90-plus percent of the U.S., too. The people you're talking to here are overwhelmingly concentrated in anomalous star cities (San Francisco, New York, Boston).
I grew up in Central PA. 100-200 years ago, Pennsylvania west of Harrisburg was Silicon Valley (that's why the South invaded) so a lot of smart, ambitious people come from western and central Pennsylvania (they don't stay, but that's another story) but there's certainly not the startup culture. Doctor, lawyer, professor, public servant (Harrisburg being the state capital) and small-business owner were the respectable careers. Computer programmers were seen as smart people who didn't have the social skills to get themselves out of grunt work. That's how computer programming is seen in most of the country. New York and Silicon Valley are different because good programmers can generate bidding wars for their talent whenever they want.
It's changing. In 2005, you had to choose between (a) living in a "star city" with hellish COL and suffering for 10+ years while you got established, or (b) having a second-tier career and being miles away from the exciting work. I don't think that dichotomy is as severe anymore. I'm in the job-search process (probably concluding in the next couple of days; I have offers but there are details to work out) and I've talked to people in TX, NC, and OR who are doing some really exciting stuff. Now that the Bay Area VC-istan scene's dominated by scene kids and social media, Real Technology (where 100% per year headcount growth is seen as irresponsible, because it requires lowering the hiring bar and becoming a trust-sparse, two-tier company that kills creativity) is moving out to places like Austin, Portland, and Madison where you can raise a family on a programmer's salary. I think that trend will continue.
Sure. If you have questions, please email me at michael.o.church at gmail.
I have a general policy of not disclosing employers or personal clients to the Internet but one of my front-runners is in TX. I'd be working in NYC 75+ percent of the time, but probably visiting.
I'd prefer to stay in NYC because my wife's job is here, and I have yet to visit Austin but I've heard it's great. I spent a year in Madison, which is probably like a smaller Austin with opposite weather (mild summers, harsh winters).
That's 90-plus percent of the U.S., too. The people you're talking to here are overwhelmingly concentrated in anomalous star cities (San Francisco, New York, Boston).
I grew up in Central PA. 100-200 years ago, Pennsylvania west of Harrisburg was Silicon Valley (that's why the South invaded) so a lot of smart, ambitious people come from western and central Pennsylvania (they don't stay, but that's another story) but there's certainly not the startup culture. Doctor, lawyer, professor, public servant (Harrisburg being the state capital) and small-business owner were the respectable careers. Computer programmers were seen as smart people who didn't have the social skills to get themselves out of grunt work. That's how computer programming is seen in most of the country. New York and Silicon Valley are different because good programmers can generate bidding wars for their talent whenever they want.
It's changing. In 2005, you had to choose between (a) living in a "star city" with hellish COL and suffering for 10+ years while you got established, or (b) having a second-tier career and being miles away from the exciting work. I don't think that dichotomy is as severe anymore. I'm in the job-search process (probably concluding in the next couple of days; I have offers but there are details to work out) and I've talked to people in TX, NC, and OR who are doing some really exciting stuff. Now that the Bay Area VC-istan scene's dominated by scene kids and social media, Real Technology (where 100% per year headcount growth is seen as irresponsible, because it requires lowering the hiring bar and becoming a trust-sparse, two-tier company that kills creativity) is moving out to places like Austin, Portland, and Madison where you can raise a family on a programmer's salary. I think that trend will continue.
This is what (I think) the future is going to look like: http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/gervais-macle... . That might happen in 5 years, or in 35... and in other countries, I haven't the faintest.