Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Please stop thinking you can have a tech career outside the Bay Area. OK, Austin, Boston, NY, and Seattle offer fewer options, but can work out if you're a software engineer. Reston, VA??? only if you're ok with no equity comp and working on gov't contracts. I love L.A., but it's pretty awful for tech, in spite of the "Silicon Beach" hype.
These lists sell magazines, they don't start careers.
Everywhere else is one or two major employers, or minor employers with crappy comp.
Seattle has just recently surpassed the Silicon Valley for tech jobs.. This is the first time in the history of the universe that the Silicon Valley has had its job market surpassed by another metro. That is because the Silicon Valley is the utterly worst place for any software developer to live. You basically will live as lower middle class with a software developer salary, unless you are one of those specialized people. People think earning $100,000 in California will get them far, when in reality you are near or below the poverty line. Not to mention the 10% state income tax that significantly reduces your salary as well.
In my opinion, California will lose a good number of its tech jobs in the next 10 years as more affordable and desirable tech centers pop up all over the country. Denver has now been rated as the top tech city in the USA. I am shocked by the number of recruiters that bombarded me here once I updated my LinkedIn profile.
The new Silicon Valley of AMerica is the Seattle metro. However, I for see places like Atlanta, Washington DC, Dallas, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham, Chicago and even possibly Detroit metro becoming the major tech centers of the near future. Actually Wash DC is also rivaling the Silicon Valley for jobs available.
Tech is a strange industry, but many programmers in cheaper cities are literally making almost the same salaries for the same jobs as they are in more expensive cities like San Jose, Seattle or New York.
Seattle has just recently surpassed the Silicon Valley for tech jobs.
The Bay Area (Silicon Valley is a media term) has 1/3rd of the value of U.S. stock exchanges. Seattle has a lot of outposts, Amazon, Msft, and is an incredibly innovative city. That said, I work in this business and you will sacrifice opportunities going there instead of San Francisco. Seattle is especially bad if you're looking for a business (finance, mktg, product) job, and not an engineering one. Tech businesspeople would be making a big mistake going there instead of SF.
The Bay Area (Silicon Valley is a media term) has 1/3rd of the value of U.S. stock exchanges. Seattle has a lot of outposts, Amazon, Msft, and is an incredibly innovative city. That said, I work in this business and you will sacrifice opportunities going there instead of San Francisco. Seattle is especially bad if you're looking for a business (finance, mktg, product) job, and not an engineering one. Tech businesspeople would be making a big mistake going there instead of SF.
I wouldn't quite refer to the global headquarters of the largest corporations in the worlds as mere "outposts". Seattle area hosts the world headquarters of Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks (has huge IT dept) and Google has recently opened campuses in Seattle and Kirkland that may not be as large as Bay Area, but are definitely giving it a run for its money. There are several other non-software corporations that call Seattle home though. It wouldn't surprised me if one day Google moved its headquarters to Seattle so it could be close to its arch-rival, which is no longer Apple. I never understood why tech companies always had to be so close together. My theory is they like to steal engineers from each other's companies. Amazon, being the cruddy place to work as it is, actually attracts several companies who like to take away their engineers after they get the "Amazon Burn-out". Although maybe this will change as some claim Amazon has improved its working conditions and lessened its hour requirements.
Don't get me wrong, despite being a Pacific Northwest native, I actually don't like Seattle at all anymore. Like the Bay Area, the cost of living doesn't match the wages and headaches with traffic, congestion and other issues you have living in these type of cities. Neither Seattle, nor the Bay Area are my cup of tea. However, if you do a check for number of software jobs, Seattle has now surpassed Bay Area. I remember checking these jobs over the years and the Bay Area always had more jobs. That is no longer the case anymore.
Maybe, the Bay Area is still ahead for non-software businesses and startup ventures, but the discussion was about the IT market.
I wouldn't quite refer to the global headquarters of the largest corporations in the worlds as mere "outposts".
Two companies. Little boost from F5, Zillow, etc. But the rest is Bay Area outposts. Great if you're a software engineer, not so much if you're in finance or marketing. Starbucks has IT, so does Levi's and the government for that matter.
If you're a businessperson choosing Seattle or SF, and don't want to sell your soul to Bezos or Bill Gates, you're passing up opportunities.
Reston for a fresh college graduate? No. I made that mistake. Moved to Reston for a job at 22, newly-minted with my degree. Left less than two years later when I realized it was all overpriced and unattractive housing, traffic congestion, and middle-aged families. Now live in the heart of a hip city for cheaper rent and only a slightly lower salary. Reston has a whole lot more of tearing down single-family detached homes and townhomes and replacing them with high-density mixed-use projects to do before I’d ever consider living there again and paying $1,500/month for a 1-BR.
Please stop thinking you can have a tech career outside the Bay Area. OK, Austin, Boston, NY, and Seattle offer fewer options, but can work out if you're a software engineer. Reston, VA??? only if you're ok with no equity comp and working on gov't contracts. I love L.A., but it's pretty awful for tech, in spite of the "Silicon Beach" hype.
These lists sell magazines, they don't start careers.
Everywhere else is one or two major employers, or minor employers with crappy comp.
Dumbest statement I have ever read. You can be employeed in the tech field and have a very good standard of living in every state in the United States. In multiple cities in each state.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
