90% Of Software Developers Work Outside Silicon Valley (qz.com)

An anonymous reader shares a Quartz report: So much code to write, so few developers. The chronic talent shortage afflicting Silicon Valley is now all over the US -- and the developers are too. A study by the software trade group The App Association analyzed government and private sector data to map where software developers live, and it identified 223,054 open positions around the country. It found that most developers live far away from the technology epicenter of Silicon Valley, and job openings follow a similar pattern. The upshot: Silicon Valley-style talent wars are moving away from tech hubs to smaller metro and even rural areas. Everywhere from rural Vermont to the middle of Montana is in need of programmers. "You can find places where you didn't expect software developers to be, but they are part of the local economy," said association spokesman Jonathan Godfrey in an interview. "It's pretty much everywhere."

Comments

It's Simple Economics

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would I pay $3000/month to share a ROOM with four other people making $120K when I can BUY a four bedroom house on one acre of land in the country for $825/month on half that salary anywhere between the Rocky and Appalachian mountain ranges? I'd take the boring enterprise 9-5 job at a no-name B2B service company any day of the week and enjoy my big house and yard with my kids any day of the week.

How convenient

[smooth wombat]

A trade group for the software industry claiming there are a quarter million software jobs open around the country. Yet oddly, when people with years of experience apply for these positions they are routinely told they don't have the experience the company is looking for.

Granted, not every candidate has the experience for every position, but it seems quite odd that for all the people who apply for a position, not one is qualified. Ever. Not even remotely close qualified. Even with the thousands of new developers being sent to pasture every month from other companies.

And here we have a trade group for the software industry essentially claiming the same thing. Coincidence? You decide.

Re:How convenient

[jellomizer]

Being involved in the hiring process, I find that a lot of technology candidates with many years of experience do not have the right experience. Too much focus on New Technology that the organization may not implement. Too much focus on older technology that we are trying to faze out, or had removed a long time ago. Or jobs that require basic human interaction, because no matter how good they are technically, we don't want need a jackass who makes everyone looks bad. Where you are better off with someone with less skillsets, who is better for the job.

Re:How convenient

[Anonymous Coward]

So... you want somebody who hasn't worked on new technology OR old technology?

Yeah, my bullshit detector was twitching on this one too.

Hire a good generalist and TRAIN them.

Re:How convenient

[Gavrielkay]

I can understand a personality fit problem, but complaining about 'the right experience' is nonsense. Look for flexible people who can solve problems and they'll pick up whatever your flavor of the month is. Has hiring really come down to stupid HR lists? Must have 3 years of X and 2 years of Y. Please. You should be looking for problem solvers, not people who fit some arbitrary magical list. Yeah, it's harder to evaluate for 'smart, flexible' person than to scan a resume but the result is much better.

News flash: People live and work elsewhere

[OzPeter]

Film at 11.

Why do people think that Silcon valley is the be all and end all of software development?

Re:Confused!

[wierd_w]

there is a shortage of "qualified applicants".

There is not a shortage of talent.

qualified applicant == a person with the skillset we want that will also work at well below median pay, work much more than median hours without overtime, and is beholden to the company and cannot leave easily. They also have to be local, so they can attend those all important meetings.

I hope that helps.

Stop repeating that myth.

[Anonymous Coward]

The chronic talent shortage afflicting Silicon Valley is now all over the US—and the developers are too.

There is no chronic shortage. It is a myth invented by tech companies to get the H1-b quota boosted.

And if any company is having a hard time recruiting people, they are doing something very wrong. My company hasn't had to use a recruiter or job board in over 8 years. HR just sends out an email to everyone saying they're looking for someone and in about two weeks, the new person starts. Somebody on the team knows someone with the skills who's looking for a new job.

Also, don't immediately discount unemployed folks. Just because they're out of work doesn't mean they're no good - especially in this day and age of people being replaced by H1-bs and offshoring.

And as far as new grads are concerned, "elite" schools don't have a monopoly on hard working smart kids.

And maybe your system isn't as cutting edge as you think it is. I've seen too many jobs where at most a BS CIS is all that's needs and many times a 2 year tech grad would be able to do a wonderful job. But they want the MIT grad to do their web page.

It's simple geography.

[mcmonkey]

Most of _everything_ is outside Silicon Valley.

Is this news to anyone?

Re:xkcd

[oakgrove]

I guess it surprises someone that "software development" includes a whole lot of people all over the country.

It actually surprises me that a full 10 percent of software jobs are actually in Silicon Valley. Every major city I've ever lived in across the US has been teeming with job openings in the tech sector. Just seems kind of weird that the headline of the article is going on about 90 percent of software developers working outside the valley. Is this news to anyone?