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Seattle Tech Engineers Are More Loyal Than Those in San Francisco, Data Shows (geekwire.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Software engineers in Seattle stay at companies an average of six months longer than do their counterparts in San Francisco, according to data from online job search giant Indeed. That may seem like a small difference, but it's actually quite significant when compared to the total time engineers tend to stay with a company. In Seattle, they average 29 months while San Francisco devs stick around for about 23 months. Doug Gray, Indeed's senior vice president of engineering, shared that finding along with other statistics during an event on attracting tech talent, hosted by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce on Thursday morning. "That is another thing that we should be promoting here in Seattle, is that greater loyalty, which leads to the ability for someone to have an impact in their company, for them to actually have greater career development within that company," said Gray.Also see: Scraping By On Six Figures? Tech Workers Feel Poor in Silicon Valley's Wealth Bubble
I sure do love statistics without the proper context!
But don't worry, plenty of Amazon Microsoft revolving door action.
I think they're "loyal" because they never leave the office to brave the cold sleety rain, especially for an interview.
And if you live in a small village you'll probably stay int he same job for life. Doesn't mean you're more loyal, it just means you've got fewer choices.
Drill baby drill - on Mars
Damn, I've been in this job for 23 YEARS. Guess I'm just not the job-hopping type. Interviewing sucks.
Companies have no loyalty to the employees. Why should employees give them any loyalty?
Vesting Schedule
I suspect this says more about San Francisco than about Seattle. Throw some other cities in there.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
A few years ago I ran into a former coworker during a job interview and turned down the job offer. I would be making more money as a contractor than my former coworker did from collecting 2% raises for nine years. The last thing I need is a bitter coworker.
So an average of 6 months more and you want to brag about loyalty lol. That tickles me.
"...stay at companies an average of six months longer...greater loyalty, which leads to the ability for someone to have an impact in their company, for them to actually have greater career development within that company..."
Greater impact my ass. 6 additional months isn't going to define career development or impact the company in some grandiose way.
People used to stay at companies for far longer than the 29 months being celebrated here. The turnover rate today is a joke. Then again, so is the fact that employees are no longer treated like people, but instead like commodity resources that can be exchanged as the wind blows.
I don't know your job title, but as a technical person, if I didn't change jobs, I would never get a raise. (2% is not a raise, it's not even COLA, and that's the raise a programmer gets if he stays.) Aren't you curious how people at other companies do things?
what?5 or 6 big shops in Seattle vs dozens in the valley?
Where I work the average IT person stays 5 to 8 years. Most of my co-workers are 15 year vets. I can't imagine how crappy these places must be if the average is only two years. Hell it can take a year just to get someone comfortable int he environment.
coffee, for sure. Better lifestyle, too, in my opinion. I've been both places for business and Seattle wins for me. If only I could convince my wife to move there... Isaquah is one of the prettiest places to live. Ditto Snoqualmie...
If you get rid of employees just because of your mood on a certain day, you can bet your ass that loyalty will become extinct. You want loyalty? Give bonuses, update the pay on an yearly basis. Companies' only concern is the bottomline, keep the salaries at the same level as when you were hired.
That's always been the case and I'd move on about every 2 years.
One to get more money - companies will bill you out at market rates but will balk if you ask to be paid at market rates.
And back in the 90s, if you stayed at a job longer than 2 years, it was considered a bad thing. See, it meant that you didn't want to learn new things (classes mean shit).
Now, I'm considered a job hopper and undesirable.
So, the moral of the story is to get out of being a developer/ engineer ASAP. Become a PHB, try entrepreneurship or if you're young enough, medicine.
This industry sucks.
Perhaps this entire difference could be explained by the rate of workers leaving these cities, which is in turn mostly caused by cost of living issues? San Francisco, and the Bay Area generally, is ferociously expensive. And that effect is magnified once one reaches the age of having children.
Let the butthurt begin. https://cdn.meme.am/cache/inst...
Plenty of choices does not equate to the number of companies in Silicon Valley. So it's simple mathematics. Good people are constantly being courted by other companies. It is not just the big companies here, it's many tens of thousands of small companies covering San Jose to San Francisco and Oakland..
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Duh
the tech companies to the employees? Do they kick you to the curb when the stock drops $2? When you hit your 35th or 40th birthday? Do they collude with other companies to limit your pay and benefits? Will they hire you if your skin is brown? If you are female?
We keep seeing reports on things like worker loyalty but why don't we see the same on company to employee loyalty?
"Software engineers in Seattle stay at companies an average of six months longer than do their counterparts in San Francisco"
Six whole months, well I'll be gobsmacked. I've spent longer than that fucking up a single document.
Good lord, do they swear an oath of fealty to display such unwavering allegiance and faithfulness?
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
nomsg
Decent women sounds like a boring way to live. I prefer indecent.
But seriously, most technical types such as engineers, scientists, etc are quite satisfied with a quiet evening with their SO or watching their favorite TV show or seeing a movie.
The hiking around both Silicon Valley and Seattle is quite good. You can be in a big city, but a short drive to hills and mountains and nature. So for me there is plenty to do that I enjoy. If you like staying out all night clubbing (is that a "social life" ?), then it's not for you, It feels like SF and SJ both go dark at 10pm. (I can't comment on Seattle, I've never checked out the nightlife there)
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
a PHB always looks for an excuse to pay you less.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Even 29 months seems quite short. How much is the median project time to market?
Someone discovered today that there may be fewer tech companies in Seattle than SF and that when there are fewer choices for employment people tend not to change jobs as frequently.
I'm a San Francisco Engineer who is just about to celebrate 15 years at my current job with a major tech company. Prior to this I was at a small tech company for nine years. On the other hand, I'm OLD and would hate to look for work right now, regardless of my resume or contacts.
People used to stay at companies for far longer than the 29 months being celebrated here. The turnover rate today is a joke. Then again, so is the fact that employees are no longer treated like people, but instead like commodity resources that can be exchanged as the wind blows.
After decades of work at a fair number of places I've discovered there are companies who offer jobs (employee=commodity), and some who offer careers (employee=person). Interestingly I landed at one of those Top 50 To Work For companies and never really want to leave as long as the culture remains high on value of the employee. Previously I'd never considered looking at lists like that for where to go but if I ever left here that's where I'd start.
are Seattle companies more loyal to their employees?
They left out a critical detail: is this by the employee's choice or the company's? Are they less likely to choose to leave, or less likely to get laid off? If it's the employee's choice, is it because people like their jobs better, or because they have fewer other options?
Without knowing that, I can't tell if this makes Seattle a better or worse place to work. Not getting laid off is good. Liking your job is good. Having few options is bad. In any case, I doubt it has much to do with loyalty.
"I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
Part of the turnover rate is that -- at least in the Silly Valley -- longevity is viewed as a FLAW. I had been at a non-SV company for >15 years, via two acquisitions, and when looking for a new job EVERYONE harassed me about that. When I recast my rez to make it look like 3 jobs, that stopped and I got hired.
significant other is easier to say than "girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband".
sorry if I offended you special little snowflake.
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