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Politicians and economists lament that certain alpha regions — SF, LA, NYC, Boston, Toronto, London, Paris — attract all the best jobs while becoming repellently expensive, reducing economic mobility and contributing to further bifurcation between haves and have-nots. But why don't the best jobs move elsewhere?
Of course, many of them can't. The average financier in NYC or London (until Brexit annihilates London's banking industry, of course...) would be laughed out of the office, and not invited back, if they told their boss they wanted to henceforth work from Chiang Mai.
But this isn't true of (much of) the software field. The average web/app developer might have such a request declined; but they would not be laughed at, or fired. The demand for good developers greatly outstrips supply, and in this era of Skype and Slack, there's nothing about software development that requires meatspace interactions.
[...]Some people will tell you that remote teams are inherently less effective and productive than localized ones, or that "serendipitous collisions" are so important that every employee must be forced to the same physical location every day so that these collisions can be manufactured. These people are wrong, as long as the team in question is small — on the order of handfuls, dozens or scores, rather than hundreds or thousands — and flexible.
Because the feedlot isn't hiring for Ruby?
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday April 05 2017, @12:52AM (7 children)
CSB. Mid 80s, I've been a software developer for some 5 years in San Diego. A co-worker had a job interview (she was a tech writer) in Santa Barbara, we decided to make a weekend vacation out of it. Drive up Thursday after work, Friday she goes into her interview. I put on some shorts, grab a beer, and head to the pool. Soon I have a shadow over me, and I don't remember her name says "Um, this guy wants to talk to you". Yep, I did a job interview by the pool, in my shorts, 2-3 beers in, and passed.
Turned out they wanted me for my 2900 family bit slice experience (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Am2900). They offered me a job for something like 1.5x my current salary. I turned them down because it was Santa Barbara, which had exactly 1 tech firm and they were the ones offering me the job. That and all my family and friends were in San Diego.
Good thing too, the company went toes up a year or two later. I think it was Floating Point Systems, making boards to do floating point calculations like an 8087 on steroids, but I can't swear to that.
There was one other interesting thing that happened on that trip. This was right after California decided restaurants had to have smoking/no smoking sections. We were finishing up, when some woman fired up a cigarette in the non smoking section. Waitress said "you can't smoke here", woman said "but the smoking section is full". Had we not been paying up and leaving that woman would have had a glass of water on her head.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 05 2017, @02:13AM (1 child)
Had we not been paying up and leaving that woman would have had a glass of water on her head
look out folks we have an almost bad ass here...
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday April 05 2017, @02:41AM
To be clear, I hate smokers. Have since high school, 70's. A glass of water on her head would have been the minimum I did to her.
No internet tough guy here, just a non-smoker who hated smoke.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday April 05 2017, @02:19AM (4 children)
I like the idea of pouring a glass of water on some rude person's head like that, but I'm really curious: what could legally happen to you if you did that? Anyone in law enforcement care to answer?
(Score: 2) by nethead on Wednesday April 05 2017, @05:28AM (3 children)
It's assault. And if you do it to your wife it's domestic violence. Don't ask.
How did my SN UID end up over 3 times my /. UID?
(Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday April 05 2017, @12:54PM (1 child)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday April 05 2017, @02:24PM
Well we aren't talking about a wife or girlfriend here, I was asking about dumping a glass of water on some stupid woman who lights up a cigarette in the non-smoking section (back in the time when we still had smoking and non-smoking sections). I guess "rarely prosecuted" is my answer (plus the extenuating circumstances of her breaking the rules with her smoke).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 05 2017, @11:20PM
Assault? You were putting out a potentially very dangerous fire!