Boomtown Redux: Job Market Heats Up In Silicon Valley

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

Boomtown Redux: Job Market Heats Up In Silicon Valley

Start-Ups, Small Firms Are Especially Keen to Hire
By PUI-WING TAM
August 12, 2006; Page A1

(snip)

The nation's technology capital lost 185,000 jobs, or one in five, between 2001 and 2005. This year, state economists expect a net inflow of people into the area for the first time in six years. Just as noteworthy as the comeback is the source of all the new jobs. For the most part, it isn't giants such as Cisco Systems Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Intel Corp. They're adjusting to slower growth rates and in some cases continuing to shed workers. The biggest demand comes from thousands of small and midsize companies and start-ups such as Sling Media, suggesting that Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial ferment survived the bust just fine. Companies are typically looking for experienced workers who are well-versed in hot technologies.

"We're trying to hire a lot, all at once," says Rick Osterloh, vice president of marketing at a Santa Clara company Good Technology Inc. "But there's an inventory issue. There's just not a lot of people available here." Dice.com1, a technology-jobs Web site, listed 89,476 open tech jobs nationwide as of late June, up from 24,671 in 2003. Companies usually aren't looking for basic programmers or assembly-line workers. Most moved that work out of the region years ago, often to places like India. More often, they seek skilled workers who can create and market innovative products.

(snip)

One of its big draws is money. Average annual pay for the region's tech workers rose to $70,000 last year from around $64,000 in 2003, according to Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit business group. Executive positions typically command six-figure packages. While stock options have come under fire amid cases of improper dating of grants, many tech companies, especially start-ups, are still doling them out heavily. That offers employees the chance to cash in big if their company goes public and its stock price rises.

(snip)

The cost of living in Silicon Valley remains sky-high. In June, the median cost of a home in San Mateo County hit $940,000, four times the national median of $231,500, according to the California Association of Realtors.

(snip)

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115534635676934047.html (subscription)

[AnnieBW]

1. I'd Move There In a Heartbeat

If it wasn't for the high cost of housing. When I was in San Jose last March, I looked at the prices for homes. Then I fainted. :D I live in the Washington DC area, and my house has almost doubled in value since we bought six years ago, but the San Jose area housing was DOUBLE what my house appraised for! Yikes!

[moondust]

3. Los Altos has THE highest

average home price in the country per Money mag.

[skids]

2. Hrm... average pay rose from $70k to $64k in two years huh?

Let's see... according to the inflation calculator over here:

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

(which you'll have to knock a zero off of because it won't do values over $10k for some idiotic reason) $6400 in 2003 is worth $7057.39 now.

So basically average pay stayed flat. Of course, actually having a job market is enough to get attention these days, but color me nonimpressed.

(EDIT: those who have jobs may by using that link figure out whether they actually got that raise, or have had an inflation-adjusted pay cut over the years. So how is this economy working for ya, folks?)

[caligirl]

4. I have lived in my home 11 years. Its in a sought after school district.

Never thought I'd see a house here sell for a million and one did just two months ago. The people living here a few years ago were policemen, teachers, union people with good jobs and professional. Now its going heavily Asian high tech and homes that sold 10 years ago for 265,000(single family ranch 3 or 4 BR 2 or 2.5 bath 1500 and up sq foot home, are now 840,000 - 1 million. I never thought I would see a million for these places.

[beyurslf]

5. I don't understand how anyone could buy a home there.

Being single, I look at my price cap at around the 100-150K limit. Even with a partner making about what I make, we would be capped at 300K or a little more.

[caligirl]

6. It would be hard but there are condo's and townhomes in some areas at

that price range of 300. Most of us worry about our kids not being able to live here.