Yesterday I saw that a posting which describes my dream job. I fired off an email to see if they’d be interested in talking to me about it… and three hours later, they called to set up an interview. This job is EXACTLY what I’ve been wanting to do ever since I got into the game industry- not only is it what I want to do right now, but it would be incredibly good for my future career, as having it on my resume would look really, really good. It’s a relatively new company- I’d be getting in on the ground floor.
I fully expect to be offered the job. All humility aside, I’m very good at what I do. I know they can match my current wage, although apparently I’d be on the high end of what they can offer. I’d like to see my income increase, but I’d be willing to hold steady for a job like the one they’re offering.
However, their office is in Northern California… Los Gatos, to be precise. I’d have to relocate- telecommuting isn’t an option. Looking at an online wage calculator, I’d have to almost double my current wages in order to break even.
I can’t afford to cut my wage in half, even if it’s for my dream job. Hell, there’s no way I’d be able to ever afford a house.
Why the hell do new companies form in expensive places like the Bay Area? I mean, if they started up in reasonably cheap areas, they’d have a much easier time hiring people. I’m not saying they’d have to open up shop in the middle of freakin’ nowhere, but surely there’s some good middle ground. Austin, TX is a good example- it’s got everything you need to run a prestigious company, but the cost of living is less than a third of the Bay Area.
Does that online calculator take ‘owning a house’ into account? If so, there you go. Housing prices in CA have been insane. You’re far better off renting in many cases and just throwing the rest of your money into investing or money markets.
So, is that the case? If so, try recalculating it without the insane cost of trying to buy a home.
I live in the Boston area and it is a similar situation. Many companies don’t start companies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, NYC, California and other high expense places because of the expense. The reason you notice the ones that are there is because those are among who didn’t make the jump elsewhere. My company just outsourced a lot of our IT development to India and that is a common story. It was good for me because they made me a manager/analyst over the outsourcing but lots of others got the axe just like they do all over the U.S.
However, there are some industries that run on concentrated brainpower. The bio-tech industry in Boston really does not be right next to institutions like Harvard and MIT. I would actually put the video gaming industry in that category as well. A company in that industry could move to a depopulating town in North Dakota but they still need highly qualified employees and most people just don’t want to move there. You may think that is a bad example but even a huge city like Dallas or Houston may be almost completely lacking in a decent supply of workers with certain types of very specialized skills. Those things tend to concentrate in certain areas and many companies think it is worthwhile to be there despite the cost. Other companies will stay in an expensive area and then outsource many operations to cheaper places in the U.S. or overseas. Management doesn’t always make the right decisions but those are the kinds of factors that they must weigh when they choose a location.
If I had to guess, it’s the concentration of good PhD programs, especially in the Bay area. I don’t know about CompSci, but I’ve heard it’s quite common for BioScience and BioEngineering PhD students from Stanford, Berkeley, UCSF to get start up capital before graduating.
It may also be because that’s where other similar companies are located. That makes it easier to hire talent.
I’ve been working recently with a videogame studio in Utah. Their operating expenses are a lot lower than a similar studio here in L.A., but they have a hell of a time hiring new employees. In L.A. it’s easy to recruit somebody from a different studio or from the movie biz. That helps balance out the higher salaries.
California, certain parts of it anyway (the Bay Area especially) is expensive because it’s pretty much the best place to live on the planet, as far as I’ve seen. It’s unbelievably beautiful, and the climate is perfect. It’s perpetual Spring. Who wouldn’t want to live there, if they could afford it? I lived there for a time. Don’t anymore, but definitely would if I could afford it.
Paul Graham has a good essay on this topic, titled How To Be Silicon Valley. He basically agrees with what’s already been said: Being near a good Ph.D. program helps, but you also have to be someplace where smart people and investors like to live. Bell Labs and DEC both started within spitting distance of MIT and Silicon Valley was spawned by Stanford and UC-Berkeley. The University of Washington near Seattle spawned Microsoft. However, Cornell has no corresponding tech hub. Graham, who has went to Cornell, says the weather there sucks and there is no Boston-class investor magnet to make up for it.
He specifically mentions Austin as an example of a tech hub, and his essay is mostly about what a town would have to do to become a tech hub itself (that is, attract geeks with ideas and geeks with money who invest in the geeks with ideas). Interesting read.
Aw, what’s the matter? You live in some sucky East Coast state like Virginia or something? Sorry, sucks to be you and all, but don’t hayt those of us who had the sense to move to a decent climate.
Well one of the things to remember is that after taxes that $3500 a month house payment becomes more like a $2200 a month house payment for the next few years.
The town I live, and work in, has a population of about 70,000… and we’re in the middle of the desert. One of the problems we run into when trying to recruit new employees is how isolated we are from other game companies. I can certainly understand it- I was pretty nervous about accepting employment here, but I’m glad I did. It’s worked out really well for me.
Renting is cheaper, eh? Might have to go that route, but I’ll miss owning my own house. Hell, I just bought this thing- might have to keep it going as a rental house here.
Can anyone point me towards a list of rental properties in Los Gatos/Campbell/Saratoga? Everything I’ve found online wants me to register or pay for listings. I’d like to know how much rentals are before the interview.
That’s actually a really complicated question you’re asking there, Lightnin’. Calgary is the head office capital of Canada, and in the last 20 years, it was the perfect place for businesses and employees. Then Sept. 11 happened, oil prices went through the roof, and Calgary is the fastest growing city in North America now. Now it’s a tough place to be a business or an employee - not nearly enough people for all the jobs the boom has created, and no places for employees to rent and houses way too expensive for most people to buy. Things change. Circumstances change.
A business starting up in California is obviously taking some factors into account, but they are not matching your personal criteria very well. It’s unfortunate, but that’s life. I never thought I’d move away from Calgary, but I don’t want to live in a city like Calgary’s becoming, either.
Of all the natural disasters that can afflict a given patch of geography, I’d take earthquakes over just about anything else. They’re rare, they’re quick, and the negative effects of them can largely be overcome through proper engineering. Compared to blizzards, tornados, or hurricanes, the occasional tremblor every other year or so is practically a pleasant diversion.