The STEM Crisis Is a Myth (2013)
I can speak from my own anecdotal experience. I am an Indian immigrant with 2.5 yrs of industry experience and a masters degree from a decent school. Please note that I do not support the H1b abuse by the outsourcing firms. They are pure evil and I honestly hope they go bankrupt. I also believe H1b needs to be reformed to remove the loopholes but that is a topic for another day.<p>I was recently in the job market and got three offers within a month. One from a big four tech firm Amazon&#x2F;Facebook&#x2F;MS&#x2F;Google, one from a big four consulting firm Deloitte&#x2F;E&amp;Y&#x2F;PWC&#x2F;KPMG and the final one from a very promising startup in North Carolina. The first two paid above market rate but the startup paid 105k + equity because they cannot afford to pay more than that. Thing is, my specific skill set is in shortage ( Big Data and Analytics) and I am sure there are a few other specialized fields where there is a shortage.<p>There may be a number of kick-ass local software engineers in the market but it is the specific skill set the companies need. Please do not tell me that companies can just hire local candidates and train them on the skill set they need. There simply isn&#x27;t that much time and experience trumps(yea I know its ironic) training. When a company pays you N amount, they expect X amount of value from you where X is a multiple of N. Also, these companies are often competing with each other to get a product out to the market as fast as possible. Loosing precious time in training is not very optimal as your competitor might beat you.<p>To be honest, I do not think I can be considered the best in my field and a good american developer can do my job if s&#x2F;he has the necessary experience. Right now, demand for data engineers with big data skills far outstrips the supply. This won&#x27;t be the case in say 4-5 years down the line.<p>STEM in itself is a very broad term, Software development has many disciplines. Are you a Sr. Software Developer who wants to get paid that 200k salary in your local market outside of Silicon Valley? Make sure to cultivate a skill set that is in shortage. Simple macro economics.<p>For those who are curious, I took up the consulting position and am getting paid 120k base + 10k signing bonus + 10-15% year end bonus + other benefits. Not bad for a person with 2.5 years of industry experience who lives in North Carolina. Is it?