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Subject:Re: Too Many Jobs?!?!?!?!? From:Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 3 Dec 1998 17:33:28 -0800
Roger Morency wrote:
> I keep wondering why companies continue to try to grow in highly competitive
> recruiting markets when other options exist.
> These companies need to look at where they are expanding. Companies that
> already have an established presence in Silicon Valley should probably
> consider opening their new offices in the Midwest. Odds are they find a more
> loyal base of employees that are just as skilled as their counterparts on
> either coast, but have no desire to move to the coasts for a job.
That's been tried. And the Silicon Valley companies who tried it found that,
generally, it didn't work elsewhere.
The problem is not one of loyalties. The problem, as Bob Morisette pointed out,
is getting qualified people. And there are more of those in Silicon Valley than
there are elsewhere, it appears from the anecdotal evidence of companies bulking
up in Silicon Valley.
> With so
> many new and efficient ways to communicate, physical location in a
> technology hotbed is not as critical as it used to be.
No, but the technical jobs tend to be in several general areas. How many
technical writers do you think there are in Missoula, Montana? How about New
Orleans? Or Charleston, SC? Those cities can be utterly charming in their own
unique ways, but they simply don't have the critical mass necessary to support a
thriving population of engineering companies. It's a bit like trying to build
an aerospace business in Dubuque, Iowa. There are very nice folks in Dubuque,
and I'm sure that it would support an aerospace business if the opportunity came
along. But why would an aerospace business move there in the first place?
> What do the rest of
> you think? Since most of you probably already live on one of the coasts,
> would you even consider moving to a city in the Midwest?
Not a chance. I *love* the West Coast in general, and northern California in
particular. I consider the Midwest a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to
live there.
