Saturday, November 9, 2013

Not Good: Employment Among 25-34 Year-Olds (The Silicon Valley Option)

Employment among 25-34 year-olds is still well below pre-bubble levels. This share dropped from 75.0% in September to 74.6% in October. Part of the October decline can possibly be attributed to the government shutdown, however,  the pre-shutdown employment rate of 75.0% in September was closer to the low point during the recession (73-74%) than to the pre-bubble normal (78-80%).

BTW: Silicon Valley remains a hot bed of hiring. Obviously, software program hiring is exploding, but so is sales hiring.

Here's a couple of tips: If you have a support skill such as accounting and want to break into Silicon Valley, sign up with an SV temp firm. You might pick up an assignment at a biggie that may lead to a permanent position.

Also, keep an eye out for start ups and early stage firms that just received funding. They will be hiring and often don't have a bureaucratic HR division set up, so the hiring process is much easier.    

1 comment:

  1. Excellent advice, Bob. I'd add that if you're young, without much of a work history, and you're looking at a startup/early stage firm, don't let a salary offer that's 10-20% below market put you off. If you have a good feeling from the interview and your knowledge of the firm, take the job.

    After a couple of years you'll have a great track record which, if you exceed expectations, will allow you to command above market offers (if you excel you WILL be recruited). You will also likely be offered options by your current employer, who's been growing during your tenure, as a way to retain you. So with a little luck, you could easily find yourself very well off by age 40.

    It saddens me to see lots of young, inexperienced programmers refuse low offers because they either have an inflated sense of their own value or because they've amassed too much debt learning to code at a four year college and are holding out for the salary their adviser assured them would be there.

    For anyone under 20 reading this: if you want to code, go someplace like CodeAcademy or, if you need a classroom, go to a community college. Learn some basics, get an entry level job, keep learning in your spare time, and wow your boss. Don't waste your time taking out loans to buy a BS that'll take you years of programming to pay off.

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