America’s Job Listings Have Gone Off the Deep End
theatlantic.com
theatlantic.com
And that's pretty much the crux of this whole phenomenon. Rather than actually step up with better working conditions, better pay, and more appealing work culture, way too many employers are just trying to emulate the parts of startups they like (laughable work-life balance and overly loyal employees) while ignoring the parts they don't (actual perks, career advancement, equity lottery tickets, etc.). It's a cargo cult.
"But why?
Mainly because if we make Rockstar a real (and completely pointless) programming language, then recruiters and hiring managers won't be able to talk about 'rockstar developers' any more."
Now we just need to add a "Ninja" programming language, and maybe a couple more.
So rockstar developers exist. This is real.
There's one posting that comes up every week on LI [0]: Must have PhD in Biomedical Engineering, must be able to climb on roofs, must have PE or get one in three months of hire, $45k.
That's an insane wage for engineers, let alone for a PhD, let alone for a PE, let alone for a dual PhD-PE, let alone that you're looking at a minimum of four years to get from an EIT to a PE in CA per law [1], let alone that there is no PE for bioengineers at all.
I even interviewed with them on the phone. The lady just complained to me nearly the whole time about how 'millenials' are so entitled about wanting to make 'Frisco Money'[1]. She even confused a PE with an MD more than once. Like, my God, just bonkers.
Not all the jobs out there are that insane, but a fair number are close on the cash issues. One that I applied for in Foster City was offering $85k with middling health benefits. My direct boss only made $100k after I mentioned that minimum wage for a GED (or less) auto-mechanic in the city was ~$70k. And that the poverty line at the time was ~$110k. He said he drove in from Antioch, about three hours one way, each day. And that's what made it work for him.
Honestly, the employers seem to have gone crazy, it's the only thing that makes sense.
[0] https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1315831956/
[1] https://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/laws/pe_act.pdf
[2] Having grown up in the Bay Area, anyone that calls it Frisco is seen as worse than a rabid dog and should be put down at once.
Now finding a job is like playing a video game but every company has the same game, except the rules are different for each company, and they aren't published. I'm so glad I'm near the end of my career, and I'm senior enough that my jobs are all handled by recruiters, so I have an expert at playing the game working on my behalf.