I thought The Social Network was a superhero movie until I went to the Valley
petersiemens.com
petersiemens.com
It makes sense that many of the engineers and companies in SV will be highly accessible to a talented engineer. Engineers like people like themselves, and companies are still looking for top-tier talent.
The question is whether you'll ever be one of the people who makes enough money to make a career in SV worthwhile. Yes, you read a lot about the engineers who succeed there. But that's giving you selection bias.
There are a lot of engineers who fight against the cost of living and grueling work hours, burn out, and leave without making as much as they would have in a different city.
Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum (burnout to Zuckerberg), chances are nearly that you'll be anywhere close to the Zuckerberg end of the spectrum. Starting your own company is a great way to lose a lot of money (yours and others'), and it's delusional to think of them otherwise. It's delusional to gamble on your own talent when talent and meritocracy aren't what make successful startups, and it's delusional to invest vital amounts of time and money in something with a 0.5% chance of success.
That said, if you have a financial safety net, can survive the repeated failures, and don't feel like you can do anything else, starting a company might still be for you.
I'll admit that it sounds like I'm sending the message of "go try to start your company in Silicon Valley." But the main point I was trying to get across (which I realize may not have been made clear enough) was that the mere barrier to entry isn't as large as one might think.
Myself and a lot of my peers were always under the impression that you had to come from a prestigious school or really impress somebody in order to have a shot in SV. I've spoken with classmates who dismissed the idea of ever going there because "they aren't smart enough to work at Google" or don't "have a Stanford education."
The media creates a picture of the industry that is very intimidating. Is it irrational to believe it? Yes. But it's hard when you hear so much about the "rockstars" of Silicon Valley and the constant company and university name-dropping.
I just wanted to convey the feeling of relief I felt when I got there. Even though it might not be totally rational, the impression I felt was vastly different than what I had prepared myself for.
Most successful entrepreneurs still go to top-tier schools. It's still an elite club. But, as an engineer, you're a limited resource that all tech startups need. That means you're going to be treated nicely, but you're not necessarily going to be a longshot investment from a VC firm.