If the US has the world's third largest population, largest economy, and no risk of brain drain then why is the US starved of talent?
jleyank•4mo ago
I think this is mentioned in the article. There's a shortage of talent, and there's a shortage of talent at the price I wish to pay. These, of course, are not the same thing. There's also the question of worker mobility native vs. visa-enabled.
austin-cheney•4mo ago
I think the second part is the only real distinction: mobility. Nobody who owns real estate is going to relocate across the country for a 6 month contract.
As far level of compensation everybody in the US, including H1B workers, work according to US compensation ranges but are limited by visa sponsorship. Software developers tend to average about 2.2x or more than the average US income even in expensive urban areas. In cheap rural areas the difference is staggering. If these developers lack sufficient talent the problem isn't compensation. The problems are improper preparation and improper candidate selection. Increased compensation without controlling for preparation and selection will only provide perverse incentives to magnify the existing problem.
t-3•4mo ago
Reverse brain drain. We've been brain-draining the rest of the world for decades, but now we've stopped. We're actively driving away the talents we'd previously attracted and our home-grown workers are too few due to falling birth rates. Those foreign graduate students that do the research at our world-class universities? The entrepreneurs looking to attract funding and find collaborators? The desperate and hopeful people fleeing war, persecution, poverty? We are less and less attractive to them every day as our xenophobia and hostility grow and our economic advantages are squandered.
The only reason we're not being brain-drained ourselves is that most Americans don't really speak languages other than English, and those that do speak Spanish. That, and few other countries have the vision or desire to be a United States that can encompass and contain all races, cultures, and creeds. Most do not make it easy to immigrate or integrate.
toomuchtodo•4mo ago
The fact of the matter is, there is nowhere else for them to go. You would never see the same gains building a startup in Europe that you would in the US. Similar to India and China. Africa is a nonstarter. So, where are you going to go?
Almost every YC startup has underperformed once public. China has BYD to Tesla. What startups and innovation would you hold as an example that can’t be done elsewhere? Or is innovation vs some sort of grift or pyramid scheme (crypto)?
I’ve helped people leave for Canada, Europe, and Australia. There will always be developed countries for people to flee to for safe lives. But this idea that the US has robust macroeconomic competition from the world in the near term does not hold up. It’s messaging and a narrative to get favorable labor immigration treatment for self serving reasons, no more.
austin-cheney•4mo ago
jleyank•4mo ago
austin-cheney•4mo ago
As far level of compensation everybody in the US, including H1B workers, work according to US compensation ranges but are limited by visa sponsorship. Software developers tend to average about 2.2x or more than the average US income even in expensive urban areas. In cheap rural areas the difference is staggering. If these developers lack sufficient talent the problem isn't compensation. The problems are improper preparation and improper candidate selection. Increased compensation without controlling for preparation and selection will only provide perverse incentives to magnify the existing problem.
t-3•4mo ago
The only reason we're not being brain-drained ourselves is that most Americans don't really speak languages other than English, and those that do speak Spanish. That, and few other countries have the vision or desire to be a United States that can encompass and contain all races, cultures, and creeds. Most do not make it easy to immigrate or integrate.
toomuchtodo•4mo ago
Almost every YC startup has underperformed once public. China has BYD to Tesla. What startups and innovation would you hold as an example that can’t be done elsewhere? Or is innovation vs some sort of grift or pyramid scheme (crypto)?
I’ve helped people leave for Canada, Europe, and Australia. There will always be developed countries for people to flee to for safe lives. But this idea that the US has robust macroeconomic competition from the world in the near term does not hold up. It’s messaging and a narrative to get favorable labor immigration treatment for self serving reasons, no more.