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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]But doesn't the valley always recover and start the next bubble. This is like the 4th boom, it's always reinventing and innovating so even a 'crash' is short term like dot.com to FB  was like 5 years. Not that dire?

It's a lot of hussle but a Lot of upside compared to DC

If you are engineering, best bet is to start a contracting company with your target agency and then gain specialized skill needed for that agencies mission. [/quote]

"The valley" as an entity always recovers. Not that dire unless you lost your retirement money or your house. The valley recovers but it grinds up an awful lot of people in the process. There's always going to be a new crop of 22-year-olds in hoodies that are going to make the next miraculous app to have someone pick up and drop off your laundry, or a social network for dogs. (Don't forget four million dollars for an app that only allowed people to say "Yo.") The risk/reward profile is closer to vegas than one might think, and right now there is a huge influx of incompetent but enthusiastic workers. If you can afford the risk, sure, go for it. The weather is lovely. But: real estate (both rental and purchase) is staggering, traffic is abysmal, the hours are long, the drought is very real, and don't forget the earthquakes. (the CA earthquake fund will go bankrupt if there is another large quake; homeowners/rental insurance will not cover any damage or loss). VC is generally a ponzi scheme. Schools are terrible-- you'll need to budget for expensive and competitive private schools if you have kids. A lot of places due to bad engineering cope by being in crisis mode all of the time, which will age you prematurely. Most places have an age bias, so you'll have to figure out how to look younger while being exhausted.

In general the CA tech life works well for the 20-something worker with no responsibilities and no debts; you tend to work hard and play hard with your coworkers, and the perks are all designed to keep you at the office. An engineer making $150k can pay a $4000/mo rent bill without blinking because he can get all of the single-origin coffee he wants at the office. [/quote]

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