Software technology is developing at lightning speed, and everyone wants a piece.
Tech companies are doing whatever they can to entice and retain the best software engineers, but they are not the only ones vying for this specialist talent. Many non-tech companies have jumped on the bandwagon too. Rather than outsource their software projects to specialist software companies, they are bringing programmers in-house to create their own bespoke software systems.
The demand for programmers is growing faster than supply.
There's an interesting article by Robin Wigglesworth in the FT which highlights the interests of another party in this clamour for tech talent. Historically, engineers, physicists and mathematicians have been recruited by financial institutions, but they are now shifting their gaze to computer scientists.
Software engineers already make great money, and according to a survey of 10,000 programmers conducted by Stack Overflow, 90% of them would accept an offer that pays 10% less than their current salary if the new opportunity fit their other criteria. So, money alone will not attract computer scientists to the shiny skyscrapers of finance.
When the programmers were asked if they would ever decline an offer based on their perception of the office quality or management structure, 59.7% of them said yes! When the money is already good, people shift their expectations to more qualitative issues.
The working environment offered by the likes of Google or Uber (companies mentioned in the FT article) are so vastly different from those of financial institutions that they may as well be in different dimensions of space and time. For financial institutions to be able to attract and retain software engineers, the whole culture would have to change.
Amongst the other things cited in the Stack Overflow survey as being important to programmers, there was a clear emphasis on the team, management, autonomy, creativity, being aligned with the company's products and services, and the company's goals. The financial markets, when put in that context, are not so attractive. It's not an impossible task, however, and people often do different jobs at different points in their lives for different reasons.
The comments made on the FT article are fascinating! Many of the people commenting seem to come from a tech / programming background, and they have some great insights.
A theme that seems to emerge from the comments is about the worthiness of the cause. Programmers have a great talent, and they could be using it to further society in more meaningful ways, rather than the simple pursuit of money. Money is great, and I like it, but the pursuit of wealth can be all the more satisfying when it is the by-product of great ideas, as opposed to the end goal in and of itself.
We could all benefit from a more collaborative approach to technology and programming. Just think about the massive advances in medicine, farming, sustainable technology that could be possible! Things are moving so fast that businesses, schools and governments are still playing catch-up when it comes to software technology. It's doubtful that we will ever reach a plateau, but we can all jump aboard for the ride.
A whole new way of working is needed. Society will either shape those changes or respond to them, but traditional ways of doing things are becoming more alien to what is needed in today's world - or rather - tomorrow's world.
References:
Hedge funds poach computer scientists from Silicon Valley, by Robin Wigglesworth, Financial Times US markets editor (22/11/2015)
Joel Spolsky's Guide to Standing Out & Attracting Top Talent
#HedgeFunds Join the Clamour for #Tech #Talent. Old world, new tricks, don't mix? https://t.co/qdprVg6joA #FinTech pic.twitter.com/4Wa2BHtkIg
— Danielle Curio (@DanielleCurio) November 24, 2015
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