Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Wind River going up, up, up! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mitchell Jones who wrote (3440)	7/21/1998 5:27:00 PM
From: Snowshoe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10309

>>To imply that the price is too high is to infer that we know better that Bill Gates or Jerry Fiddler( or any of the other industry exectives caught up in this competitive market), how to cope with this talent squeeze.<< Mitch, I respectfully disagree. It is possible to draw an entirely different inference from your implication -- that there should be public policy initiatives to support the education of a larger supply of programmers. Seen in this light, your implication about the attitudes of the questioners is unfair. I think we should try to focus on the questions, not the questioners. Gates himself seems to feel that the price is too high, as evidenced by his support for the relaxation of immigration restrictions, and his ongoing attempt to disenfranchise a large number of his programmers from qualifying for stock options, by treating them as contractors. WIND's shareholders are entitled to vote on the employee options compensation, so we should give these issues a fair and impartial hearing. Our concerns about the price of compensation are as valid as our concerns about the price of anything else affecting WIND's business, including i960x processors, yen, and Alameda real estate. IMO, the ultimate success of the company depends upon a carefully-balanced compensation plan that maximizes the benefits to both employees and shareholders. They say that stocks have to climb a wall of worry. This discussion has the best chance for a positive outcome if we the shareholders are ready and willing to tackle these worries head on. One positive I would like to comment on -- WIND's new headquarters on the bay. As a programmer who spent many of his early years relegated to windowless basements, I say BRAVO! What a great way to attract and retain talented staff! -Greg

To: Mitchell Jones who wrote (3440)	7/21/1998 5:28:00 PM
From: Pirah Naman	Respond to of 10309

programming talent is in a sellers market and the price keeps going up!... To imply that the price is too high is to infer that we know better that Bill Gates or Jerry Fiddler( or any of the other industry exectives caught up in this competitive market), how to cope with this talent squeeze. Mitch, your point returns us to one of the central issues, namely the economics of production. Do you think that we will see a general reduction in gross margins at software firms as a result of this? Or do you think that software companies have enough pricing power to maintain margins? (Obviously some do and some don't - I'm being deliberately open ended in the hope that you will share your thoughts.) Any other thoughts (migration to cheaper labor sources, implications for related fields)? Pirah

To: Mitchell Jones who wrote (3440)	7/21/1998 8:22:00 PM
From: Mark Brophy	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 10309

Re: Shortage of talent Reports such as this merely confirm that programming talent is in a sellers market and the price keeps going up! The new facilities that WIND is building, as well as the stock options, are part and parcel of the effort WIND is making to secure the talent required to maintain the leadership in a very competitive field. To imply that the price is too high is to infer that we know better that Bill Gates or Jerry Fiddler( or any of the other industry exectives caught up in this competitive market), how to cope with this talent squeeze. When I graduated from engineering school in 1986, the average engineer straight out of school was earning $29,000 and the average law student was earning $40,000. Today, the average new engineer earns $41,000 and the new lawyer earns $70,000. Engineers haven't kept pace with inflation in the last 12 years and lawyers have stayed ahead of inflation. There's a large oversupply of engineers and a shortage of lawyers. If I were advising a young person today, I'd recommend that (s)he enter the law profession. There will always be a large pool of foreigners driving down the value of an engineering education, but lawyers only need to compete with the 6% of the world's population that resides in the United States.