[mbesto]

I know the EE space well in SF Bay Area (source - I was an internal recruiter for a hardware based startup). EE generally sits between 70-90k (but have seen people demand $120k), whereas software developers (especially mobile) is more like 90-120k (and for top talent sits around $150-200k). Depending on the financial health (i.e. funding) of the company, the full cost of an employee can range from 1.25x-1.80x their base salary. Hardware startups generally are stingy on their cost structure (and therefore probably skimp on benefits, bringing them down to 1.25x) because the cost structure is so high relative to software. For example, tooling costs could vary between $100-250k which is terribly difficult to estimate when you don't know the design or demand of your final product. The difference of $100k is...you guessed it...equivalent to a full additional human resource. Resource planning for hardware startups is scary.

I know for a fact finding talented EE people is possible at $75k, and that same level talent would most likely cost $100k for a software dev. Interestingly, there is a decent supply of EE talent out there, however due the varying degree of hardware applications finding the right person is more difficult than it seems on the surface.

[ChuckMcM]

But if your an EE and a software dev can you get 75 + 100 or $175K ? :-)

One of the best advice my Dad ever gave me when I was thinking about majors in college was that you could program computers with an EE or a CS degree but without an EE degree they probably wouldn't let you build/design them. The math and physics were, to my taste, more difficult but I got tremendous satisfaction in being able to understand a computer from the PN junction of its transistors, to the process model of its operating system.

[officialchicken]

You don't need a degree for common sense.

My parent spout a lot of the same nonsense. Just who exactly are these "they" gatekeepers the Boomers keep referring to? Pretty sure "they" are the same keepers of great wisdom such as "Housing prices will always rise", and "Work hard, you'll get a pension and gold watch," sorts of people. Not intentionally wrong, but definitely behind the times.

Want to make a computer? WE don't need "them" to gatekeep their own bullshit anymore. Everthing, including fabs has been virtualized and is available online. Funding, PCB design and layout, soft-hard your FPGA ASIC designs, etc, etc, etc. Make your tradeoffs same as the rest of us, but don't think for a second that you must have "them" to make that computer.

I know it's not really that easy (my parents spout the same nonsense all the time, but I love them nonetheless), but try to surround yourself with enablers not gatekeepers. And be able to quickly differentiate between the timeless and the boomer knowledge.

[misiti3780]

2nd this comment - im an EE with concentration in signal processing (also have an MS in Applied Math now). i was debating Math + CS or EE and I am very happy with my choice - has opened a lot of doors for me career wise

[tonyarkles]

I couldn't agree more. I ended up doing a dual EE/CS undergrad and get the same satisfaction from understanding things down to the bare bare metal.

[gatlong]

I'm an EE (work at a funded hardware startup) and I know a lot of other EEs working in the Bay Area. None of them make less than $100K. If you're an EE at 70K to 90K, you can make a lot more than that.

[misiti3780]

so mobile developers are in more demand right now than full-stack in SF? ( that is what it sounded like to me)