Thursday, August 24, 2017

Why BYU Students Should Start Their Careers in Silicon Valley

First off, this is not an anti-Utah post. I've got lots of friends and family in the Beehive State and nothing but love for BYU. I will always cheer on the great state of Utah and hope it continues to become an economic and technology powerhouse. Heck, my kid’s 529 accounts are in Utah because I’m bullish on the whole state. 

 
That being said, I felt compelled to write this post because BYU students are frequently reaching out to me to get my opinion. I’ve noticed lately that the exuberance for the technology scene in Utah (with good reason) is keeping them from seeing some of the reasons why they might want to start their careers in Silicon Valley.

Even, though the title says BYU, this could apply to any student in Utah or any other state for that matter that is considering launching their career in Silicon Valley.

Here are a bunch of reasons why you should start your career in Silicon Valley.

It's going to get harder later. It is so expensive to live here especially for single income families. The odds of you deciding 10 years into your career that you're ready to give Silicon Valley a shot are slim to none. If you're going to do it, the best chances are while you're young and have a low burn rate. You're not going to want to leave your 5 bedroom house in Lehi for a more expensive two-bedroom cottage in Palo Alto with 4 kids.

It will broaden your worldview. Silicon Valley is just a special place. It will broaden your worldview, it will change what you think is possible, you'll meet a much broader variety of people.  

More companies. When it comes to amazing fast-growing technology companies Utah has a good handful but Silicon Valley still rules the roost. There are a ton of options of places to work when it comes to world-class companies with worldwide brand recognition.

The network. I was lucky enough to start my career at Salesforce. 8 years after starting at Salesforce I can now look at my network and see that I know people at just about every major or fast-growing company in Silicon Valley from the people I met in my first job. That network has helped me in getting other jobs and helped me be better at what I do. I'll continue to benefit even more as my network as a whole progresses and people I know get bigger and more influential roles.

The halo effect. When a company does well, employees of that company often get more credit than they deserve. The same goes for when a company fails. There are immense benefits to starting your career at a company with a strong brand and a great reputation in Silicon Valley.

You’ll be better off if you go back to Utah. If you look at a lot of senior leadership of companies in Utah, you'll often see that they have spent time in Silicon Valley. The skills that you develop at companies in Silicon Valley are valued throughout the world. I've seen it play out time and time again where BYU grads come out to Silicon Valley to work for a few years, then go back to Utah getting paid much more and a much higher position because Utah companies value the Silicon Valley experience.

There are only really two major cons to living here. First is that housing is ridiculously expensive. If the primary way in which you are going to measure early career success is the size of your house, you should really not move here. Also, for a lot of people they have better access to friends and family in Utah, which is a very valid reason to stay in any place.

Utah is a fantastic place to work, but the reality is that Silicon Valley will continue to rule the tech world for the foreseeable future and there are immense career benefits to spending some of the early stages of your career in Silicon Valley.

36 comments:

  1. Solid assessment. I loved the 4+ years I spent in San Jose. Biggest challenge we met, largely tied directly to housing cost, is that one families hit a certain size, say 4 kids with the oldest turning ~12, they would won't up moving to Texas, Washington, Utah, etc. Created a lot of churn in my kids' (and wife's!) social circles. My oldest entering middle school, plus an opportunity too do some fun stuff at Microsoft, was a pretty strong forcing function. I've consistently given the advice to graduating students to do whatever they can to get to the Bay if they want a career in tech.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment, yeah I can imagine the social circle churn would not help being able to stay.

      Delete
  2. There are definitely a lot of benefits to being in a place highly concentrated with people in the industry you'd like to work.

    If I could do it over again, I would certainly give more thought about starting there. But then again, I didn't actually know I would be in the tech industry for my career when I left school.

    The good news for people who don't start in SF is that distance is collapsing because of new technologies that allow people to work remotely and transparently; Zoom even been one of those.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Spot on Derek. Couldn’t agree more. I have a lot of students asked me about staying in Utah, since I now work here, but unequivocally I say, go somewhere else! My time at LinkedIn is insanely valuable both for the experience, connections, and on the resume. Definitely get a ton of credit for the name recognition.

    That said, I now love my house in a Lehi. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Btw, your web page misspells there/their.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well it is really important to know who your competitors are and after realizing, we should create ways to cross them. Tools can help, but only dedication can make it happen.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This bit of composing is truly well beyond.
    resumeyard.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. This article was created by a honest to goodness hypothesis writer.
    Management Assignment Help

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for sharing this information with us, your website is really awesome. asphalt 9 mod apk plants vs zombies 2 mod apk mortal kombat x mod apk

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderful content shared here. I really benefited from your content. If you are experiencing trouble striking a balance between your busy academic life and handling your online classes, you can get help from a professional who will take online classes on your behalf. It doesn’t matter the kind of help you need, whether it is passing your exam, finishing your assignments or even the entire classwork, you can get help here at Online Class Help .

    ReplyDelete
  10. Many people are depressed about the problems of essay writing. Well, don’t worry about that because we are providing this service at a very reasonable price.
    Nursing Dissertation

    ReplyDelete
  11. Usually I never comment on blogs but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job Man,Keep it up. check my blogs
    Uniraj Result

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for this outstanding article. Data analysis daunts lots of people. But intimidation shouldn’t stop anyone when data analysis help is all over. Data analysis seems complicated to most people. However, it’s nothing more than an attempt to make sense of collected data. What ideas spring to mind when someone says, “I’m doing data analysis for my dissertation?” Let’s guess: math, numbers, statistics, and what else comes to mind? Without proper data analysis, your data won’t pack a hefty punch. Read more on Data Analysis help .

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello there! Nice article!!! But anyways here’s one of the trusted online baccarat site we can offer you so many promo and event everyday!! Good luck!!! Also visit my website: 카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete
  14. There’s definately a lot to know about this issue. I really like all the points you made. I feel very grateful that I read this. It is very helpful and very informative and I really learned a lot from it. Also visit my website: 카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete
  15. I’d really love to be a part of online community where I can get responses from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Appreciate it! Also visit my website: 카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete
  16. Positive site, where did u come up with the information on this posting?I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work. Also visit my website: 카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow, incredible blog structure! How long have you ever been running a blog for?
    you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is excellent, let alone the content material!
    JOIN US 오피월드


    5YOUNGYANG

    ReplyDelete
  18. This blog is an amazing one, the contents here are always very educative and useful, the reason I make it my regular blog of visit so as to widen my knowledge every day, thanks for always sharing useful and interesting information, you can checkout this eui edo  state cut off mark

    ReplyDelete
  19. Academic-Answers.net is a professional academic writing service dedicated to assist our clients achieve scholarly excellence. Our agency has a reputation of a trustworthy and caring writing service not only among customers but also among academic writers. Get Academic Answers

    ReplyDelete
  20. Are you searching for CIPD assignment writing help? Most likely, you will need to acquire the homework assist services of CIPD experts. In most scenarios, CIPD assignments tend to revolve around human resource management or HR development. This does not go to mean that the jobs will be as easy as ABC. Read more CIPD Level 5 Assignment Answers

    ReplyDelete
  21. We provide the best capsim simulations assignment help. We will guide you through all capsim business rounds..

    ReplyDelete
  22. Impressed by the cost-effectiveness of. converting PDF to Word online There was no need for expensive software installations – just a few clicks, and I had my editable Word document. A practical choice for budget-conscious users

    ReplyDelete
  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I was impressed with the online JPG to PDF conversion: https://pdfliner.com/jpg-pdf-converter. There was no need for pricey software installations – just a few clicks and my PDF document was ready. It's a practical choice for budget-conscious users.

    ReplyDelete
  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Crafting compelling ad copy and landing pages requires specific skills. Management services create high-performing ads that resonate with your target audience, leading to higher click-through rates and conversions. They constantly test and refine your campaigns, ensuring they stay ahead of the curve.

    Read more: Google Ads Management

    ReplyDelete