In principle, I agree with most commentators on HN that if there were actually a shortage we'd expect to see salaries rising.
Yet, in practice, it does seem that there's simply an absolute shortage of experienced developers. I've been hiring developers at my job for most of the past year, yet we have never had an offer turned down. Rather, we see only a trickle of applicants, very few of whom are event remotely qualified. If we actually saw a great developer, I'm sure we could put together a fantastic compensation package (despite being an early-stage startup, we pay above market for NYC). Yet all we see are mediocre developers, and few of those. It's hard not to call this a labor shortage when my colleagues hiring for other positions (marketing, writing, etc.) see 100x the number of applicants with 1/10 as much outreach/advertising.
Given that it's impossible to produce more senior developers in a 1-2 year timeframe, what alternatives do people suggest to immigration?
Yet, in practice, it does seem that there's simply an absolute shortage of experienced developers. I've been hiring developers at my job for most of the past year, yet we have never had an offer turned down. Rather, we see only a trickle of applicants, very few of whom are event remotely qualified. If we actually saw a great developer, I'm sure we could put together a fantastic compensation package (despite being an early-stage startup, we pay above market for NYC). Yet all we see are mediocre developers, and few of those. It's hard not to call this a labor shortage when my colleagues hiring for other positions (marketing, writing, etc.) see 100x the number of applicants with 1/10 as much outreach/advertising.
Given that it's impossible to produce more senior developers in a 1-2 year timeframe, what alternatives do people suggest to immigration?