Key results
Of the engineers who say they're against moving to the United States, more than half would require a salary boost of $100K or more to even consider it – with another 13% saying no amount could make them consider moving.
Skills and Education
About 87% of engineers are multilingual when it comes to coding, with on average, about three languages under their belts. But these skills didn’t necessarily come from prestigious engineering schools. While Silicon Valley has shown a strong preference towards hiring from legacy schools, only a few respondents noted that they learned on-the-job skills in undergrad. Three in four engineers said they were self-taught while only 29% cited a degree.
Where skills were learned
Current coding skillsets
Those working for large firms with 2,500+ employees are significantly more likely to be skilled in C/C++ (53%) relative to smaller firms (usually around 20-30%)
Relocation
Companies have the deck stacked against them when it comes to talent re-location. Canadian and Mexican engineers alike expressed disinterest in re-locating across the border – nearly 40% of them reported they’d rather not move while some took it a step further to say they ‘absolutely don’t want to work in the U.S.’ Quality of life considerations were reported as the major blocker to re-location for international tech talent.
Why engineers don't want to move
of Canadian and Mexican engineers surveyed reported they’d rather not move to the US
For 57% of engineers against moving to the United States, it would take a salary boost of $100K or more – with another 13% saying no amount could make them consider moving.
Recruitment
From too many rounds of interviews to long delays and disorganization, engineers widely reported frustration with their recruiting experience. Even more concerning, they say these issues can put a damper on their interest in joining the company. Nearly 35% of engineers reported that too many rounds of interviewing would turn them off from a job.
Engineers also saw differences in interviewing with big tech versus startups, with 66% reporting too many rounds of interviews at large firms while 52% experienced this at smaller companies.
Frustrations with the interview process
Big tech vs. Startup: 66% of those at large firms (2,500+) have experienced too many rounds of interviews compared to 52% of those at startups with only 1-25 employees.
Pain points stronger in Mexico
Turn off from job
Career and money matters
Engineers appreciate the opportunity for personal growth and company potential at start-ups. But at the end of the day, they report greater preference for a less risky work environment. Late-stage startups, followed by public companies, were the most interesting to candidates.
There's also regional variation when it comes to company choice. Mexican engineers showed greater interest in working for a rising startup compared to their Canadian counterparts, who believe more opportunities for mentorship lie within bigger companies. Lastly, though stock and equity may be seen as an important factor by US-based engineers, a majority of respondents listed that as the least important benefit when selecting jobs.
Job benefits vs. company stage
Top 7 most important things
Pay fairness
Job tenure
Workplace happiness
Engineers report they value time zone alignment within 1-2 hours to get work done when working remotely while also favoring a quiet environment. Cultural differences also come into play here: Most Mexicans prefer coworking spaces with an open layout, in contrast to their Canadian counterparts, who prefer more enclosed space. When looking at collaboration between remote locations, working in a similar time zone proves to be the most critical factor correlated to productive coordination across distances.
Preference for remote proximity
of engineers prefer working in similar time zones to teammates
Preference for work environment
of women favor a quiet environment compared to 59% of men
of Canadians prefer a quiet environment compared to 53% of Mexicans
Most valued collaboration tools
Industry landscape + future outlook
Two out of three engineers think there is a talent shortage, with repercussions impacting all aspects of their experience, from career growth to company success to broader innovation. Those concerned about the tech talent shortage say it may stifle technical development, stunt innovation, overwork existing software engineers and limit their ability to grow.
Is there a talent shortage?
of engineers say they think there’s definitely a shortage of software engineers in their current company
say there’s probably a shortage
say no not really
say no not at all
indicate they don’t know
Perceived effects of the shortage
Future of tech
Future languages
Profile of respondents
This report is based on a survey of software engineers across North America, primarily based where Terminal operates in Canada and Mexico.
The survey was conducted in November and December 2019.