Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

New York Times | Nick Wingfield | October 8
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/technology/seattle-in-midst-of-tech-boom-tries-to-keep-its-soul.html?_r=0

“For years, business leaders here have closely studied the San Francisco region, seeking to emulate the way it churns out so many leading technology companies.

In large measure, those efforts worked. But now, leaders in Seattle are looking to the Bay Area as a different sort of model: a cautionary tale…’Seattle has wanted to be San Francisco for so long,’ said Knute Berger, a longtime chronicler of life in Seattle. ‘Now it’s figuring out maybe that it isn’t what we want to be.’ “

 

Most of Seattle’s Top-Paid Tech Workers Could Make More in Silicon Valley

Puget Sound Business Journal | Ashley Stewart | October 8
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/10/most-of-seattles-top-paid-tech-workers-could-make.html

“Seattle’s talent-starved tech companies have one big advantage when trying to recruit tech workers from Silicon Valley – it’s significantly cheaper to live here. Tech workers can afford to take a pay cut and still have more buying power when they choose a Seattle job over one in Silicon Valley. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis tracks price disparities between major cities. After adjusting for cost of living, $1 in Seattle has the buying power of about $1.14 in Silicon Valley. That means a Silicon Valley tech worker can accept a 12 percent pay cut and still have the same buying power in Seattle.”

See what top tech jobs in Seattle pay compared to Silicon Valley here

 

UW Ranks 11th Among Global Universities

Seattle Times | Katherine Long | October 6
http://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/uw-ranks-11th-among-global-universities/

“When compared with all other colleges in the country, the University of Washington ranks 52nd, according to U.S. News & World Report. But when ranked against all other universities in the world, the same magazine ranks the UW 11th.”

 

Here’s a Detailed Breakdown of Racial and Gender Diversity across U.S Venture Capital Firms

Tech Crunch | Kim-Mai Cutler | October 6
http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/06/s23p-racial-gender-diversity-venture/#.hrncgc:R3mV

“[Chamath] Palihapitiya’s firm Social + Capital and The Information pulled data on 71 firms representing more than $160 billion in assets under management and broke out the racial and gender mix of the investment leadership. This distinction is key because many firms have women or minorities, but they might be in non-investing roles like marketing or HR. Women, for example, make up 60 percent of non-investing roles at venture firms in the survey, but only 8 percent of the senior investment team.”

 

Outsourcing Fee on H-1B US Visas Lapses, Domestic IT Firms Get Breather 

The Economic Times | Neha Alawadhi | October 3
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/visa-and-immigration/outsourcing-fee-on-h-1b-us-visas-lapses-domestic-it-firms-get-breather/articleshow/49192949.cms

“Although the fee hasn’t been renewed by the US Congress, it can come up for review later. “This is a welcome step and we will urge the USCIS not to reintroduce this fee,” the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said in an email to ET. “As of date, the September 30 expiration cannot be viewed as an end date and it could possibly reappear as a ‘pay for’ option later in the fall when budget issues and funding issues are raised.”