As much as I hate “committees”… put me on the short list if you decide to brainstorm. I think we rely too much on the public sector. If we’re going to create stuff, we’re going to have to do it in the private sector.

That being said, the public sector should take on the role of support… not leadership. The times have changed and competition is changing too quickly to not follow entrepreneurs like yourselves.

Our governor said he hopes this helps to turn Iowa into the Silicon Valley of the midwest. That sounds wonderful but what will the State do about it?

It’s my dream and why I stayed. We’ll see what happens.

“Even Laser eye surgery is covered after one full year on the plan (can’t wait for my one year anniversary!).” I think you have it pretty good compared to what my benefits package.

Flex hours - I do have these but its more in half hour intervals.. There is no way I can take a vacation on the fly with less than a months notice. Too many pointless meetings etc.

There are my two sense… I think you have it pretty good if you ask me.

Looks like the cool jobs might be on their way.

Andy - great conversation - thanks for the opportunity to weigh in!

~ Janet

Janet - You made a very good point that I should have elaborated on when mentioning the salary difference. Cost of living is a very big factor when weighing in salary. Salary was just one difference I wanted to note.

Cj B makes another great point of benefits but there’s also the little perks he eluded to. I’ve posted about the work environments at companies like Yahoo! and Google where the atmosphere is conducive to having fun which is a great envrionment to work in. I’ve worked at some startups in Des Moines that had those perks early in the business but once it was established they definitely waned.

Most of the ‘cool jobs’ I’d like to see would inherently come with cool and fun environments to work in.

As for your benefits question. My major benefits which most companies in Iowa haven’t been able to meet are:

1) Profit Sharing and bonuses - Even with a 401(k) match, I wouldn’t be able to save as much in a retirement account as what my company currently fully provides.

2) Full healthcare at NO cost. I get 100% of my medical bills, prescriptions, eye doctor, dental, even over the counter drugs paid for by the company. No co-pay, no nothing. Even Laser eye surgery is covered after one full year on the plan (can’t wait for my one year anniversary!). There is a limit to your total costs each year, but you’d have to be in a serious accident or something to reach that limit.

These first two are Major for me.

3) Flex hours. (Some companies have been close on this, but not to the same extent). I can come into the office pretty much whenever I feel like, or just work from home. Last minute vacation? No problem, call up the boss the night before and tell him I’m out for a week. (Granted I only get 2 full weeks of vacation, but I can always just put in more then 40 hours one week and use that time later)

4) Various perks. Including, new laptops (I’ve been getting a new one every year since starting here), weekly happy-hour, etc.

Maybe I’m just being spoiled by working at a dot-com. The first two are fairly substantial though, I’d hate to have to take a pay cut of nearly 40% and then have to pay for medical and retirement!

Also - the original post here is excellent but there’s one point that should be expanded. A “major pay increase on the coasts” can be offset by a major increase in the cost of living. NYC’s cost of living is over 200% of the national average; San Francisco’s is over 172% of the national average; Portland, 121% over national average. Meanwhile, Des Moines’ cost of living is just 90.5 percent of the national average. So while the dollar figure of a coastal salary may sound astronomical to a Midwesterner, it can cost more than twice as much to live in those cities.

Obviously, salary is just one aspect of a relocation - benefits, quality of life, amenities, etc. all play a role as well.

~ Janet