Naturally, Silicon Valley has a lot more to offer than a Mediterranean climate, but it sure helps make the place a major draw for the kind of talent that Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is looking to hire.
So says Google chief Eric Schmidt in a
Wall Street Journal Q&A Thursday.
"When I'm asked about this, and I've been asked this for years, I answer this the same: It is the weather," Schmidt said." There's a reason why generations of young people who are willing to challenge assumptions and so forth have ended up in the Bay Area, and the weather is not a small part."
The presence of Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley also have a major influence in who Google hires, Schimdt said. He also noted that it might be challenging for the hoards of unemployed here to find jobs, mainly because of the rapid pace of technological change.
"The problem with being laid off in Silicon Valley is if you are laid off for a few years, which would be terrible, during that time, the technology moves forward, so you have to keep yourself current," he said.
- Olaf de Senerpont Domis
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