Florin has a population of 100,000 and 10,000 openings for Plugh coders.
Guilder has a population of 1,000,000 and also has 10,000 openings for Plugh coders.
If you are an ordinary Plugh coder, do you think it will be easier to find a job in Florin, or in Guilder?
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The math is clear, and given the assumptions behind this question, the solution is obvious. Sadly, life is not a math test.
If we assume that I am "an ordinary Plugh coder", and that it's essential I work in that specific discipline, we go where the jobs are easiest to find and retain.
If, however, we hold a higher self opinion (or as menolly said, we are from Lake Woebegone, where all the children are above average), competition doesn't matter.
I, for one, would want to live in Guilder -- if only to avoid the corrupt government of Prince Humperdinck. If I can get a job in Guilder writing apps in Plugh, that's great. If not, I'll run a help desk, or manage an operations team, or flip burgers.
In the words of Robert A. Heinlein, "Specialization is for insects."
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I see 10K jobs in each. I only have to be 1 of 10K. Sounds like pretty good odds to me, as long as I've worked to be the best I can be.
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If Plugh coders make up 2% of the population -- which is unrealistic, but hypotheticals are easier with round numbers -- there are 2K Plugh coders in Florin, and 20K in Guilder.
Given 10K jobs per country, Plugh coders in Florin can name their price; Plugh coders in Guilder have to be in the top half of the field,and may have trouble finding another position if they lose theirs or don't like the conditions. Or they move to Florin, where it'll be easier to get a gig. But without per-capita job data, how are they to know it's easy to find Plugh work in Florin?
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Frankly, whenever I get a question like this, I find I've a marked yen to duck it.
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