FYI, we could not hire anyone. Finally, we lost those open reqs because management decided so. Most smart engineer we interviewed, ended up having multiple offers from more cool companies.
it would have been 85k-95k for an entry level. In short, it was up to the standards in bay area for skills and experience.
What kind of salary were you offering for the more senior position?
Do you think you would have been more successful hiring a Jr dev at a much higher salary? Say, 120K? That would still low for a graduate of a top law school.
I know this will cause sticker shock, but that may be what it takes.
Honestly, I do not have salary data. However, for sure, the salaries were in average or above range.
You should check some salary stats. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3141716
It seems to me that there is a disconnect here. You mentioned that you were losing out on "smart engineers" with "multiple offers from cool companies". Then you discuss how your company is offering salaries in the "average or above range." It sounds to me like your company is experiencing exactly the outcome you'd expect.
The part where I see a disconnect is when you mentioned "Though there could be a huge number of american engineers, it simply doesn't match the demand at present."
I see this as a function of supply and demand. I haven't studied economics formally (beyond the examples in my math classes), but I understand that economists talk of a demand curve and supply curve. At lower prices, consumers tends to demand more of a product or service but producers supply less. At higher prices, produces have an incentive to supply more but consumers tend to demand less. The point where the supply and demand curves meet is considered the market equilibrium.
Right now, it sounds like prices (salaries) for engineers haven't hit equilibrium. 80-90k may sound like a lot, but clearly the economy is demanding more engineers at this level than the market will supply. I don't know where that equilibrium point will be, but considering the number of very lucrative career paths smart people have available to them, I suspect it's going to be quite a bit higher.
Well, this debate is getting a little stale over a few days. The disconnect is in the phrase "at this level".
You can always find a salary point at which any good or service will appear to be in "shortage". And you can always find a salary at which there will appear to be a glut. Sounds like there's a big shortage of 80k/yr engineers, but absolutely no shortage of 160k/yr engineers.
it would have been 85k-95k for an entry level. In short, it was up to the standards in bay area for skills and experience.