Life Outside the Valley’s Algorithm
We are Stella and Amy. We share firsthand stories at the crossroads of tech, business, and culture, helping leaders craft actionable cross-cultural strategies. Together, we bridge cultural divides and bring the world a little closer—one step at a time.
Starting around 2010, the hype around transitioning into tech began to build. Driven by FOMO, graduate students from a range of engineering disciplines—mechanical, civil, chemical—began leaving their original fields to join the tech workforce or take on big tech-adjacent roles, drawn by the promise of higher pay, better benefits, and the prestige that came with it.
Bo, a civil engineering student at the time and a graduate of top universities, chose not to follow the trend. He stayed in civil engineering. Today, he lives in the Bay Area and remains a civil engineer—one who still doesn’t write a single line of code. In our latest podcast episode, we sat down with Bo to talk about life in the Bay Area as a non-techie, and his quiet pride in staying true to a profession where his passion lies.
Resisting The Lure Of Tech
🎙️ My girlfriend made more money first year out of school than my skip manager did. I was like, shoot! I’ll never catch up financially.
Bo graduated with a Master's degree in Civil Engineering in 2011. At the time, many of his peers were landing six-figure offers straight out of school, while Bo started his career in San Diego earning around $60,000 a year as a field engineer. He worked closely with contractors in the field, building roads, ports, bridges, and dams. Bo was content with the salary—though it wasn’t much, it was enough to live on in Southern California.
He still remembers the moment the income gap became painfully clear: his girlfriend, now wife, started an internship at a big tech company in the Bay Area and immediately made more than he did. When the internship ended, she received a full-time offer that exceeded the salary of Bo’s skip-level manager, an experienced civil engineer with decades in the field. “That’s when I was like, shoot!” Bo said. “Even if I became the best in my field, I’d never catch up financially.” But instead of switching tracks, he doubled down on building a career in civil engineering.
Playing the Levi’s Role in the Gold Rush
🎙️ Back in the gold rush, Levi’s made jeans for the miners. Someone has to play that role. I’m the one building houses for tech workers.
Raising a family in the Bay Area isn’t easy, especially with the soaring cost of living. After relocating with his wife, Bo began thinking seriously about how to increase his income—without joining the tech industry. He started a structural design firm focused on single-family homes. At first, it was just a few projects here and there, but he gradually built up a reputation through word of mouth. Today, Bo’s firm handles a few hundred projects each year and employs five engineers. Almost all of his clients work in big tech—"because only they can afford to buy houses in this area," he says. Once, he discovered that one of his clients was a former schoolmate who had transitioned into tech after graduation. "Some of my peers have made a fortune in tech," Bo told us. "I don’t feel jealous, because I truly enjoy what I do. Back in the gold rush, Levi’s made jeans for the miners. Someone has to play that role. I’m the one building houses for them."
Adopting AI Without Joining the Hype
🎙️ You have to know your stuff well. Otherwise, you can be easily fooled by it (AI).
Though he’s stayed outside the tech industry, Bo hasn’t been immune to the Bay Area’s obsession with AI. Like everyone else, he’s been hearing about large language models and the promise of disrupting traditional industries. Curious, he gave ChatGPT a try—and was impressed. He now uses it as a tool in his design workflow, especially for routine calculations and permit responses. For example, what used to take an hour of manual structural math can now be drafted in minutes with the help of AI. Of course, that’s just the starting point—he still applies his engineering judgment to check and refine the results. “You can’t rely on it blindly,” he says. “You have to know your stuff well. Otherwise, you can be easily fooled by it.”
What If We Hadn’t Jumped Ship?
Many of us who weren’t computer scientists gave up years of training in traditional engineering to ride the tech wave. Now, a decade later, the once glamorous industry feels increasingly unstable—rife with extreme competition, toxic culture, and waves of layoffs masked as "performance management." As we stare down midlife with uncertain job security, it’s hard not to wonder: what if we had stayed the course? What if we hadn’t abandoned the ship?
Bo’s story doesn’t offer easy answers, but it reminds us that success isn't always about catching the next wave—it’s about building something solid enough to stand when the tide inevitably turns.
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