Industry Evolution, Job Hopping, and Mobility

Silicon Valley remains a hub of technology innovation and cutting-edge entrepreneurial business because it is not dependent upon any single industry or sector of technology. So, the region evolves in an unplanned way to take advantage of emergent disruptive technologies, rather than be saddled to one industry or technology and find its fortunes sunsetting with that particular sector or technology.

These are the major industry clusters for Silicon Valley:

• Computers/communications

• Semiconductors/semiconductor equipment

• Software

• Bioscience

• Defense/space

• Innovation services

• Professional services

Together these clusters represent 40% of all jobs in Silicon Valley. ^[1]

The region evolved from a focus on defense in the 1950s to integrated circuits in the 1960 “70s to personal computers in the 1980 “90s to the Internet in the 1990 “2000s. ^[2] This ability to evolve technology emphasis is what may account for the region's success in staying ahead of the curve in innovative technology. Along with this continuing evolution of industries is a culture of independent contractors and project teams , who frequently move from employer to employer. The average tenure of employment in Silicon Valley is two years compared with almost seven years job tenure in the U.S.