Rover Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Hi,I need a bit of help. I'm at a point in my career where I feel I need to tighten my focus a bit.I've got development experience in Delphi, ASP, C# and various flavours of SQL and even a bit of ABAP (SAP). This is combined with a strong knowledge of networking infrastructure (including DNS, mail & firewalls).An opportunity has come my was to specialise in MS SQL Business Intelligence.My questions are: - How much work are there in this field in Aus? - Would the recruiters and developers there suggest this direction as opposed to just being an Application Developer? - I would be changing jobs, something a lot of people suggest you don't do in the last year before moving, but it is a career step up, not a sideways move.Suggestions welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omzig Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Hi Rover,question 1: There is no current IT work, in Perth at least. It's been like this for months. There are a couple of real positions which are advertised by a few hundred agents, and a few thousand applicants apply for them. I'm not making this up, been talking to lots of recruitment consultants and they all tell me the same.question 2: I see business intelligence/analysis as being a lot more secure and certain than application development.question 3: Change jobs, I don't see why not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cramer Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Rover, I would say set up a custom search in seek.co.au or gurus.com.au and see how the jobs for those skills get posted. I dont know how much time you have but over a week or so you should be able to ascertain on the skills demand for your intended career change, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rover Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Rover, I would say set up a custom search in seek.co.au or gurus.com.au and see how the jobs for those skills get posted. I dont know how much time you have but over a week or so you should be able to ascertain on the skills demand for your intended career change,I've had a look on seek, mycareer, etc. and there's not too many BI jobs available. Having said that, the ones that are there, are pretty well paying in the corporate world.I've also experienced that a lot of BI jobs in South Africa doesn't make it to the recruiting agencies, because its filled before its advertised, which is not so much the case with Application Development.That, plus the current economic crises makes it difficult to assertain the Australian market in 'normal' conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rover Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 question 1: There is no current IT work, in Perth at least. It's been like this for months. There are a couple of real positions which are advertised by a few hundred agents, and a few thousand applicants apply for them. I'm not making this up, been talking to lots of recruitment consultants and they all tell me the same.Ouch! We can only hope this situation will blow over soon!question 2: I see business intelligence/analysis as being a lot more secure and certain than application development.That was my impression too, but I accepted that it could be different between SA and Aus. If one don't ask, one wouldn't know.question 3: Change jobs, I don't see why not.Also seeing that we've only lodged our 175 in November, we're probably still going to be in SA a while at the current rate...Thanks guys! Help is appreciatted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cramer Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I've had a look on seek, mycareer, etc. and there's not too many BI jobs available. Having said that, the ones that are there, are pretty well paying in the corporate world.I've also experienced that a lot of BI jobs in South Africa doesn't make it to the recruiting agencies, because its filled before its advertised, which is not so much the case with Application Development.That, plus the current economic crises makes it difficult to assertain the Australian market in 'normal' conditions.Maybe they are paying higher because the demand is higher. The thing also to remember is that seek.com etc is only an indication of whats the market is looking like, you mus also remember that a lot of jobs will be advertised in the paper or not advertised at all, they normally only advertise if they dont have enough suitable candidates.Maybe what you should do is get your stuff direct to the employment agencies and see whst they come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rover Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Maybe they are paying higher because the demand is higher. The thing also to remember is that seek.com etc is only an indication of whats the market is looking like, you mus also remember that a lot of jobs will be advertised in the paper or not advertised at all, they normally only advertise if they dont have enough suitable candidates.Maybe what you should do is get your stuff direct to the employment agencies and see whst they come up with.Yip, sounds like a plan... Will do that... and not get my hopes up too much...The big problem is finding an agency that is a ) knowledgeble enough and b ) will actually reply when you email them...I suppose its time to pick up the phone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billabong Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Just remember if you've already lodged your 175 and you change jobs, you must let them know.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matman Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Hi,I need a bit of help. I'm at a point in my career where I feel I need to tighten my focus a bit.I've got development experience in Delphi, ASP, C# and various flavours of SQL and even a bit of ABAP (SAP). This is combined with a strong knowledge of networking infrastructure (including DNS, mail & firewalls).An opportunity has come my was to specialise in MS SQL Business Intelligence.My questions are: - How much work are there in this field in Aus? - Would the recruiters and developers there suggest this direction as opposed to just being an Application Developer? - I would be changing jobs, something a lot of people suggest you don't do in the last year before moving, but it is a career step up, not a sideways move.Suggestions welcome!hi RoverMy advise would be to look at what the mainstream products/applications are out there based on analyst quadrants etc.In my personal opinion the problem with going with Microsoft is that becausse it is seen as off the shelf wear or midmarket sofware ( yes they are trying to push the Enterprise space - so please dont consider this an insult or take it that I dont understand this market - just triyng to make a point) - there are tons of people who learn the skills, so you have many people very skilled going for a few jobs. If you remember the early days - this was the case with netwrok specialists and MS IT certification - there were very few and the demand was high - the problem today is that there are to many people who can do this work or are certified. Not sure how well you follow the IT news and the consolidatins happening in the market place. If you want to get into the BI space I would be saying go for Hyperion which was acquired by Oracle or Business Objects which was acquired by SAP. Other options are SAS, Cognos, then followed by MS. These products have many corporate customers and more importantly market share. Where there are customers, there is more likely to be work.The same on the Applications side of the fence. Do some research on the Apps business, but I would be saying you cant go wrong with Oracle (EBS or PeopleSft or Siebel) or SAP for applicaiton skills - There will always be a need for these skills - Comapnies need financials to run their business, they need HR&Payroll to pay there people and in the manufacturing space - you need supply chain. Do some research to see what skills are in demand and if you have to - take a job starting at the bottom and get these skills and then make the move. You also need to do research on which comapnies would buy the software you have skills in - where are they based. Most of corporate Australia is based in Syd or Mel - there are some opportunities in Perth & Brisbane - seems to be getting less and less. Easiest way to detemrine the city where most opportnity is - go and have a look at the vendors that sell the products you have skills in - where are they based and what is the size or number of people in the office in each city. That is a telltale sign of where the opportunity is. The more people, the more revenue they expect to make in those cities. So in my example if you look at Oracle and SAP - guess where there biggest offices are in Australia - Sydney and MelbourneThis maybe pretty blunt, but developers are dime a dozen nowdays - most vendors offshore to India or China because its so much cheaper or they bring those cheap skills in. At least 10-15yrs ago it was the in thing to have C or C++ or to be a 4GL programmer. Again over time, to many people taken it up.Just my 2c - hope it helpsRgdsMatman Edited February 13, 2009 by matman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rover Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 hi RoverMy advise would be to look at what the mainstream products/applications are out there based on analyst quadrants etc....This maybe pretty blunt, but developers are dime a dozen nowdays - most vendors offshore to India or China because its so much cheaper or they bring those cheap skills in. At least 10-15yrs ago it was the in thing to have C or C++ or to be a 4GL programmer. Again over time, to many people taken it up.Just my 2c - hope it helpsRgdsMatmanHi Matman,I appreciate what you're saying, but I'm sitting with 10 odd years experience developing on and for Windows platforms in anything from comms/RS232/IP to client-server apps, XML, web applications and GIS systems. I don't mind being in a junior position again, as long as I can retain my experience and work my way up again into some form of specialisation.I'm however not going to chuck that out the window and restart my career now, just before moving to another country. Especially not in something like Business Objects or another App/Super User-type application environment. I've done some SAP/ABAP work, so I know what it's about.I always joke with my SAP friends that the reason they get paid so well is to stop them from gnawing through their wrists. SAP should get rid of the ABAP engine & retain only the J2EE engine in my opinion. It would make SAP interesting. Watch the SAP people swear at me now... Thanks for the feedback though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottg Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Hi MatmanThank you for an informative post and very good ideas.It reminds me of the consultant walking through the factory and listening to the noise levels. Very noisy means high production and buying customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joefromsa Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Hi RoverAgree with everything Matman says, however even though Microsoft has the perception of being off the shelf, they have come a long way since... They are getting quite a serious reputation in the ERP space... they bought out a company called Great Plains about 10 years ago, which specialised in Accounting software for small to medium size companies, they then acquired and developed products called GP Navision and GP Axapta... they have CRM and BI....BI is the NEW buzz word... even though Hyperion is the preferred product of choice...Many companies, particularly, Syd and Mel have opportunities... for BI specialists. What will stand in your favour, if you can prove an above average understanding of business, thereby making a contribution ito developing BI for the various industries.With your current experience and considering the job market, I would suggest grab the opportunity with both hands, it can only look better on your cv... the pay should be around Aus $100k pa... Don't look back... My R110k (zim dollor) contribution.. Edited February 13, 2009 by Joefromsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joefromsa Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Just remember if you've already lodged your 175 and you change jobs, you must let them know....Hi Billabong...Please clarify... don't quite understand your post.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avida Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'd assume he means it is a "change in circumstances" similar to changing your postal / residential address or falling pregnant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joefromsa Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'd assume he means it is a "change in circumstances" similar to changing your postal / residential address or falling pregnant.Thanks Avida,you probably correct, But I don't think in this case its necessary to inform DIAC.... btw... I think Billabong is a female... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miran Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 (edited) Yes she is, and bleddie smart too!!!! Watch it Joe, she also lives in Cape Town........I'm just concerned that if our applications are going to lie in Adelaide for 12+months some of our details are going to be outdated when they eventually get to it..... Age plays a quite a role in the points system. IELTS and Skills assessments are also just valid for 2 years......Sorry, topic was highjacked..... Edited February 14, 2009 by miran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avida Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Sorry Lady Billabong! Regarding Change of Circumstances, this is the reference to the DIAC site:http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-ski...rcumstances.htmand specifically this part:Important: Your visa may be cancelled if you give incorrect information or fail to advise the department that some information is no longer correct.Examples of a change in circumstances include: * new job * new passport * new member of your family * discovery of incorrect information in your application * change of address or contact details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joefromsa Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Yo man, I'm being watched...Miran, I know she lives in Cpt... I'm trying to redeem myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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