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What is expected rate for a senior .NET Software Developer in melbourne


acmac

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Hi,

We're in the process of applying and just wanted to know, more or less, what is the expected going rate for a senior .NET developer in Melbourne. And what do you recommend the approach I take when I start looking for a job - i.e. could I already start applying for positions while still here in SA after receiving my Visa?

Thanks a mill.

Edited by cmclellen
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If you are currently a senior developer, be prepared to enter the market as a junior/mid-level developer, mainly due to lack of Ozzy experience. You will be looking in the $60-80k range per year, more if you are lucky. Good luck mate.

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Thanks Gideon. What do you mean by "Ozzy experience"? It is kinda what I feared - but I would have thought .NET is .NET surely and the principals are all the same. If you don't mind me asking, what is the ratio of your salary in Oz compared to what your salary was in SA.

Edited by cmclellen
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It's more to do with the way they work, rather than what you work. I'd say I was lucky to roughly get a little more than I did in RSA.

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Australian experience is simply that, having worked anywhere in Australia. It gives employers a place of reference for you and they can also find how you fitted in that company.

As a South African you are an unknown entity and 9 times out of ten an employer will go with someone who has " Australian experience". It's knowing how things work here.

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When you say way of working, do you mean agile methodologies they may follow (SCRUM, ...)?

When you say you're getting more than in SA - is that roughly what you were getting in SA multiplied by exchange rate (x9) or is it more like (x13).

Sorry for all the questions, but just trying to gauge things.

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Great, thank you. I guess, having a family and all, just a little scary moving and hoping that we wont be impacted too much. It's just I've seen the price of houses there in Oz and the cost of living is quite high.

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I'm having a hard time accepting this Aussie experience thing, but I'm going to have to come to terms with it one way or another. Beggars cant be choosers I guess. I wont take this attitude into my interviews though and I'll have to play the game their way If I want any chance of getting a job.

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I'm totally with you on that. I guess the trick is to setup as many interviews as possible, and if they really want you, they'll be prepared to pay the going rate - at least that's my theory ;).

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I'm totally with you on that. I guess the trick is to setup as many interviews as possible, and if they really want you, they'll be prepared to pay the going rate - at least that's my theory ;).

I'll let you know after next week. Arriving in Melbourne on Monday and will start the job hunt straight away. I'm a Java dev but the demand is about the same as for .NET.

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Awesome!! that will be great. If you wouldn't mind posting back to let us know. Good luck!!!

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I'm having a hard time accepting this Aussie experience thing, but I'm going to have to come to terms with it one way or another.

Aussie experience means someone in Aus has worked with you and can vouch for you. Employers are really worried about things like whether you can tell if an Aussie is joking or not.

There are a lot of Asians here with fantastic CVs, but they struggle to fit in. So do whatever you can to separate yourself from them... Join a church or local sports club. Really any kind of regular volunteering is gold.

Also don't rate yourself too highly on your CV. If you rate yourself a 8/10 for SQL server... You better have designed a high availibility system that's over 100gigs big. When in doubt just say you consider a 5 is an average developer with 4 years experience. Again, a lot of people think that after 10 years experience they employers won't take them seriously unless they are an 8. Putting 8 on your CV will get you an initial interview... But they will turn off to you quickly if they think you lie about your capabilities.

Remember they want to know that you have the minimum skills they need, but they are usually far more concerned about whether you are a team player or not. E.g Would you spend a week formatting hard drives if that was needed to get software done on time.

Oh and I am a senior .net dev working in Sydney

Cheers

Edited by monsta
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More on what Monsta said... It has a lot to do with familiarity versus what you can offer.

I think of it the same as a new product at the supermarket. You are buying product A (produced in Aus like a person 'produced' in Aus) but then suddently.... BAM.... The shop is offering this new product B just released to the market with no references or anything. They offer you an opening special but ultimately, it's up to you the buyer (Aus employer) to take the CHANCE to go with the new product and try it out versus the product you are pretty sure of what to expect.

Edited by Hyperion
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So, the first thing I’m doing in Melbourne is going to the Java User Group meetup just to mingle and meet other devs. Hopefully I’m not too jet-lagged because its two days after I arrive.

Go have a look at www.meetup.com and see if there are any active .net user groups in the area.

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More on what Monsta said... It has a lot to do with familiarity versus what you can offer.

Remember that with the experience requirements for skilled visas, there are a lot of senior devs here.

I was a team lead in RSA... The other team leads were worried about which hospital their kids would be born at. The team leads here are worried about which university their kids will get into. You just don't progress as fast here..

But, I have seen salary surveys that say I earn more than many Senior Chartered Accountants. So I am not worried that I am not a team lead here in Aus.

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Put yourself in the shoes of the prospective employer. They receive applications not only from Australians, but from candidates all over the world. You are competing against people frrom the first world, who studied at universities that the employer has actually heard of, who worked for companies the employer has heard of.

Any employer here would look at you as a person from a 3rd world country, who has a 3rd world degree and 3rd world experience. Its understandable that they just wouldn't put you in the same league as applicants from Australia or other first world countries. Logic says that you will turn out to be "backward" and not up to their expected level as you are coming from a small, unknown pond.

Coming in at a lower level is less of a risk to the employer if you turn out to be "3rd world through and through".

Its not a career death sentence taking a step back. From what I have seen, the Aussies will send you up the ladder in no time if you prove to be worth it.

Edited by Gizmo
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Coming in at a lower level is less of a risk to the employer if you turn out to be "3rd world through and through".

That's not been my experience at all. Aussies really like South Africans. We have a really good reputation here. We fit in, we follow the rules and we speak good English. I cannot say the same about Asians, for example.

The challenge in finding a job is more that you don't progress up the ladder as fast here; so a lot of South Africans aim to high in job interviews. Most companies look at the years of experience you have had, not your job title. 10 years here is barely Senior Developer territory.

Also its a very small market in Australia because very little technology is developed here for the overseas market. That's due to the cost of labor here. So most companies are not looking to hire a rock star developer. Most companies here exist in an oligopoly state..I.e very little serious local competition.

That's why I always advise people to lower their expectations and play on the fact that South Africans have a good reputation here. Besides, even a lesser job title here doesn't mean you won't earn well.

Edited by monsta
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That's not been my experience at all. Aussies really like South Africans. We have a really good reputation here. We fit in, we follow the rules and we speak good English.

Mmm, I don't think I agree there. I've heard South Africans saying that about ourselves since I first left the country 15 years ago and moved to the UK. In reality, it's not really that simple. If you look at other forums, you'll probably find other nationalities saying that about themselves as well.

If you ask me, the truth is - some Aussies like us, some don't. Some South Africans speak good English, others don't. Some are hard working, some are lazy, and some think they're God's gift.

Unfortunately, in my workplace, South Africans don't have a good reputation at all because it just so happens that some of the more difficult clients and staff members have been South African in the last few years an this has left a bad taste.

There are good and bad eggs in all nationalities and people's opinions on a group of people just depends on their experience of the individuals they meet from a certain group - a small cross-section.

Sometimes being South African can be just as much a good thing as a bad thing. It just depends on people's existing experience with a few that they've met.

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As always HansaPlease has summed up things perfectly.............and where we are in the mining industry there are a few that think they are God's gift.........bad mistake, the Australians will just take great pleasure in stumping you at every opportunity.

We also have some really nice South Africans.......and usually when the Australians get to know them well they will confide...." you're not like other South Africans"..................When a group of mining women went to Brisbane to present a petition to Marius Kloppers of BHP/BMA about the impacts of FIFO and he refused to see them...............the word arrogant came up a bit.........

Monsta....you are from Durbs....what South Africans don't realise is that a Durbs accent can be a little similar to a Kiwi accent to the ears of some Australians, whilst a Transvaal accent sounds more Germanic to them....hence more 'foreign'.............I'm only repeating what many Australian's have told me............both in WA and Queensland.

At the end of the day, don't oversell yourself, be modest, have a sense of humour, be friendly and approachable and show an interest in the other person and you should be right.

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...what South Africans don't realise is that a Durbs accent can be a little similar to a Kiwi accent to the ears of some Australians, whilst a Transvaal accent sounds more Germanic to them....hence more 'foreign'....

Crikey, i'm born and bred on the West Rand, i might need a translator.

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Crikey, i'm born and bred on the West Rand, i might need a translator.

Sorry, can somebody translate what he's just said?

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He will....I read it as ...." Oi am borrrrn and bread on de Wist Rant, Oi mart need a trrrranssslaytorrr'.......only kidding.....true story..........A young South African fellow went to the local bar and asked the pretty barmaid ....." Can eye hav sum Arse please" she gave him the evil eye until his Aussie mates explained he was asking for some ice..............his nickname now is Arseman.....

Moral of the story, be willing to laugh at yourself and accept a forever ridiculous nickname and they will love you and you'll fit right in.................those lacking a sense of humour need not apply to Australia ;)

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In Aus, it's geberally accepted that if you are teased, or given a nick-name, that's a good thing because you are liked.

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