Advice from any senior analyst developers out there

[EmNew]

My husband is a senior analyst developer in Progress 4GL.

We have looked at the salary ranges for job titles similar to his ( none found for his specific language though ) and have a rough idea what the going rates are.

Based on previous experiences of any analyst developers out there, is there an automatic percentage decrease attributable to job offers made to 189 holders due to lack of local experience ?

We still have 7 weeks in RSA before we land in Melbourne, and woke up this morning to a job offer for my husband, but the salary is quite a bit lower than expected. Do you advise negotiating, or not looking a gift horse in the mouth, accepting the offer and just be grateful that one of us landed a job whilst still in RSA ?

Any wise feedback will be appreciated.

[monsta]

Hey,

It could be an employer just taking a chance. But, there is little harm in taking the job while he looks around for something better.

Just the fact that your hubby has worked for a few months at an Aussie company makes all the difference.

He would be even wiser to connect with his new colleagues on linkedin and to go out for a beer with them.

It's been said several times here, Aussies hire you because you are a nice person to work with

Edited August 10, 2015 by monsta

[rozellem]

Not that I know what you mean by "quite a bit lower", but I would also be tempted to take the job, build up my Aussie experience/references, check out the local job landscape from the comfy position of someone employed. Depending on how long the job contract states he has to be there, it could be a very good way to land in Aus. Keep in mind, if you land in Aus without a job, it could take a few months to secure a job, where you would be spending money in Rands. Unless the job specs have "Slave Labour" screaming from the pages, I would be giving it a go. Sadly there are some companies who employ people straight off the boat at lower salaries. Typically the worker does not stay for a very long time and the employer has to do this all again very soon and therefore never gets a loyal, long term worker (in my opinion). It baffles the my brain.

[benp]

TAKE IT I say,landing into a job is a gift many people wish for. Job might not be ideal, but even at 75-80k and above you will break even, and not spend any rands. How good is that!!Job situation is not rosy on this side,so take it and start hunting for new job after few months, once you get your sea legs and sus out the place.

[SurferMan]

Hi Enow,

I am in IT, take the punch and get some local experience on the scorecard. We all know its a bit of BS, but thats just how Aus rolls I'm sorry to say. I went 6 months with no work in Perth. As long as its liveable and as the others say, not a slavery contract, take it!

Its ALWAYS easier to find work when the coin is coming in than when you are burning reserves. He can start building his network and looking about.

[Mara]

I agree with all of the above, take the job!

[DXB2OZ]

Whatever you decide, huge congrats on securing an offer while still in SA, this early in the game.

[EmNew]

Thanks so much for the responses.

I think our biggest worry is that there could be an element of 'slave labour' involved with this particular job. We will demand some more details of some suspect items in the job description that alone would command a higher salary regardless of level of experience.

We do understand that to go forwards, there is an element of going backwards first, but we also don't want to be victims of unbridled exploitation.

Are there any other Progress 4GL developers out there on the forum?

[JackieO]

Thanks so much for the responses.

I think our biggest worry is that there could be an element of 'slave labour' involved with this particular job. We will demand some more details of some suspect items in the job description that alone would command a higher salary regardless of level of experience.

We do understand that to go forwards, there is an element of going backwards first, but we also don't want to be victims of unbridled exploitation.

Are there any other Progress 4GL developers out there on the forum?

This is harsh, but you perhaps need to hear it

First off take the word demand out of your vocabulary. Seriously.

You have been given an opportunity to walk into a job, any job is better than no job. any experience is better than no experience.

Also your language here (and this may be semantics) there is an element of going backwards first. Its not an element of going backwards. You will go backwards. In pretty much every area. Seniority, Salary, Perks etc. The work environment here for developers is very different to most SA companies, with the exception of one previous employer of mine (fortunately my last one) the work culture is the complete opposite if South African development jobs. You mentioned you havent even found many jobs with his language and you are uhmming and ahhing about taking the job? And honestly forget the job description, here you do what needs to be done. Full stop. I know project managers and project owners who have jumped into doing regression testing to allow the project to deliver on time. Forget pride. It wont gain you anything in Australia.

Just my 2c.

Other than that good luck with the big move, and I hope you settle in quickly and find work easily (if your DH doesn't take this offer)

[EmNew]

This is harsh, but you perhaps need to hear it

First off take the word demand out of your vocabulary. Seriously.

You have been given an opportunity to walk into a job, any job is better than no job. any experience is better than no experience.

Also your language here (and this may be semantics) there is an element of going backwards first. Its not an element of going backwards. You will go backwards. In pretty much every area. Seniority, Salary, Perks etc. The work environment here for developers is very different to most SA companies, with the exception of one previous employer of mine (fortunately my last one) the work culture is the complete opposite if South African development jobs. You mentioned you havent even found many jobs with his language and you are uhmming and ahhing about taking the job? And honestly forget the job description, here you do what needs to be done. Full stop. I know project managers and project owners who have jumped into doing regression testing to allow the project to deliver on time. Forget pride. It wont gain you anything in Australia.

Just my 2c.

Other than that good luck with the big move, and I hope you settle in quickly and find work easily (if your DH doesn't take this offer)

Reading over what I wrote, and how I worded it, your 2 cents are justified. Just please know that the real people behind the words are not prideful, just tired, stressed and on a roller coaster ride, being 7 weeks away from our exit. The job offer was unexpected, and stressful in its own right. We're not being ungrateful, just trying to make an informed decision.

[JackieO]

Reading over what I wrote, and how I worded it, your 2 cents are justified. Just please know that the real people behind the words are not prideful, just tired, stressed and on a roller coaster ride, being 7 weeks away from our exit. The job offer was unexpected, and stressful in its own right. We're not being ungrateful, just trying to make an informed decision.

All good, this is more than likely the most stressful time of your life, my post sounds alot harsher than I intended, so apologies for that

If you can eliminate one element of stress by having an income (even if a smaller than expected one) than its worthwhile, as others have said it can always be considered a very temporary thing while your DH looks for something else, and gets a feel for who the 4GL companies are. Try think of it as getting paid to network while probably doing a job far below the skills level your DH is used to.

On the bright side you are arriving in spring and it wont be long before you are able to enjoy the Beaches and Freedom and the great outdoors lifestyle (in safety) that Australia offers. Good luck with the move!

[BrendanH]

The work environment here for developers is very different to most SA companies...

Hey Jackie,

I'm a .NET developer who will be landing in Canberra in January. Could you possibly expand on this comment a bit for me and answer about a bazillion questions?

I'd like to get an idea of what to expect if I ever manage to find a non-Citizen position. I am a strong server-side developer who is also useful with some front-end web development (Although I do struggle with CSS for some reason.). In your experience are developers typically expected to be specialists in one discipline or are generalists who can typically up-skill themselves quickly at an advantage?

Are there any noticeable trends in the industry there? Over the last few years we've been seeing SOLID and Agile development taking over the landscape here in Cape Town - are you seeing the same thing on that side?

Would you say that work/life balance is reasonably decent with the usual spikes in overtime at deadline time?

Any advice or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance