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What's the scene look like in Australia now? Looking at job postings it's fairly broad and vague. I currently only work front-end but know enough for any webdev needed in C# (and working towards the same in Java, rounded by the knowledge i already have in Java apps/phone apps). I'm sticking around here for my last year - year and a half of college for a specialization in security, but despite the bigger companies around here I really don't want to stay anywhere in south america or any spanish speaking place in the long-term. i suppose in a year and a half it'll all be different anyways, but i'd like some input.
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Aug 25, 2015 22:05
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Kumquat posted:For context, this is in Boston, it's a web developer position, and I'm a babby dev who just graduated from a bootcamp. It's hard to say without knowing how bad a developer you are. Do you have an undergraduate degree? Are you smart? What could you do before this bootcamp?
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Aug 25, 2015 22:27
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JawnV6 posted:"It's a very compelling offer, I would be very excited to sign up and get to work with you, but 70k is my cash floor and my family and budget can't depend on a bonus." Thanks for this! sarehu posted:It's hard to say without knowing how bad a developer you are. Do you have an undergraduate degree? Are you smart? What could you do before this bootcamp? I'm a very bad developer. I don't have an undergraduate degree, I am smart, and before this I was doing some very light frontend stuff (mostly html/css with a tiny bit of JS). I had been through the rails tutorial and all that prior to the bootcamp. I'm not great at singing my praises, but the company who offered didn't blink an eye at 70k when I mentioned it.
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Aug 25, 2015 22:46
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Kumquat posted:the company who offered didn't blink an eye at 70k when I mentioned it. They don't blink an eye in the interview, but afterwards will laugh privately about how wildly low/high you were.
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Aug 25, 2015 23:51
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You know everyone always links that don't give a number article that has like, some complex strategies, but I find often just asking "do you have a range for this position?" will get people to cough up a number if you're not talking to HR folks.Ithaqua posted:They don't blink an eye in the interview, but afterwards will laugh privately about how wildly low/high you were.
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Aug 25, 2015 23:51
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More salary talk: I was looking on Glassdoor for salary information for my area. On the off chance there are Northern Colorado people here, does it seem accurate that the developer positions seemed to bottom out at 75,000? Or is there something entry level under developer that I should be searching for instead? 75000 seems really high, but could be underestimating the job market / cost of living here.
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Aug 26, 2015 00:02
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22 Eargesplitten posted:More salary talk: I was looking on Glassdoor for salary information for my area. On the off chance there are Northern Colorado people here, does it seem accurate that the developer positions seemed to bottom out at 75,000? Or is there something entry level under developer that I should be searching for instead? 75000 seems really high, but could be underestimating the job market / cost of living here. Are you upset about the pay being better than you expected?
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Aug 26, 2015 01:40
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No, just concerned that if I go into my boss's office when I transfer and ask for that much, he'll laugh me out of there. Also a little confused what to ask for considering I'm training for the job with them. I wonder how parents' income relates to people being afraid to ask the market rate. I don't think my dad has ever made 60000, let alone 75000.
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Aug 26, 2015 01:50
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22 Eargesplitten posted:No, just concerned that if I go into my boss's office when I transfer and ask for that much, he'll laugh me out of there. Also a little confused what to ask for considering I'm training for the job with them. It's generally a bad idea to go for counters from your current employer. They'll resent you for 'betrayal' and you'll be first on the chopping block come time.
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Aug 26, 2015 02:20
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:You know everyone always links that don't give a number article that has like, some complex strategies, but I find often just asking "do you have a range for this position?" will get people to cough up a number if you're not talking to HR folks. For what it's worth my company in Cambridge hired a boot camp grad and are paying her less than 70k.
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Aug 26, 2015 02:43
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Skandranon posted:It's generally a bad idea to go for counters from your current employer. They'll resent you for 'betrayal' and you'll be first on the chopping block come time. Sorry I was unclear. I am currently working help desk, and they are training me to transition into a programming role. I know never to take a counter offer. For now, I'm still getting paid help desk money, but there will obviously be a raise once I'm doing programming full time. That's why I'm not sure if I should expect to be paid less than market, since I wouldn't even have a programming job if they hadn't set up a mentorship. I know I should aim high and be ready to be negotiated down, I'm just having a hard time believing that "down" could still be double my current pay. That's why I was hoping a NoCo goon could give me confirmation that's normal
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Aug 26, 2015 03:02
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Sorry I was unclear. I am currently working help desk, and they are training me to transition into a programming role. I know never to take a counter offer. For now, I'm still getting paid help desk money, but there will obviously be a raise once I'm doing programming full time. That's why I'm not sure if I should expect to be paid less than market, since I wouldn't even have a programming job if they hadn't set up a mentorship. I know I should aim high and be ready to be negotiated down, I'm just having a hard time believing that "down" could still be double my current pay. How north are we talking and what kind of programming? If you're in Boulder I'd probably ask closer to $90k.
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Aug 26, 2015 03:38
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Fort Collins area. C++, SQL, C#. See, I thought Boulder would be around 75k, so if Boulder is 90, I feel better about 75. While we've never talked numbers, everyone at my company says they pay pretty well, and they took my first request when my recruiter was negotiating, so I'm feeling more confident about that number now. 75K a year would be lifechanging.
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Aug 26, 2015 03:59
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I finished a boot camp last December and got hired for $75k in the middle of Boston last year, so there's that statistic. Maybe I totally fleeced them cause I'm so lovely, I don't know.
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Aug 26, 2015 14:45
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Pollyanna posted:I finished a boot camp last December and got hired for $75k in the middle of Boston last year, so there's that statistic. Maybe I totally fleeced them cause I'm so lovely, I don't know. We all float down here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You should come to BostonJS this Thursday.
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Aug 26, 2015 18:58
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Did a programming test for an Android dev role, got a great score, asked back for an interview, everything seemed to go well, HR guy called me and spent a few minutes telling me I was a great fit for the role and then says they can offer me £35k. He was literally apologising when he told me. When you're own HR guy is embarrassed, maybe you need to rethink your strategy. Recruiter told me it was £50k+ (and he knew that I wouldn't move for £50k) so he has some answering to do. Not that it matters to him. loving recruiters.
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Aug 26, 2015 23:29
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This is what glassdoor interview reviews are for.
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Aug 27, 2015 00:59
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A lot of companies don't even show up on Glassdoor. Including mine.
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Aug 27, 2015 01:25
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Sorry I was unclear. I am currently working help desk, and they are training me to transition into a programming role. I know never to take a counter offer. For now, I'm still getting paid help desk money, but there will obviously be a raise once I'm doing programming full time. That's why I'm not sure if I should expect to be paid less than market, since I wouldn't even have a programming job if they hadn't set up a mentorship. I know I should aim high and be ready to be negotiated down, I'm just having a hard time believing that "down" could still be double my current pay. I transitioned from phone jockey to sysadmin to programmer and yes, I'd say the wage si probably lower than it would have been otherwise. I mean I don't know anything about Colorado but you're right that that will depress your wages. 22 Eargesplitten posted:A lot of companies don't even show up on Glassdoor. Including mine. I think it's also got a problem with idiotic reviews, skewing toward people with an axe to grind, etc. But that's any Internet review site I guess.
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Aug 27, 2015 02:07
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I transitioned from phone jockey to sysadmin to programmer and yes, I'd say the wage si probably lower than it would have been otherwise. I mean I don't know anything about Colorado but you're right that that will depress your wages.  E: If you don't mind me asking, what % / how much below market were you? I'm finally having the initial meeting next week. I'm trying to think of what to ask. So far I'm going to ask what flavor of SQL they use, what development environment they use, if they use any particular set of conventions for each language, and if they are SDLC/Agile/other. Am I missing anything big? 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Aug 27, 2015 |
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Aug 27, 2015 02:47
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Cicero posted:This is what glassdoor interview reviews are for.
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Aug 27, 2015 07:41
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Pollyanna posted:I finished a boot camp last December and got hired for $75k in the middle of Boston last year, so there's that statistic. Maybe I totally fleeced them cause I'm so lovely, I don't know. I make a little bit more then that, but I've been working professionally longer, so that sounds right to me  . I guess how much you make matters more with where you live there anyway. Right now I'm in Brighton and my rent is not that high, so more of my check goes into savings rather than rent. But there are way more drunk college kids in the area, which is annoying.Kumquat posted:We all float down here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You should come to BostonJS this Thursday. This is not far from where I work, so I just signed up to go.
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Aug 27, 2015 15:08
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Tunga posted:loving recruiters. I had two encounters with recruiting firms. One group never read my cover letter and so occasionally sends me vaguely-related offers in the city I moved away from. The other canceled interviews on me twice with barely any notice (the implication being that they hadn't actually checked if the interviewing company was interested in me), had me drive for 2+ hours for an "interview" that consisted of them briefly going over my resume, continued using a dated version of my resume despite repeatedly getting a recent one, lowered my requested salary by 5-10k every time it came up and hoped I wouldn't call them on it, and when I got a job without them, attempted, with palpable hunger, to get me to share the name and number of the company recruiter that I went through at my current workplace. (Conversely, company recruiters are great, honest, helpful, and respectful, at least where I am now.) Drastic Actions posted:I make a little bit more then that, but I've been working professionally longer, so that sounds right to me I'm on the border between Allston and Brighton. It... definitely has character!
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Aug 27, 2015 17:41
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I didn't realize so many of you guys were in Boston. I live in Weymouth.
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Aug 27, 2015 19:06
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Drastic Actions posted:This is not far from where I work, so I just signed up to go. Awesome! I'll be there, probably sitting in the front row. I'll also be with some unknown number of my classmates from my bootcamp. Also, if anyone else is in the Boston area and does anything with JS or web dev in general, BostonJS is definitely looking for speakers every month. They're open to all experience levels and will help you refine a topic for a talk.
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Aug 27, 2015 20:24
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22 Eargesplitten posted:E: If you don't mind me asking, what % / how much below market were you? Uh, depending on who's asking to interview me hardly anything or several tens of thousands of dollars. But that's the wrong way to look at it; would you be making more than otherwise? It's worth a certain amount of pay cut for an opportunity to get into the field you want to be in.
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Aug 27, 2015 21:42
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I didn't realize so many of you guys were in Boston. I live in Weymouth. Yeah there's a bunch of us. I'm in Arlington and there's a couple of tech goons that work at tripadvisor.
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Aug 27, 2015 21:50
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:Uh, depending on who's asking to interview me hardly anything or several tens of thousands of dollars. But that's the wrong way to look at it; would you be making more than otherwise? It's worth a certain amount of pay cut for an opportunity to get into the field you want to be in. Oh, no, even 20k under market is more than I could be making even jumping ship to a junior sysadmin position. I'm just still thinking a lot about what to expect, even if I am counting my chickens before the eggs have even come out of mama chicken.
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Aug 27, 2015 22:22
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JawnV6 posted:"It's a very compelling offer, I would be very excited to sign up and get to work with you, but 70k is my cash floor and my family and budget can't depend on a bonus." I used this almost verbatim and they caved and gave me 70k. With that and the bonus, I'm more than happy with that result even if I pretty easily could have made more. Thanks again for the advice. 
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Aug 28, 2015 02:25
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Ok I am researching rent basically everywhere from Mountain View to the outer fringes of SF proper, it looks like $2500/month buys you a 500 sq ft flat and chances are they will up your rent next year. Is it really that expensive out there? $2500/mo gets you 2000 sq ft in some parts of downtown Dallas. I'm living in 1400 sq feet and not really ready to travel back 10 years to when I was living in a 600 sq ft shoe box. Surely there are some better deals? Following the 30% rent rule, at 100K/yr you're looking at $2700 a month which doesn't buy you much at all. It's hard to believe people are living in the bay area long term and willing to sacrifice that kind of living space. Do people work their asses off for a few years in SF, then relocate to a sane area for the same money but lower cost of living once they have some contacts? Is there a Bay Area living thread? I don't want to poo poo up this thread too much.
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Aug 28, 2015 06:22
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Hadlock posted:Ok I am researching rent basically everywhere from Mountain View to the outer fringes of SF proper, it looks like $2500/month buys you a 500 sq ft flat and chances are they will up your rent next year. Is it really that expensive out there? $2500/mo gets you 2000 sq ft in some parts of downtown Dallas. I'm living in 1400 sq feet and not really ready to travel back 10 years to when I was living in a shoe box. Surely there are some better deals? The upside is that salaries are so high that if you're willing to live in a shoebox, you can save a lot of money, even after accounting for high California taxes. Then you take your swollen bank account after a few years and move somewhere where it's worth more. edit: the other upside to the bay area is that there's just so many tech jobs available, you have tons of choice as to what kind of job to take. And that also provides for an odd kind of job security, where each individual job may not be secure (particularly at a start-up), but you can always find another one without too much trouble. Cicero fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Aug 28, 2015 |
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Aug 28, 2015 06:26
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Hadlock posted:Ok I am researching rent basically everywhere from Mountain View to the outer fringes of SF proper, it looks like $2500/month buys you a 500 sq ft flat and chances are they will up your rent next year. Is it really that expensive out there? $2500/mo gets you 2000 sq ft in some parts of downtown Dallas. I'm living in 1400 sq feet and not really ready to travel back 10 years to when I was living in a 600 sq ft shoe box. Surely there are some better deals? Get a roommate, make more money, and don't live in SF.
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Aug 28, 2015 09:57
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I have question for those who do web development jobs. Do you guys generally have to design the look/feel of the website, out any assets, or does someone else do that? I think I could learn the technical implementation, but making stuff look good is not something I've ever been good at.
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Aug 28, 2015 16:22
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fatelvis posted:I have question for those who do web development jobs. Do you guys generally have to design the look/feel of the website, out any assets, or does someone else do that? It's going to depend on the company, but in general if you're talking about a company that designs web sites for other companies, web development generally means the whole package, yeah. A counterexample is my company; we host a cloud product that users only ever interact with through the web, and when we hire we usually want people with a range of experience that includes frontend, so they could technically be called "web developers." But the vast majority of my work for them has been on the backend side of things and that was basically understood going in. Most of us are generalists, with a couple who mostly focus on frontend. When I do work that touches UI, I generally hook into whats already there and make any additions as visually consistent with the rest of the application as possible.
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Aug 28, 2015 16:30
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fatelvis posted:I have question for those who do web development jobs. Do you guys generally have to design the look/feel of the website, out any assets, or does someone else do that? Depends on many factors. I do web work for the engineering team, so I'm building sites for our internal use (Think: Reporting sites, build notification sites, stuff like that). They don't need to look as good as our companies front page, but they need to be functional and easy to use at most. Basically Bootstrap is my friend; I don't need to get crazy with layout or design, but I want it to be responsive and get it up and running quickly, while also being easy to maintain for myself or whoever works on it in the future. I also maintain a consumer facing site, and for that it also depends. If I'm adding a small feature (like, say, a drop down box to change the version of a component), I just add it. For a bigger feature, which I don't know what it should look like (Like this banner for components that don't support 64-bit iOS), I go my boss and our design team to figure something out. In this case, they gave me a banner, said where it should go, and I made it work. I'm a one man team, so I control the entire stack of my projects. But you would probably be apart of a team working on a site or sites. You could be doing only business object layer stuff, where you're on entirely on the backend and never touch the interface. You could be only doing front end work, or a mix between the two. So yeah, it depends.
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Aug 28, 2015 16:33
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fatelvis posted:I have question for those who do web development jobs. Do you guys generally have to design the look/feel of the website, out any assets, or does someone else do that? I'm in somewhat of a special situation, in that most of my projects are intranet Angular/Typescript web applications. My main focus is pretty much entirely making the code maintainable and run quickly, and make sure Angular is being used properly. I have no design skills, and CSS/LESS still scares me, but we have UX designers who handle that part.
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Aug 28, 2015 18:44
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Hey goons! Navigating my first CS job search and hoping for some advice. Google invited me to their coding challenge. I passed it, and I'm currently scheduling an on-site interview for Software Engineering in between furiously practicing code on a whiteboard. It'd be an amazing job, but obviously I can't rely on getting an offer, so about applying to other jobs: 1. Would passing the Google coding challenge and getting an interview be worth working into my resume as a credential, considering my lack of experience? Or would that be counterproductive/tacky? Something like "solved a series of increasingly complex graph theory, combinatorics, algorithm, and optimization problems to earn an on-site interview at Google." 2. Is it frowned upon to apply to two different positions at the same company? I'd like to try for jobs in data but I'd certainly be interested in straight development positions as well, and the latter seem way more tractable with my level of experience. I'm just worried about sending a mixed message. Chomposaur fucked around with this message at 05:17 on Aug 29, 2015 |
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Aug 29, 2015 02:04
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fatelvis posted:I have question for those who do web development jobs. Do you guys generally have to design the look/feel of the website, out any assets, or does someone else do that? I work for an agency. In our workflow, we have a designer who will come up with some mocks/UI prototypes and then if the client decides they like it, I (or some other developer) will implement it. So I'm implementing CSS or whatever to a spec but generally not functioning as a UX/design person. If assets are needed, either the client provides their own, for branding, etc, purposes, or the designer can come up with some. I'm sure at some places dev and design are the same person, but it's not universally true. Chomposaur posted:1. Would passing the Google coding challenge and getting an interview be worth working into my resume as a credential, considering my lack of experience? Or would that be counterproductive/tacky? Something like "solved a series of increasingly complex graph theory, combinatorics, algorithm, and optimization problems to earn an on-site interview at Google." I don't think that's wise. "Was not hired by other company" isn't a credential.
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Aug 29, 2015 02:17
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Chomposaur posted:2. Is it frowned upon to apply to two different positions at the same company? I'd like to try for jobs in data but I'd certainly be interested in straight development positions as well, and the latter seem way more tractable with my level of experience. I'm just worried about sending a mixed message. No, unless done excessively. If you apply for a UX/UI Developer job & a Javascript Developer, no. If you apply for Janitor, Accountant, System Architect, and everything in between, they're going to think something is up with you, and play it safe and bin them all.
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Aug 29, 2015 02:29
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Thanks, both of you! Those answers definitely make sense.
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Aug 29, 2015 02:47
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