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Tech industry news and issues related to Victoria


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#41 lanforod

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Posted 03 May 2018 - 07:39 PM

^ I felt very fortunate in hindsight to NOT get a job with EA. ;)


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#42 grantpalin

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Posted 03 May 2018 - 09:06 PM

The last time I was looking for a tech job here, most salaries I saw - where job postings included them at all - were well below that amount except in the case of senior or specialized roles.



#43 spanky123

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 06:49 AM

If you know a developer that would work for ~77,000 CAD let me know. Fat chance in hell. Sometimes the BC government tries to hire in the 80k range and the posting lasts for months and months and months. I know a firm in town that hasn't been able to hire a developer for over a year.

 

Depends where you are looking. I know of lots of local startups that are paying developers far less than that. You need to have a sexy product and convince people that you are changing the world.

 

In Government developers are often working on complex. boring systems that use 20+ year old tech. You have to pay people lots of money to want to waste their brains on that! Those are the jobs that having them on your resume actually detracts from your value. 



#44 tjv

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 09:28 AM

Did a quick check for developer jobs in Victoria

 

Senior Software Developer at UVic 66k a year to start  https://uvic.mua.hrd...sting/view/3771

 

or how about a Systems Analyst for 57k/year https://uvic.mua.hrd...sting/view/3731

 

If this is what Victoria is paying, I would be on the first plane out of here



#45 spanky123

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 09:34 AM

Did a quick check for developer jobs in Victoria

 

Senior Software Developer at UVic 66k a year to start  https://uvic.mua.hrd...sting/view/3771

 

or how about a Systems Analyst for 57k/year https://uvic.mua.hrd...sting/view/3731

 

If this is what Victoria is paying, I would be on the first plane out of here

 

Perhaps but how much do you think an apartment rents for in SF, or how much it costs you for health care, or what you would need to pay to send your kid to even a half decent school. I know lots of people who work in SF and they are not saving any more money then those living here.



#46 tjv

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 09:44 AM

...or you could just skip school and work at the parks department at the CoV and make more money will full benefits

 

almost every employer in the US provides full health care, especially with a degree.  Are you suggesting a company like Google doesn't provide health care, I doubt it.  Plus they feed you gourmet meals anytime you want.  I know a guy who works for a software company and goes to work early and has a gourmet meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner cooked by a highly trained chef, full sit down with table service.  The bill:  Free.  Full child care is provided in the building for free too, etc, etc.

 

Hey, I don't work in software or anything close, but I expect a lot more money with a bachelors degree than 57k.  that is pathetic


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#47 lanforod

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 09:46 AM

UVic does not have anywhere close to competitive salaries for tech postings and especially for those senior dev postings; though the benefits are pretty good. Those postings are difficult to fill; many are filled from within, but without near the amount of qualifications requested then.


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#48 spanky123

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 09:56 AM

...or you could just skip school and work at the parks department at the CoV and make more money will full benefits

 

almost every employer in the US provides full health care, especially with a degree.  Are you suggesting a company like Google doesn't provide health care, I doubt it.  Plus they feed you gourmet meals anytime you want.  I know a guy who works for a software company and goes to work early and has a gourmet meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner cooked by a highly trained chef, full sit down with table service.  The bill:  Free.  Full child care is provided in the building for free too, etc, etc.

 

Hey, I don't work in software or anything close, but I expect a lot more money with a bachelors degree than 57k.  that is pathetic

 

I don't think that Google necessarily represents what the average US company covers for health care or benefits. I guess if you are required to be at work for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day then having it provided for free is a nice benefit!


Edited by spanky123, 04 May 2018 - 09:57 AM.

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#49 FirstTimeHomeCrier

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 10:41 AM

UVic does not have anywhere close to competitive salaries for tech postings and especially for those senior dev postings; though the benefits are pretty good. Those postings are difficult to fill; many are filled from within, but without near the amount of qualifications requested then.

 

UVic is similar to the public service in terms of salary and benefits. I used to work an admin position in UVic's Systems department, and I would say it is a great work environment if salary is not your primary concern. Beyond the benefits like extended health/dental and a pension plan (defined benefit I believe, but don't quote me on that), you have supportive management and (largely thanks to protection from the PEA union) reasonable work hours. I think when you go to a private job as a developer, you are more likely to run into a workplace culture that strongly encourages overwork. So the UVic job may only pay $66k/year to start, but that's for 35 hours a week with ample vacation time. If you have to work overtime, you get paid overtime. In the private sector, maybe you're getting paid twice as much, but it's possible you're working 10 hour days and expected to keep up with emails over the weekend and holidays.


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#50 RFS

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 10:49 AM

UVic is similar to the public service in terms of salary and benefits. I used to work an admin position in UVic's Systems department, and I would say it is a great work environment if salary is not your primary concern. Beyond the benefits like extended health/dental and a pension plan (defined benefit I believe, but don't quote me on that), you have supportive management and (largely thanks to protection from the PEA union) reasonable work hours. I think when you go to a private job as a developer, you are more likely to run into a workplace culture that strongly encourages overwork. So the UVic job may only pay $66k/year to start, but that's for 35 hours a week with ample vacation time. If you have to work overtime, you get paid overtime. In the private sector, maybe you're getting paid twice as much, but it's possible you're working 10 hour days and expected to keep up with emails over the weekend and holidays.

 

So basically you get to slack off all day in maximum comfort, remain stuck in a permanent middle class rut, and scoff at those who do actual work? sounds like the Victoria dream!



#51 spanky123

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 10:54 AM

So basically you get to slack off all day in maximum comfort, remain stuck in a permanent middle class rut, and scoff at those who do actual work? sounds like the Victoria dream!

 

I don't think she is scoffing at anyone. If you are working for $x and are happy with that good for you. Who am I to say anything?

 

What I object to are people who complain about being ripped off or not getting what they feel they are worth in Victoria but then doing nothing about it. If you feel that way then pack your bags and head to SF like 66% of new grads are doing.

 

My original point was to poke holes in the elitist argument that tech workers are coming to Canada in droves. That is clearly fake news. The US companies that have workers here are generally those who acquired companies in Canada or those who have opened offices to take advantage of Government incentives and cheap labour while their foreign workers await visas to work in the US.


Edited by spanky123, 04 May 2018 - 10:56 AM.


#52 FirstTimeHomeCrier

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 02:27 PM

So basically you get to slack off all day in maximum comfort, remain stuck in a permanent middle class rut, and scoff at those who do actual work? sounds like the Victoria dream!

 

No, I said nothing about slacking off or avoiding work, or about maximum comfort (the department is in the basement of one of the oldest buildings on campus). You work hard when you're on the clock, but your employer also recognizes that work is not your entire identity and lets you have work-life balance.

 

Presumably you would be middle class. Not all of us consider that a "rut." You might be lower than middle class if you are the only income earner in your family and you have dependants to care for. You might be higher than middle class if you have a spouse with a high salary, if you profit off investments, or if you inherited money from a relative.

 

If your primary goal is amassing the most wealth in the shortest period of time, UVic would obviously not be the right career choice. But not everybody has that same goal. Some of us would choose the lower end of a living wage as a trade-off for other benefits, like more time with loved ones or a chance to work on something we're passionate about. That isn't to say, of course, that no one ever finds their dream job doing what they love for a huge salary with the right work-life balance for them, but that's a rare blessing. Most of us make a sacrifice of some kind in the work we do, and it's okay for different people to make different choices about what to sacrifice. Your value as a person does not depend on your net worth, the amount of time you do or do not spend working, or your social stratum.


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#53 sdwright.vic

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 02:50 PM

So basically you get to slack off all day in maximum comfort, remain stuck in a permanent middle class rut, and scoff at those who do actual work? sounds like the Victoria dream!


Totally uncalled for. Maybe if you had been apart of the discussion all along, then fine. But to come in from left field with a comment like that, kinda childish.
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Predictive text and a tiny keyboard are not my friends!

#54 lanforod

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 02:55 PM

I have direct experience with the admin staff in the UVic Systems office. They work hard for all of the 35 hrs/wk they're at work. RFS is applying government work stereotypes here - yes, there are lazy bums in public service (and in private too). Lazy bums typically don't move on and up.



#55 AllseeingEye

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 04:13 PM

I have direct experience with the admin staff in the UVic Systems office. They work hard for all of the 35 hrs/wk they're at work. RFS is applying government work stereotypes here - yes, there are lazy bums in public service (and in private too). Lazy bums typically don't move on and up.

Yup..."lazy bums" in my experience typically get terminated, and I would know first hand since I've given the 'heave-ho' to those types of workers in both the private and public sector realms.

 

I agree with FTHC - the be all to end all is not necessarily the acquisition of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Been there, done that thankyouverymuch. Worked in the private sector for 55-60 hours/week often working past 7pm on many nights including Fridays: naturally I got well compensated for it, in addition to stock options back in the day when such things were actually worth serious money. In fact the $ from my Seagate stock underwrote the purchase of my home in Fairfield. OTOH that same job was so stressful I wound up one memorable day in 1999 being rushed to VGH with a suspected heart attack.

 

Today in a lesser role (I am a coordinator/supervisor as opposed to a Director), working for a large US-based service provider in partnership with the BC government, I am no longer in 'senior management', nor do I make the big 6-figure plus salary anymore or get lucrative stock options - OTOH I do get a great work/life balance including flex time off, a first rate benefits package, I no longer am compelled to attend endless meetings - best policy ever was the Coast Capital Savings IT mandate that after the first 60 seconds if as a senior manager I felt I didn't need to be there I could just politely excuse myself and leave -  and above all I no longer am subjected to the enormous stress that damned near killed me almost 20 years ago. "Money" is not the be all to end all, something most people with age and experience hopefully learn one day. "Big" money doesn't do you much good if you're six feet under.... 


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#56 North Shore

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 07:24 PM

Totally uncalled for. Maybe if you had been apart of the discussion all along, then fine. But to come in from left right field with a comment like that, kinda childish.

There, fixed it for you!  :banana:


Edited by North Shore, 04 May 2018 - 07:24 PM.

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Say, what's that mountain goat doing up here in the mist?

#57 PraiseKek

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Posted 04 May 2018 - 08:42 PM

I work for a startup and make just under 150k as a developer. The idea that somehow wages here are lower are a crock. I just simply can't imagine the caliber of employee a government posting would get at 60k. I know 100% for a fact that no developer for a government ministry would be on the critical path for a project ever. All new development and most maintenance is done by contractors who bill out at $100 an hour minimum. Depends on their employment arrangement how much of that they keep.


Edited by PraiseKek, 04 May 2018 - 08:44 PM.


#58 spanky123

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Posted 05 May 2018 - 11:45 AM

I work for a startup and make just under 150k as a developer. The idea that somehow wages here are lower are a crock. I just simply can't imagine the caliber of employee a government posting would get at 60k. I know 100% for a fact that no developer for a government ministry would be on the critical path for a project ever. All new development and most maintenance is done by contractors who bill out at $100 an hour minimum. Depends on their employment arrangement how much of that they keep.

 

Enjoy it while you can. If a startup is paying its developers that much then it will likely need to raise money relatively often and the funding market is starting to slow down.



#59 PraiseKek

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Posted 05 May 2018 - 11:54 AM

Not really worried, I can land another job very quickly. I truly don't even care if I get laid off. I'd probably take some time off.



#60 tjv

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Posted 05 May 2018 - 12:08 PM

^that pretty much describes 99.9% of the entire workforce today with the exception of taking some time off



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