developers developers developers

[wintermute000]

http://ask.slashdot.org/story/15/05/30/162238/ask-slashdot-switching-careers-from-software-engineering-to-networking

"A friend of mine who works as a network architect with dual CCIEs have no problem finding/landing jobs with high salary. His profession doesn't seem to be affected by outsourcing or H1bs, so I am tempted to switch from my field to networking for better stability and greener pastures."

[burnyd]

wha?

So at open network user group the network director from facebook stood up and talked for an hour about facebooks initiative.  They run a program called hack a thon where any employee in IT can move from any group they want to for a month to try and if they like it they can stay.  So far nobody has went to network to try or to stay lol.

[icecream-guy]

LOL that's a funny thread.  making 210K and not having a cash stash, makes me wonder what his lifestyle is.

[deanwebb]

He does smell a change in the winds... easier coding work will be done increasingly by cheaper offshore/H1B workers, but the really high-end stuff like ERP systems will still demand a premium.

If the guy lives in NYC or San Francisco, 210K can afford a nice lifestyle... if he lives in Texas, he can afford multiple families and the legal bills after being arrested for bigamy and the subsequent divorce proceedings. So, maybe he has multiple alimony/child support payments... gambling debts... a coke habit... who knows?

[dlots]

if he can't afford a pay cut he shouldn't move, it will take ALOT of networking skills to make that much.

[routerdork]

if he can't afford a pay cut he shouldn't move, it will take ALOT of networking skills to make that much.

No he won't. We just plug crap in and it works. The Unicorns do the rest.

[Otanx]

If he is just now figuring out that off shoring and H1B visas are issues then where has he been for the last forever? When I got into IT in the 90s off shoring was a problem. I was told I would have to find skills that could not be off shored. You had to market yourself, and prove your value over the value of going with someone overseas. Just like you do when applying for a job, and you have to prove you are the best person for the position. The same thing, but with a much larger pool of applicants. If he can't justify why they should pay him 200K to write code vs paying someone else 60K then maybe he isn't worth 200K.

I haven't even touched the idea that networking does not have the same concerns. Maybe in networking it helps that you need to physically plug in cables, and have to be able to reach the cable. However, his friend with dual CCIEs is probably a little bit past plugging in the hardware. After that we can do everything remotely. So we have the same issues he does already. Again justify why you are worth 200K to the company. A company exists to make money. If they can do X for 200K or do X for 60K they will choose the 60K because a penny saved is a penny earned. Unless you can show that the X for 200K is actually X+Y, and Y is worth 140K then you will never win.

OK, off my soap box before I get too deep into politics.

-Otanx

[deanwebb]

It's true. Most of what I do, can be done from anywhere, as long as it gets done. I demonstrate my effectiveness not in how fast I can plug wires or perform upgrades, but in taking complicated situations and finding solutions.

[Dieselboy]

LOL that's a funny thread.  making 210K and not having a cash stash, makes me wonder what his lifestyle is.

Lots and lots of things being inhaled and stuffed up the nose.