胡说之
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I received a few responses asking for advice on a) breaking into the
field and b) getting better pay for your contribution. Here is a
summary of my two responses:
It is true I was born in Canada, and I am aware of just how tough it is for new Canadians to find work in their field. When I had my own software company, I hired three Chinese immigrants who had no Canadian experience. They did however have excellent work experience in China, and they were highly motivated and very intelligent. They worked very hard and made a significant contribution to the company. However, I was perhaps not typical of IT employers (who I believe are far too conservative.)
Regarding reciepes for success, there is nothing wrong with continuing your education here in Canada. I am guessing your degree was earned overseas. If your education was in computer science and find yourself managing a software operation where others are making far less of a contribution and yet they are paid more, then I have something to share.
"You are not paid what you are worth to a company; you are paid the lessor of what you think you are worth to the company, and what the company thinks you are worth to the company." In other words, most companies offer to pay you the smallest amount they think you will accept (i.e. you won't leave.) This rewards the confident and bold, and punishes the humble and obedient.
I learned that back in the late 1980's while working for a systems
integrator. I felt I had been ripped-off by my salary review. I went
into the VP's office with my resignation typed up and tucked into the
inside of my suit jacket pocket. I insisted he increase my salary as I was sure I was worth it to the company, especially considering what I knew of salaries in the industry, and other colleagues in my workplace.
He reluctantly agreed to my demand, and I never had to show my
resignation letter to him.
Capitalism spawns managers who believe that it is great to pay people
less than market value if they will accept it and not leave. However, these 'penny wise, pound foolish' managers are doing a disservice to the company, and to the employee. Such 'tight-fisted' managers make the employee unhappy, and unhappy employees are less motivated. Second, poorly paid employees who feel hard done by are easy to recruit by compeditors -- and losing an employee to a compeditor is bad for a company.
I have seen very successful software companies pay their employees above market rates because they realize that they are investing a lot into these people, and they don't want them to be tempted to go to a compeditor.
So remember that you deserve a salary review annually, and if you are not getting one, or feel the result is unfair, then perhaps you need to be more assertive. Get some coaching from a trusted friend, family member or colleague on how to make the case to the boss that you are worth far more than you're getting paid.
Finally on marketing yourself: To make yourself stand out above the
crowd of job-seekers, I recommend following your interests and building upon them with an interactive web site, or downloadable piece of software. It can be anything that interests you, some things I've seen are:
1) postings of open source software code that is really well written
that serves a useful purpose
2) a chat program written entirely in Java
3) a sports pool betting application
4) a humourous site (opensores.com for example)
5) a Java Lint tool
I have done 1 and 5. Friends of mine have done 2, 3 and 4. I have seen many examples of 1. The idea is to give yourself a task that will be fun enough to keep you motivated to carry it through to the point where it looks slick and others can be impressed by it.
This demonstrates two things to the perspective employer. First that
you're really into computing, and if the work is of high quality that will make you stand out from others. Second, it demonstrates that you are a creative thinker and have the self-discipline and stamina to manage your own deliverables.
Regards,
Matthew
field and b) getting better pay for your contribution. Here is a
summary of my two responses:
It is true I was born in Canada, and I am aware of just how tough it is for new Canadians to find work in their field. When I had my own software company, I hired three Chinese immigrants who had no Canadian experience. They did however have excellent work experience in China, and they were highly motivated and very intelligent. They worked very hard and made a significant contribution to the company. However, I was perhaps not typical of IT employers (who I believe are far too conservative.)
Regarding reciepes for success, there is nothing wrong with continuing your education here in Canada. I am guessing your degree was earned overseas. If your education was in computer science and find yourself managing a software operation where others are making far less of a contribution and yet they are paid more, then I have something to share.
"You are not paid what you are worth to a company; you are paid the lessor of what you think you are worth to the company, and what the company thinks you are worth to the company." In other words, most companies offer to pay you the smallest amount they think you will accept (i.e. you won't leave.) This rewards the confident and bold, and punishes the humble and obedient.
I learned that back in the late 1980's while working for a systems
integrator. I felt I had been ripped-off by my salary review. I went
into the VP's office with my resignation typed up and tucked into the
inside of my suit jacket pocket. I insisted he increase my salary as I was sure I was worth it to the company, especially considering what I knew of salaries in the industry, and other colleagues in my workplace.
He reluctantly agreed to my demand, and I never had to show my
resignation letter to him.
Capitalism spawns managers who believe that it is great to pay people
less than market value if they will accept it and not leave. However, these 'penny wise, pound foolish' managers are doing a disservice to the company, and to the employee. Such 'tight-fisted' managers make the employee unhappy, and unhappy employees are less motivated. Second, poorly paid employees who feel hard done by are easy to recruit by compeditors -- and losing an employee to a compeditor is bad for a company.
I have seen very successful software companies pay their employees above market rates because they realize that they are investing a lot into these people, and they don't want them to be tempted to go to a compeditor.
So remember that you deserve a salary review annually, and if you are not getting one, or feel the result is unfair, then perhaps you need to be more assertive. Get some coaching from a trusted friend, family member or colleague on how to make the case to the boss that you are worth far more than you're getting paid.
Finally on marketing yourself: To make yourself stand out above the
crowd of job-seekers, I recommend following your interests and building upon them with an interactive web site, or downloadable piece of software. It can be anything that interests you, some things I've seen are:
1) postings of open source software code that is really well written
that serves a useful purpose
2) a chat program written entirely in Java
3) a sports pool betting application
4) a humourous site (opensores.com for example)
5) a Java Lint tool
I have done 1 and 5. Friends of mine have done 2, 3 and 4. I have seen many examples of 1. The idea is to give yourself a task that will be fun enough to keep you motivated to carry it through to the point where it looks slick and others can be impressed by it.
This demonstrates two things to the perspective employer. First that
you're really into computing, and if the work is of high quality that will make you stand out from others. Second, it demonstrates that you are a creative thinker and have the self-discipline and stamina to manage your own deliverables.
Regards,
Matthew
