Job Dilemma

lenovoguy

Hi Guys

I'm a software developer, working for a small software company in Dublin, mostly in MFC/C++ with a bit of .NET/C# mixed in.

I'm 26, and I've been at my current employer for 2.5 years, where I was hired as a junior developer a few months after graduating from my masters. I really like it here, get on well with everyone and the work keeps me interested.

Unfortunately, based on what what I've heard from friends and professionals working in development/IT, I'm being woefully underpaid. My current salary is €30K with health insurance thrown in on top of that. I haven't had a performance review since I started, and I haven't had a salary review either. Basically, the HR processes in here are non-existent, as we're owned by a much larger US company which has its European base (including HR) in the UK.

It's really a quality of life issue at this point, as I was in college for 5 years so was too broke to afford to move out or buy a car. Right now, I'm living at home, paying 450 P/M, I still don't drive, and I want to do both, and save a few bob every month, but I can't afford to do all those on my current salary based on the rent research I've done so far.


What I'm wondering is whether I should in fact be expecting a higher salary now, and if so, how to go forward. I'm in two minds about this - either ask for a raise in here and hope for the best, or simply move to a job with a higher base salary as a lot of developers seem to do.

Each has their pros and cons - even if I get a raise in here, I don't know how much longer I'd stay, as there doesn't seem to be a lot of demand for skills involving C++/MFC/COM outside of this office, and I don't want my skill set to stagnate and become obsolete. I'm starting to worry that this has already happened, as most roles on jobs websites are web-app based, PHP/JSP/JavaScript/SQL/JQuery yada yada, and I haven't worked with these either in ages, or at all.

If I Move, I'll go through the hassle of leaving a job, leaving good friends, a relaxed and flexible work environment, but it might motivate me to upskill and (re)learn some of the technologies I mentioned.

I'd love to know what other people think on any of the points I've mentioned.

Cheers

fatlog

i'd say move. variety broadens the mind and all that!

i do think you are underpaid but its hard to know by how much. Its all dependant on just how much experience you have gathered and how good a software engineer your have become.

What i would suggest doing is contacting a few recruitment agencies. Send in your CV, talk to them and get a feel for where they think you are at. Some of the agencies can be quite good at assesisng your level and will be able to give you feedback on what you might be able to get salary wise.

I personally feel that a good software engineer should have a variety of jobs/projects under their belt by their early/mid thirties.

John_Mc

Yeah I'd move. Even if you do get a raise in there - how much do you think you'll actually get? A 4k increase would be good, but you'd still be below the average salary and you'd be stuck at that rate for at least another year.

You said you did a bit of .NET as well? There's plenty of demand out there for it at the moment.

G-Money

op I am currently working in the software end of things myself and while I'm not strictly in development, it's an area I'm considering moving into. I've been doing some research into junior roles as I'd have to start there and I've seen various junior roles advertised from about 30k upwards. Some were advertising 35, 40 and even 45k I think.

It sounds to me a bit like you are underpaid. I can understand coming in at 30k as a starting salary but not getting a rise in 2 years sounds a bit rough. The easiest thing for you to do is have a look on some job websites and see what the going rates are for people with similar levels of experience as you, even if it isn't the exact same coding languages.

I've been looking myself and Java and C#/.Net seem to be in demand so I'd say you're unlikely to go wrong with either of them. Although if you already have some .Net perhaps it would be easier to build on that.

It can be hard to move jobs. Even when you are unhappy in a job, you kind of get used to it and get stuck in a rut. It's comfortable and you know the lay of the land so it's hard to make the move. It's even more difficult when you like the place.

I'm not saying you should move however sometimes you just have to move.

100

Move!

In IT career, after graduation, unless you've been appointed CEO of a company, you should switch in 2-3 years! Reason? That's the quickest (and in some cases only) way to upskill yourself as well as to increase salary and needless to mention to catch up with new technologies and methodologies.

Good luck!