DigitalGhost

You're not the only one who thinks that, in many ways my own girlfriend in fact would actually agree with you and in many ways I do. In my job, I don't really create anything solid in the world and I don't help others in any particularly important way. I merely manage and administer systems which people use but nobody really needs and/or gives a shit about.

However when you see the rates of pay and levels of appreciation which are given to IT professionals in the US, it really does make you wonder. The last organisation I worked in was a government-based one and they seemed to give far more appreciation to people who had made-up job titles and did essentially nothing than they did to their IT staff, some of whom would work a 7 day week and still be in the office at 10pm on a regular basis.

ExKiwilass

I agree. I think the line between admin (low paid) and IT (traditionally better paid) is blurring more and more.

DigitalGhost

That's because you have idiot agencies (at least in Britain) categorising data entry roles and paperwork jobs based in the IT sector as IT vacancies in order to try to get a higher rate of pay out of the company recruiting for the job by making it look specialised and thus attracting a slightly higher level of candidate than would usually apply for that particular role.

ExKiwilass

You've been away too long. Burnaby houses are way out of reach of 50,000 per year earners. Maybe Chilliwhack?

DigitalGhost

Games Dev can be hard to get into as very few universities teach the appropriate skills required and will instead create a 'games design' degree on their prospectus which is actually only a computer science degree with a bit of 3D modelling thrown in, thus when people graduate from those courses the games studios have no use for them.

There are now a few UK universities which are introducing XNA and related things to their games courses and are endorsed by the likes of Ubisoft, but they are really few and far between and the rates of pay aren't particularly high either (average of 20-30k in the UK if the emails I get every day are anything to go by).

R I C H

That's an internal issue, not something that's necessarily reflective of your market value.

The term 'IT professional' is as meaningless as 'any other job description professional'. Unless you're comparing like for like, you can't make any useful comparison.

If you don't like the environment you're in or the way you're treated, I don't think it's necessarily an indication that all IT environments/departments are unappreciated.

Alan2005

I don't know anything much about games development. I do know that the industry is quite big in Vancouver and my comment was in that context.

DigitalGhost

Not if you're qualified as a professional it isn't, I think it would mean the same thing as an Accountancy professional or Clinical professional for example.

The last comment was more my opinion than anything else, I'm sure it's not a general opinion around the office, most of the people here seem to be far more passionate about what this company does than I am.

DigitalGhost

It's massive in Canada because the Canadian government were clever enough to offer the tax options that they did, thus boosting them ahead of the UK to number 3 in the world, although that is always a bit of a questionable figure as it doesn't include Grand Theft Auto (which is made in the UK but by a US based company). People have asked the UK government to investigate a similar scheme and that hasn't happened.

In many ways I wish that I had gone into that area of the industry, it was what I had intended on doing for a long time but I don't really have the patience needed to be a programmer.

Alan2005

Certification is not the same as accreditation if that's what you are getting at. IT professional is as meaningless as R I C H says it is; it says nothing at all about what you do.

ExKiwilass

I agree IT has slipped down the scale a lot. I remember when there was a lot of buzz about IT Being the Future, well paid, blah blah blah...and now it seems like it's treated more as glorified admin. But I also think outsourcing has hurt IT and I've noticed, in my return to the workforce after a long haitus, that many admin jobs now require skills of the kind expected of IT peeps not long ago - like desktop publishing, website maintenance, creation of websites, the ability to fix issues with the network etc. So I think administrators are upskilling and taking over some of the areas that used to be seen as IT. Which seems reasonable - it's not rocket science.

DigitalGhost

What is certification then if you don't mind me asking?

Alan2005

I wouldn't want to be in games development simply cos I like playing them. I think it would spoil the magic

ExKiwilass

The games industry is suffering right now. I know people who are looking for work/have lost jobs. AND, FYI, it's not always the great time people seem to think it is - plenty of toxic work environments, stress etc just like less 'glamourous' jobs.

R I C H

So GBP30k for a job that requires a regular degree, most likely needs no management experience or supervisory requirements, isn't a fair wage?

I previously worked for a large games development company, and individuals with advanced skills/experience, managed teams or contributed to the strategic development of the organization got paid considerably more than that . The code monkeys that just followed instruction got paid more than other graduates working in various administrative roles, so I don't think 'IT' jobs were unfairly treated with regard to compensation at all.