BEVS

I find this interesting. What ball park figure GBP would you give this occupation? $100K NZD - 50K GBP?

Charismatic

Pay peanuts and get monkeys mate . Maybe they expect you to lay out your hand as well, after all if they didn't ask they wouldn't get.

I think we should encourage more of this, much more. As the global economy recovers and boomers retire the working age population will decrease while the number of positions to fill will increase. The only way wages are going to go is up, especially for skilled employment.

Engel

I used to be a right corp whore. The guilt drove to becoming a teacher to make up for the business class air flights. Mind you, they had all gone by 2002 i had to replace planes with trains. I miss the good old days.

marblep

You'd be surprised. Some of us went away highly skilled and have come back with even more skills. High salaries do exist in NZ, and many of us deserve those salaries. Oh - and in my industry, we hire UK'ers like they're going out of fashion. They're hired on their merit. Same as NZ'ers. Ask them, they're not living in cloud cuckoo land.

Engel

Point to the jobs.

MrsFychan

I agree there are some, but the OP was stating that Expats were coming in with the expectations of higher wagers which just isn't the norm

Snap Shot

What if your name isn't John Key ?

At your level of professionalism that's probably true viz high salaries.

Ever been up the sharp end looking for work ? Please don't tell me to upskill either. Those of us who won't earn a three figure salary in NZ, what happens to them ?

Snap Shot

Gissa job mate.

BEVS

I think it may be 'Gissa job missus'

Snap Shot

Engel

Well. I have 2 skype interviews this week so wish me look. I hope the market is kind.

MrsFychan

Good luck with the Skype interviews, treat it as if you are in their offices so dress well, make sure you don't have anything untoward in the back ground in the shot. Can you check your connection to NZ before the interviews to make sure it works well and have a few trial runs

gcr

I've been looking for IT PM work for a while. I'm not a software or development PM - my specialty is infrastructure and systems.

I've been told that the hourly rate for someone like me (10+ years experience, degree, extensive professional qualifications) is no more than $100 per hour, or $850 a day for contract work, and around $100k for permanent.

Software developers looking for upwards of $150k should probably look elsewhere. There will be roles at that level, but like the $150k+ PM roles they are the exception and not the rule. Anyone who is not established with a significant history of employment in NZ can pretty much forget about the higher salaries.

The main issue is the exchange rate. You used to earn 2/3 of a UK salary when in NZ, but the cost of living was around 1/2, so there was a net gain by moving. That's no longer the case. Housing south of Auckland (for example) is now more expensive than in many parts of the UK, and the cost of living has (comparatively, at least) risen. Salaries however have not and are (in Auckland) about the same that they were 10 years ago; I saw a 2002 press clipping citing IT pay rates and was surprised - dismayed! - to find they are pretty much the same now.

Add to that an influx of well-qualified IT people from China, India and so on, and why would anyone pay any more?

Engel

Same in the UK. A low end PM rate is the same as 10 years ago. Unless you are in a specialist field things are pretty poor in the PM market.

gcr

I'm a specialist! Which, sadly, makes it even more difficult to get that vital first role.