MrsFychan

Migration acting as ball and chain on IT salaries, researcher suggests | Stuff.co.nz

LittleGreyCat

Hmmm...is this the NZ version of the Daily Mail?

Two family members moved to Auckland from the UK in IT and they are both earning more than they did in the UK.

The suggested salaries seem low as well, $80k doesn't buy you much these days in IT.
It was equivalent to under £40k until recently, which doesn't buy you all that much in the UK either.

So - I assume that Stuff is the equivalent to the Daily Mail?

jmh

LOL - pretty much. Except the readership is probably a bit younger, especially in the school holidays.

MrsFychan

unfortunately all to true in our case, MrF is only now on the equivalent salary he was getting back in the UK in 2011.

Pom_Chch

Yep, most articles in Stuff are to be taken with a pinch of salt. They are often held up for inaccurate articles, spelling/grammar mistakes and outright lying.

This article is no different. My partner works in IT and still gets emails from agencies in London and most jobs are roughly on the same money in his particular skill set (if not possibly a little lower) than in Chch. The only jobs paying more in London are out of his reach with his current experience so not really relevant. He is also expected to progress his career more in Chch with more opportunities to climb up the ladder that were just not around in the UK when we left. Also, if you get the right company some pay excellent benefits like a bonus, health packages, discounts at major stores etc, which are not factored into salaries. We worked out that my partner probably earns around 10-12k on top of his base salary once benefits are added, which were pretty much non existent in a lot of IT jobs in the UK when we left 3 years ago.

London on the same money as what he can get paid in Chch? Yeah, nah we'll stay here thanks!

Pom_Chch

If that's the case then I would be negotiating a better package or looking else where. Everyone we have met working in IT (a fair few 'cos if the Mr) all earn more than in the UK...

MrsFychan

both companies he has worked to have been really small, this one being a charity which means he is able to do hands on coding as well as Management which he prefers to do, which I suppose in a bigger firm he would just stuck doing Management. My understanding although his wages aren't all that he does get 23 day leave which may go up to 25 (so that is nearer to holiday entitlement in the UK) so think we need to take that into account and the company was very good on letting him have a week paid off for personal development, Commissioning course for the ATC, I know in the UK companies have to let you have paid time off for ATC but not sure over here and as they offered didn't need to go find out.

Bo-Jangles

And just happens to be where the vast majority of Kiwis get their daily dose of misery and bigotry; since it is pretty much the only alternative to NZ Herald (which is primarily the local rag for Auckland).

Stuff is just a consolidation of all other main 'newspapers' from around the rest of country e.g. Christchurch's 'The Press' and Wellington's 'Dom Post', Nelson and Marlborough Times, Sunday Star Times et al. So the nasty spiteful comments are a pretty far and widely spread and provides a reasonably fair representation of how a large percentage of the population thinks.

jmh

Geekzone is a great forum for IT people in NZ. They have a thread on there discussing this story. I'm happy to link, but not sure if I'm allowed to. Mods let me know and I will if it's ok.

MrsFychan

if its relevant then yes please do so

jmh

Link to the thread on Geekzone:

Does NZ really have an IT Skills shortage?

Pom_Chch

Good article, thanks. I think the general consensus is summed up in the second post - there is a shortage in certain locations within NZ and certain areas of IT. So perhaps by saying "NZ has an IT shortage" is a bit ambiguous and like a lot of general statements in life - it all depends!