IT Job / contracting market

thegills

Hi,
A friend is moving from Germany to Ireland. He works in IT and is wondering;

What the job market is like, is it picking up?
Which is better - contracting or full-time
What are good dedicated IT websites

His experience covers - Cisco admin, PABx admin, Linux, some MCSA acreditaion, some web design and programming.

Thanking ye in advance for any help / info / advice.

thegills

thesteve

three words..........

stay in germany

once he's been here a few months and has gone through every recruitment agency/web site and then ends up in a phone tech phone support job for tampax for half the wages he was earning in germany and paying twice the amount for rent/booze, etc..... he'll tell you what I mean!

neXus9

true words

The IT industry here is a joke. The employers totally rip the sh*t out of admins----22,000 per yr for 2yrs experienced admin???

Tell him to stay away. You'll be the best friend he ever has, honestly.

seamus

The job market is definitely picking up.

If he has 2-3 year's experience, or is a specialist in his field, job prospects are quite good.

From what you've given there, he should be well eligible for a few jobs. Whether he'll get paid as much as in Germany is debatable, and the cost of living is high here too.

As thesteve quite rightly points out though, it can be tough going. The market is very competitive, so it can be a while before you land a job.

In the current climate, you're best going for a permanent position, or an extended contract (>2 years). It's tough to pull in good money for a six month contract, then have to dive back in, scrimping for food and applying for everything in sight when your contract's over. Obviously, you'd accept a contract job to tide you over, while you look for a more permanent position

MrBigglesworth

Well, I've done it the other way. After my last I.T jobplace packed it in I found myself on the dole for months. I was lucky to land myself a job in Gemany.

thegills

Lads,
thanks for the advice.

MrBigglesworth - Whereabouts in Germany?

MrBigglesworth

Düsseldorf