Salary expectations/career development

lenovoguy

Hi there

I've posted on this forum before, but I'm a software developer in my mid-20s. On a day-to-day basis I program in C++ (Win32/MFC), C#, occasionally VB and even less occasionally, Java. Development is centered around a Windows desktop application.

I'm in my current employment a little over 2 years, and thus far have received no reviews and no pay rises. Apparently vague noises have been made about salary reviews this year, but no mention of when or how significant, if at all.

I'm concerned on two levels - firstly, if I stick to the set of technologies I'm working with now, I'm afraid I'll end up driving up a career cul-de-sac as they seem to be less relevant than before, certainly on the C++ side. I haven't gone to any courses since I completed my masters.
I don't really know much about Perl, Python, Ruby (i've played around with each a little bit though) and the corresponding frameworks for developing web-apps, which is where all the buzz seems to be. Is this a major problem?

They don't teach those subjects in comp sci degree courses so I'm assuming people are picking it up in their spare time or going to dedicated courses.

The second area I'm concerned is my salary. My gross salary is €30K p/a with some healthy benefits - is this consistent with someone of my experience and speciality?

Thanks

Trojan

Get ready to move. Best way to get more experience and a pay-rise. If you don't move, in 4-5 years you will be on a lower salary than someone who has moved once or twice, and the delta could be very significant.

Don't be overly loyal if you're not getting regular pay-raises and continuing training in new technologies.

syklops

They don't teach those subjects in comp sci degree courses

First off, dont ever let anyone hear you say that. Yes people pick up all sorts of things in their spare time and you dont want to be associated with the "No-one told me"-gang or "That wasn't on my course"-parade. You will be competing against people for whom college was a lifetime ago, and even people who never studied comp sci or programming in college. I am not a programmer but I picked up Perl in a long weekend. I am sure you can too, and then you have another weapon in your arsenal.

As Trojan said, if there has been no talk of a rise or reassesment of beneifts in a year then start looking around. People are much less loyal to companies than they used to be and don't stay working for the same place for 25 years anymore.

Also be prepared to take a bump in wages for the opportunity for more experience, and the opportunity to work with other systems.

John_Mc

Trojan wrote: »

Get ready to move. Best way to get more experience and a pay-rise. If you don't move, in 4-5 years you will be on a lower salary than someone who has moved once or twice, and the delta could be very significant.

Don't be overly loyal if you're not getting regular pay-raises and continuing training in new technologies.

+1