Advancing your career

[Sim_S_]

So I started my first Software Development job 6 years back for a big bank in Dubai. Was already a hobbyist coder back in college. I can say I got to do work on very complex projects, delivered everything on time, met impossible deadlines. I came in as a .net developer but as project requirements varied, I learned PLSQL (Oracle Forms/Reports) and PHP (Zend Framework). Projects included things like data entry to data warehousing, financial reporting. Integration of systems with vendor products using web services. 

But I just don't get it, I've not received any promotions, in the past 5 years come appraisal time they have been giving me the song and dance about worsening economy and I've hardly gotten USD 100 increase in my pay check (What to hide, I'm making like a little more than USD 2000/mo)... Others in my department doing simpler work like support work have gotten raises. I'm right now the lowest paid bloke in my department. My boss is nearing retirement he just fights for his own appraisal they give him something decent so the people below only get crumbs of which I get almost nothing. We are four developers who go way back with the boss from his early days (I'm working here for 6 years, they are working here for 16-30 years with him) so I feel he is oft pressured into giving them whatever he can.

I'm trying to go elsewhere, like really hard. But I hardly get any interview calls. The ones I do, seem like people who just called me for the fun of it, ask me random stuff that they know nothing about and then just never call me back. A lot of people I know back from college are doing fine comparatively, but I'm struggingling. I've read articles upon articles about CVs.

I've done some further certifications like PMP and CISA. But I feel they are working against me as I'm already a Masters in IT as well, but the type of salaries being paid for PMP and CISA are like 4 times of what I'm getting and in Dubai they always ask you upfront what you're getting right now. They make a judgement that you are probably not worth 4x this amount.

I've lived in Dubai since childhood. But I feel the opportunites here for developers are limited. These days I'm thinking of trying to go to Australia. But of course there's no guarantee.

How are your lives as developers going?

[SergeyKostrov]

>>...So I started my first Software Development job 6 years back for a big bank in Dubai... Sim, My question is: Do you know that in some countries of EU unemployment rate is greater than 25%? And among girls and boys from 18 to 25 it is officially greater that 50%? Just think about it... The point is You Have a Job (!) and you shouldn't complain during these difficult times ( it also makes sense to think about Great Depression... ). By the way, at the end 80th and beginning of 90th it took me more than 6 years to go through a Junior Software Engineer to Intermediate Software Engineer positions. >>...These days I'm thinking of trying to go to Australia... I really wish you Good Luck!

[Oleksandr_C_]

Australia, by the way, is not the best choice to consider. It has some of the highest historical unemployment rates these days. At the same time I don't even know what destination is better now.

I am working in Eastern Europe and I have a feeling that one should consider emerging markets to find some real career dynamics.

Good Luck with you further professional progress.

[divyan_g_]

i want some job in software field pls help me to get through sir. its a humble request

[Jessie_P_]

Which country has the most number of jobs available at the moment ?

[SergeyKostrov]

>>Which country has the most number of jobs available at the moment?.. What kind of jobs do you mean? I don't think that somebody could clearly answer that question. For example, if you live in USA or Canada than you need to consider USA in case of jobs for experienced C++ software developers. My statistics is as follows: I receive ~10 emails and at least 3 calls every week from USA ( states: CA, TX, NYC area, WA ).

[TimP]

I get a surprising number of emails about jobs in midwest USA but no one would travel there for the rates offered.  Some are contracting under my former employers.  So I'm still skeptical of the typical feasible ways of measuring (linkedin posts, number of green card applications, ....)