IT salaries in New Zealand

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Mickgio

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#233834 5-May-2018 01:09

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I'm seeking information about life and work in NZ.

I have applied for a Data Analyst position in Auckland. I'll have a Skype interview in a few days and they'll probably ask my salary expectations. The thing is, I have NO idea of the cost of living or the salaries in the country. You'll probably think I'm stupid to consider a position over here without knowing the basics but I think this is a great opportunity and I would love to discover this country.

I have more than 10 years of experience in Data Analytics with a Master degree in Mathematics and IT. Here in Paris, my salary is 60,000€ before taxes (approx. 102k NZ$).

What salary do you guys think I should ask? I don't want to seem neither greedy nor undervalued.
And in general can you give me an overview of IT salaries in NZ compared to Europe?

Any other tip will be much appreciated!

Thanks

Mickagio

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20182 posts

Uber Geek

#2008283 5-May-2018 01:13

Auckland is very expensive to live in compared to much of the rest of NZ, so the cost of living is likely to be higher than the average NZ living costs. You should probably check out what costs you are going to have. Maybe it is best to ask them what the salary range is, before they ask you. As you say you don't want them to get you too cheaply, so you feel undervalued. Good luck.

Peamsable

98 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#2008297 5-May-2018 06:22

Recruiting firms often have salary guides. Have a look at those.

http://nz.hudson.com/salary-hub/salary-guides
https://www.seek.co.nz/career-advice/highest-paying-jobs-information-communications-technology

Item

1717 posts

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#2008298 5-May-2018 06:37

Absolute IT has an annual salary survey/report and some other analytics which you may find useful:

https://www.absoluteit.co.nz/industry-reports/

Mickgio

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2008302 5-May-2018 07:24

Thank you guys, that's really helpful!

Between 105 and 110 seems to be fair.

Have a nice weekend.

kingdragonfly

11224 posts

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#2008328 5-May-2018 09:42

Be aware that salary versus house prices is worse than Paris.

Here are the least affordable cities.

1.Hong Kong
2.Sydney
3.Vancouver
4.Auckland
5.San Jose
6.Melbourne
7.Honolulu
8.LA
9.San Francisco
10.Bournemouth & Dorset

Auckland is rated the worse score possible as "Severely Unaffordable." It is worse than any American city in wages / house prices.

https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/01/13th_annual_demographia_international_housing_affordability_survey_2017.html

Here's a news story

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/65710862/Parnell-hovel-back-up-for-sale

"A million-dollar Auckland hovel could sell for even more after being put up for sale only three months after being bought.

The Parnell villa, complete with peeling wallpaper and a rotting deck, is again being marketed after being snapped up in November for a cool $1 million.

Other features include a rusting roof, crumbling walls and a rateable value of $1.075 million. The three bedroom home is expected to again fetch a pretty penny at auction later this month."

Mickgio

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2008587 6-May-2018 08:32

Wow! I figured that real estate is expensive, like 700/800$ per week for a medium house, but I didn't realize it was that crazy. Is Auckland such "a place to be" ? It reminds me of Vancouver...

Which neighborhood offers the best compromise for a family with kids who works downtown?

alasta

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#2008596 6-May-2018 09:14

Mickgio:

Wow! I figured that real estate is expensive, like 700/800$ per week for a medium house, but I didn't realize it was that crazy. Is Auckland such "a place to be" ? It reminds me of Vancouver...

Which neighborhood offers the best compromise for a family with kids who works downtown?

Auckland and Wellington have a shortage of housing, so rents are very high and it's very difficult to secure a house because of the amount of demand.

Of the three major cities Christchurch probably offers the best value in terms of salary relative to cost of living.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

eph

187 posts

Master Geek

#2008599 6-May-2018 09:16

Mickgio:

Wow! I figured that real estate is expensive, like 700/800$ per week for a medium house, but I didn't realize it was that crazy. Is Auckland such "a place to be" ? It reminds me of Vancouver...

Which neighborhood offers the best compromise for a family with kids who works downtown?

Yeah, if you are after:

- expensive real estate

- endless hours stuck in traffic

- poor/non existent public transport

- nice beaches which cannot be used after heavy rains (because of all the poos overflowing from the sewage system)

- very nice ranges around Auckland (Hunua, Waitakere) which were recently mostly closed to public (because of Kauri dieback disease)

it's definitely place to be! :)

I'm joking (but then not entirely)... I'd stay out of Auckland if you can.

nakedmolerat

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#2008600 6-May-2018 09:16

Mickgio:
Wow! I figured that real estate is expensive, like 700/800$ per week for a medium house, but I didn't realize it was that crazy. Is Auckland such "a place to be" ? It reminds me of Vancouver...

Which neighborhood offers the best compromise for a family with kids who works downtown?

Auckland is just like any big cities and choked with traffic at peak hours.

If family is your priority, smaller town is probably better. It depends what are you wanting for them to experience/learn.

kingdragonfly

11224 posts

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#2008602 6-May-2018 09:23

Auckland is similar to Los Angles in the US: even though there is a lot of public transportation, but almost everybody drives a car.

Unlike Los Angeles, the Auckland highways have just a few lanes.

For your children, you may look for old references to "decile 10." I won't go into details, because it is a little controversial, but these are the best performing schools. I'm sure many people will disagree.

This webpage has an Excel spreadsheet with the last decile rating, probably the last ever.

Sort by regional council ascending, by decile descending to get the best performing schools by region.

https://www.education.govt.nz/school/running-a-school/resourcing/operational-funding/school-decile-ratings/

Here's an interactive map of crime, for all the bigger cities in New Zealand

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11600994

You'll see a strong correlation between low crime and high decile. I'm sure many will disagree.

kingdragonfly

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#2008608 6-May-2018 09:31

Personally I like Wellington, but buying a house is probably not possible. Even renting is very difficult. I had a friend who saw a student literally on her knees begging to rent a place. The student didn't get it.

Wellington is like San Francisco, and Auckland is like Los Angeles.

Christchurch and Dunedin also have lots of IT jobs.

Worth mentioning, this is a slow time for hiring. November, February and July are better,

Mickgio

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2009608 7-May-2018 21:03

Thank you all for these useful and constructive advice. I'll keep that in mind if there's a positive outcome.

RickD

280 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2019407 20-May-2018 16:45

kingdragonfly: Personally I like Wellington, but buying a house is probably not possible. Even renting is very difficult. I had a friend who saw a student literally on her knees begging to rent a place. The student didn't get it.

Wellington is like San Francisco, and Auckland is like Los Angeles.

Christchurch and Dunedin also have lots of IT jobs.

Worth mentioning, this is a slow time for hiring. November, February and July are better,

Why do you think buying a house in Wellington is probably not possible? Supply? I understand the rental market in Wellington is tight but I thought housing/cost of living there is still reasonable vs. income. I wouldn't compare Wellington to SF, maybe Portland.

kingdragonfly

11224 posts

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#2019492 20-May-2018 19:38

The average wages versus average house price is almost 11:1.

Severely Unaffordable is 5.1 & Over

Seriously Unaffordable is 4.1 to 5.0

Moderately Unaffordable is 3.1 to 4.0

Affordable is 3.0 & Under

https://www.interest.co.nz/property/92021/average-property-values-rocketed-wellington-over-last-12-months-headed-sideways

Average property values rocketed up in Wellington over the last 12 months

...
The biggest annual incarese was in Porirua +13.4% followed by Kapiti Coast +12.9%, while average values in the Hutt Valley were around 8.5% and in Wellington City values increased by between 8.1% and 9.3% over the year.

"A lack of housing supply, coupled with a recent increase in population, continues put upward pressure on values," QV Wellington Senior Consultant David Cornford said.

"This tight supply is creating strong demand for vacant land a new builds, particularly in the outer Wellington regions including Churton Park, Grenada and Aotea."

...

Average current value
Auckland Region --- 1,054,974
Wellington Region --- 634,811
Main Urban Areas --- 787,740
All New Zealand --- 671,531

...

https://www.payscale.com/research/NZ/Location=Wellington/Salary

The average salary in Wellington, is NZ$59,694. The most popular occupations in Wellington are Office Administrator, Software Developer, and Operations Manager which pay between NZ$45,552 and NZ$80,392 per year.May 12, 2018

kingdragonfly

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#2019494 20-May-2018 19:42

Re Wellington vs San Francisco, you're right: it is closer to Portland in feel.

More people visit San Francisco, so it's better known to Kiwis.

For those looking for nice cities, Austin and Seattle are also hip.

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