Datacom good for graduates?

Forums › IT Pro and developers › Datacom good for graduates?

Dvdy

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#152226 20-Sep-2014 13:15

I'm about to finish university and I'm going into software development as a career. I've been offered a graduate position at Datacom but the company I'm currently working at part time has also offered me a position. Does anyone have experience with the graduate programme at Datacom (the software development section in particular)? I've heard mixed opinions regarding datacom so I'd like to know whether it's got good career development options, how the pay increases, what the people are like etc to help me make a decision.

Thanks

Andib

1364 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1132804 20-Sep-2014 17:45

Go for it :). They're probably the biggest developers in NZ at the moment.
Lots of room to move around in the company if you want a change of technology. You name it chances are at least one of their clients will use it (although from my experience most of them run mainly Windows Stacks).

As for pay inceases, that depends on your own contract but yearly pay reviews are common place in the company.

The mixed reviews? Any big company is in the same boat. Ask 100 different people about working at Telecom, Vodafone, IBM, Ricoh etc and you will get 100 different responses.

I was in the same position myself before I started with them with the mix of opinions Personally I enjoy my job with them and general consensus of the people I work with is they do to.

<#
.DISCLAIMER
Anything I post is my own and not the views of my past/present/future employer.
#>

Dvdy

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1133332 21-Sep-2014 23:54

Thanks, that helps :) I'm assuming you're at datacom? As a software dev?

The contract says a performance/salary review after 6 months the annually thereafter. Would it be realistic to expect something like $70k after 2-3 years?

pctek

807 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1133366 22-Sep-2014 07:55

The contract says a performance/salary review after 6 months the annually thereafter. Would it be realistic to expect something like $70k after 2-3 years?

Friend started with them out of tech. She was head hunted by them.
She started on um, $35K? 6 years later she was on $35 an hour. Whatever that works out as....but they also paid double time for overtime, $10 an hour on call rate and such too.

timmmay

20581 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1133368 22-Sep-2014 08:06

They're a good reputable firm, starting with them will be great for your career. You can't worry about money too much for your first 5 years in IT, increases will come, and eventually you'll move somewhere else. I've had two friends who worked there and liked it. They're more of a development house than anything else, I've done a couple of projects where I've done the architecture then they've done the code, their architecture capability isn't the strongest in the country.

I'm a generalist, I've done lots of development but never stayed with one particular product for a long time. Being a generalist is great, but having a speciality would be nice too. I'd say try to do both but that's a bit tricky. If you pick a speciality think about what may be needed in 5 years time.

graemeh

2078 posts

Uber Geek

#1133394 22-Sep-2014 09:01

I've heard they are a great place to learn and increase your skills. There is better money at other places but forget any ideas about training at those other places.

BridgetC

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1133403 22-Sep-2014 09:21

I'm a first year grad at Datacom at the moment. Like you I was offered a job with a company I had been working with part time. But I made the decision to come to DC and I'm so pleased I did.

Heaps of opportunities. Great grad program. Awesome people and great work environment.

I can't recommend them highly enough!

Lias

5589 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1133428 22-Sep-2014 09:44

I know several people that work at Datacom, and they all love it.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

Dvdy

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1134993 23-Sep-2014 21:28

Thanks guys, definitely leaning towards it now :)