I'm not a server admin, but I'll go on record that it seems low. I have first hand experience of software development salaries being significantly lower here. For me, that's true even when factoring in cost of living here. I've noticed the same trend in other non-tech, professional positions. Given the brain drain going on in NZ, i don't think i'm the first to come to that conclusion.
Dairyxox: Wow some of you guys might be shocked. I recently turned down a job with the nz police. I would have been servicing an entire region (many police stations), doing work very similar to the description in the OP.
No website design or development. BUT other stuff (dont know if its 'kosher' to detail too much here).
Applied for the full time position. Was offered the part time position, was much like linuxluver described:
"If it's as-needed, whenever, upgrades on every long weekend and ater-hour callouts....then either get a good overtime rate with days in lieu or $100k. "
They wanted to pay me $20 per hour. Casually. (Im not new, I've got about 10 years experience with this sort of thing) The 'recruitment agent' put an un-holy amount of pressure on me to accept, telling me this was normal. "What did you expect??" :SHOCKED:
And now I'm looking to move to Aus.
There are web design comapnies who pay less than $20 per hour. I would personally be embarrassed to pay that little to staff. The cost of living in NZ is just too high to pay that little. You really need $1000 per week these days minimum to pay all the bills and still have a life.
gzt: In many ways it is a difficult question simply because the private sector would be unlikely to structure all these responsibilities as a single role.
nova: You can download the Hudson salary guide from here:
http://nz.hudson.com/salary-guides.aspx
It's a bit tricky to match your role against the descriptions in here, but I would have said you are looking somewhere in the 65K to 80K range.
That's exactly why I decided to ask on a forum. As I cover a multitude of roles and responsibilities it's not as clear cut as pulling a number from the salary guides found on Hudson and the likes.
I expect that secondary education won't be free but on student loans by the time my son is in year 9.
This year 50,000 New Zealanders headed over seas. We grow kiwis and then we export them.
Schools are all about funding and funding is based on numbers.
If you asked my son to choose between a foot ball and his computer it would be a no brainer.
When it comes to choosing a high school, I have no doubt at all that he'll be looking at what technology is in the school.
Schools need to understand that if they want the students then they have to invest in the best resources for them, and that includes system administration, you.
The systems in a school are just as critical as any commerical business.
If you let systems be off line when staff want them then eventually those staff will go looking for a better school to work for.
Schools want to attract good teachers as well. Teachers talk and if a school has a reputation for shocking IT then you'll quickly find they have trouble retaining and hiring staff.
Schools are a business. They're in the business of education and education is a massive global industry.
New Zealanders are sought after and valued over seas because we're known for our good people.
I see no reason why we should be paid less in New Zealand to teach and resource our kids and teachers when those products then head over seas to earn some great incomes by providing some great service to international companies.
While I wholeheartedly agree with this, it is unfortunate that the funding is based on the wrong numbers ie decile ratings, and the fact schools have enrolment zones which is more likely to add money into the property market than the school itself. Which is the reason why higher decile rating schools rely so heavily on parental donations and international fee paying students.
In the 10years I've been doing the jobs, the government has been heavily pushing digital learning in schools, but have not provided the funding necessary for it. As an IT Admin I am considered support staff and therefore my salary comes directly out of the schools available resources. This impacts student learning, as the school needs to make the decision on spending that money staff or student resources, I am very aware of the impact my request for additional pay has on the schools resourcing, so I'm not looking for top dollar but just what would be considered fair and reasonable. The job has its perks, the multitude of roles means I have a lot of variation in my workload and since a schools critical hours are 9-3 I also have a fair bit of flexibility with my time outside those hours.
MrAlan: While I wholeheartedly agree with this, it is unfortunate that the funding is based on the wrong numbers ie decile ratings, and the fact schools have enrolment zones which is more likely to add money into the property market than the school itself. Which is the reason why higher decile rating schools rely so heavily on parental donations and international fee paying students.
In the 10years I've been doing the jobs, the government has been heavily pushing digital learning in schools, but have not provided the funding necessary for it. As an IT Admin I am considered support staff and therefore my salary comes directly out of the schools available resources. This impacts student learning, as the school needs to make the decision on spending that money staff or student resources, I am very aware of the impact my request for additional pay has on the schools resourcing, so I'm not looking for top dollar but just what would be considered fair and reasonable. The job has its perks, the multitude of roles means I have a lot of variation in my workload and since a schools critical hours are 9-3 I also have a fair bit of flexibility with my time outside those hours.
With all due respect, I feel your attitude is enabling the current behavior which is not in keeping with a government commitment to bring pay parity with Australia.
In my view your attitude is not actually helping anyone and some what misguided.
I have grown up with our community telling me that a digital economy is our future to well paid jobs.
As far as I'm concerned you're one of the most important resources in a school now.
If it means that the school goes without as many foot balls then we'll hold a bake sale for more balls if there are any kids interested in using them. If it means we have one less sports coach then perhaps I might have to consider spending some of my time, as a parent, helping with a sports team.
For the most part, most kids in school are not going to go on to a world of professional sport, but many are going to head into a world of information.
If by 'other resources' you where thinking about the library and library staff, then this is an even more complex question. How much longer are schools going to have libraries and staff in them?
When I was a kid the computer room was a small classroom upstairs in the 'D' block while the Library was a whole 2 story building of its own, and resourced accordingly.
As far as I'm concerned I will be more interested to see a complete wifi blanket in the school so my sons personal devices can access the internet and school digital resources. I don't expect that there will be much of a library when he starts year 9.
I do expect there will be a room with some 'tactile' resources in it, but no fiction section at all. Art books will still have a place, but those may end up being integrated into the art center, not a separate building.
So exactly what resources are you concerned the kids will be missing out on in favour of paying you a market rate that puts us on part with wages paid for information jobs in our region?
Promote New Zealand - Get yourself a .kiwi.nz domain name!!!
So exactly what resources are you concerned the kids will be missing out on in favour of paying you a market rate that puts us on part with wages paid for information jobs in our region?
Resources such as the upkeep of the school swimming pool to a class set of netbooks/tablets and everything in between.
And while removal of the traditional library is the direction we are heading in, it will still be a long way to go before the that happens. Our library catalogue already has the option to borrow digital books, but there is a lot of opposition to go completely digital.
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