IT professionals still in demand

[Syndyre]

I dunno about other universities & tech but if you went to uct and cape tech(but then as i say cpt has always been way ahead from bottom up) you'd know that there is little need for AA in engineering! The majority of students are non-white and in some instances the % african foreign students in masters up is pretty high % too. Then combo this with scarce skills visa + DoL being a bit more lenient on the sector giving lots of concession and you have to question the continuous rants on this forum. (bottom up that is, top down is an entirely different story and eng people take longer to change as exp is key).

When organisations go for a heavy AA recruit drive, check out their current employee's (top down remember % weight for top is more) and you're likely find that they are heavily unbalanced(hence rec drive, and usually they go all out so the numbers look better) but even so if a suitable person can't be found the position -has- to filled. I think this past year may have been 1st time in 15yrs that positions are becoming very scarce for grads, competition is rife and positions didn't need to be filled and were reduced.

There is a problem with pr eng though but its not that there aren't candidates, its just that the system loses eng graduates to other industries with attractive packages + they need to improve their integration.

I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding your point but non-SA citizens don't qualify for AA even if they are from Africa.

 

[zeely]

there's loads of work, but very little well paying jobs...

 

[cda]

there's loads of work, but very little well paying jobs...

Rubbish. If you have real skill, and unique skill, there are plenty of people willing to pay to retain it. I know network engineers earning between 500k a year, and 1.2mi a year in SA. The upper bracket is so high you can't begin to imagine the potential.

If you did your BSc, MCSE or A+, and sit on your chair all day doing the bare minimum then forget it.

I know tons of people who went over to the UK and other places with their run of the mill certification and boring experience and they got slated. You might earn a better salary in ZAR, but you'll struggle even more to find and keep a post.

IT is not like being a person behind a till at Pick n Pay. You need passion, drive, big balls, and to learn new things all the time. You don't just get a bigger salary just because you've been around longer.

The good news is there are so few people with genuine professional ability. There's maybe 10 CCIE's in the country. Less than 10 people with protocol design experience. Between 3 and 5 with good RADIUS skills and experience. Nearly as little who can do n-scale. As few with experience in virtualization.

You want opportunity, it's right in front of you. Stop moaning and learn something. So your job is boring? Make it not boring, who cares if you get a raise. Do something cool anyway, put it on your CV.

I am a healthy white South African guy. I have a good job with a decent salary. How did I get here you might ask. I work my ass off and tried and tried again till I succeeded.

Amen.

 

[ponder]

There's maybe 10 CCIE's in the country. Less than 10 people with protocol design experience. Between 3 and 5 with good RADIUS skills and experience. Nearly as little who can do n-scale. As few with experience in virtualization.

What are you talking about? I personally know about 10 CCIE's myself. Telkom alone probably has more than 10 CCIE's in it's employ. There are over a 120 registered CCIE's in SA according to Cisco, dunno if they are all in the country though. I think you are sucking these figures out of your thumb.

Some comapnies want CCIE's in places outside JHB but only willing to pay less than R500k and any CCIE I know will just laugh at them.

But ja, have to agree with you on other point you mentioned about lack of professionalism & common certs etc.

 

[cda]

There are over a 120 registered CCIE's in SA according to Cisco, dunno if they are all in the country though. I think you are sucking these figures out of your thumb.

No idea where they are hiding then. But I have seen that number before, and still think it's drastically ponnied up. As for active ones still in the country, I maintain my thumb suck of 10, especially for the R&S and SP tracks, and more importantly ones who really know their stuff.

Regardless, 120 is still 0.6% of the globally registered CCIE's. Minuscule.