Appologise if this isn't relevent but I'd be grateful for any input. Hi I've recently got my degree and have been looking at jobs for various companies some of which are internet companies.

I'm sure quite a few of you do internet based work as a day job and I was interested to hear you views:

Ie. Why you prefer working for a large or small company?
What type of wage I should ask for in a junior role?
Why a (youngish) internet company is a good environment to work in.
What type of training you were offered?
What field is perhaps a good field to get into?

Etc... and any other comments you think I could find useful.

Glenn

Links 2 Mods Site:
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Personally, I actually prefer to work with the bigger companies. I used to like running my sites on my own, but since I was merged with a US company I really like it

Although it can sometimes be a pain with their heir-archies and all that 'business stuff' it is a lot of fun....

Also, you get benefits of holiday leave and other business stuff (not that I get it yet, cos I'm not working full time..lol). You job is also more likely to be stable if you work for a big company, as they can cope with fluxuations in the markets.

However working for yourself does have its own advantages Such as working your own hours and doing what you want when you want!

Maybe you should ask Eliot for a job I just read his post above....he sounds like a good employer!

Dunno if that really helps, as I'm not in full time employment with my websites YET, but i hope to be soon.

Just my ideas in the matter!

Andy

webmaster@ace-installer.com
http://www.ace-installer.com

Merged with a *big* US company?....was it a billion dollar merger?

So you have accountants, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and tax returns?

Sounds like you are doing well Andy.

Do you have any contacts that you could let me get in touch with? Steve Case or David Filo would be great (if you could arrange it).


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How did I guess you would make some kind of *smug* little comment like that

Yeah, your right. They are not that big. They only have an annual income of $17.5 million!

And yes, we do have accountants and tax returns! Just not here in the UK, but in Houston!

No offence Paul, but with your attitude I don't think anyone would be willing to merge with you

Anyway, this has nothing to do with Glenns question, so if I were you Paul, I would leave it here!

Oh, and I'm not 16

Andy

webmaster@ace-installer.com
http://www.ace-installer.com

Chill out dude....you only live once. Don't take my comments so seriously.
You gotta learn the difference between smugness and jokes.

Ouch. My comments were all meant jokingly....you just got personal!

Glennu....as I am a similar age I am interested on this subject too. I'll be taking my finals next year and am interested in obtaining employment in the same field. My sister and her boyfriend went to Oxford and have both found employment with large companies - one Proctor and Gamble, the other with a law firm in London (my sis is getting 30k in the 1st year - THAT $UCKS). So as you can see they are both big compainies, but I'm not sure if I want to go the same way. Working for a smaller company is much more appealing to me as I feel I would be valued more, as large companies probably have tons of employers doing the same job and you'd probably just fade into the background, whereas smaller companies would value you more and you would probably have more chance of standing out and acheiving recognition....which is part of job satisfaction according to my business studies lecturer . At a guess I would also say the pay would be better...you may disagree but as I said, large companies have tons of people doing the same job and can find new staff. Obviously if it is a tiny company they won't have lots of money so I suppose I'm talking about semi-small.

In terms of pay, aren't web related jobs in high demand?....If you are lucky enough to be able to negotiate salary, I reckon 20k is a good starting point depending on the job you go for.

The jobs I'm interested in are:
Perl Programming
Website Design (great for working from home or being your own boss)
Server Administrator.

Obviously that would mean lots of training but companies should provide you with this but you should try to get as much experience as possible before applying fo the job. Hence, that's why I hang around here a lot and administer Ed's server and am always designing sites. Links2 templates also help a lot.

Hope my blabbering was semi-helpful.

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Yep cheers for the info.

Yeah from what I've seen there's alot of web design/programming jobs but there's also alot of people looking for work in that area. It's almost kind of in fashion as it were and so every man and his dog seems to want to work in this area.

I have a degree in Statistics and it seems jobs in that area are more easily available because although there's not as many jobs, no one seems to want to do them! So I'm still unsure which path to take, however I guess it doesn't matter too much as nothing is set in stone and I could always take a slight career change later on.

Yep 30k would be nice!

Self employed... Hmm gave it some thought but am against it for many reasons. The main one being at my age (still youngish!) I would want to be meeting other people etc.. and the last thing I'd want is to be at home on my own working.

Glenn

Links 2 Mods Site:
http://cgi-resource.co.uk/pages/links2mods.shtml

Yeah, working from home is maybe something I'd consider when I'm a little older and have more experience because it is such a high risk operation that you could end up making a complete hash of it and making no money whereas working for an employer has higher job security.


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>> So you have accountants, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and tax returns?

All companies, no matter what size you are have a "balance sheet" and have to fill out "tax returns". What's so special about that?

Wil

Wil that discussion is finished with.


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You are likely to get more flexible holidays/working hours with smaller companies.

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Like I privately mentioned to glennu...salaries are more complex than asking for a set amount. Local living costs, benefits, signing bonuses, stock options, and other benefits have to be weighed when negotiating a salary.

The following web page lists links to good resources for estimating these variables:

http://bus.colorado.edu/.../showcat.cfm?catid=6

Regards,

Eliot Lee
http://anthrotech.com/

I think 30k is a bit low especially in the information systems area. Yahoo careers has a pay scale for any job that you are interested in for any city. I just graduated last year and I came out making 44k, so don't limit you starting price(especially if you are worth it). You should not limit yourself to internet companies, because a lot of companies are in need of web developers.

Here is the link : http://careers.yahoo.com/careers/salaries.html

Myself and Glennu were talking in GBP - Great British Pounds.

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