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With the exception of these higher-level executive positions, the state gets workers on the cheap for those 20 years. My student interns graduate making 1.5 to

by bphogan 16y ago

With the exception of these higher-level executive positions, the state gets workers on the cheap for those 20 years. My student interns graduate making 1.5 to 2x what I make per year. Seriously, are you gonna do Oracle DBA duties for $50k a year at a university or $100k a year in industry? Taxpayers don't want to pay high state salaries, even though they end up doing so with the pensions. And I'm one of those burdened taxpayers too. I have to pay state taxes at my state job :) So I literally pay part of my own salary. I choose to work here for lower pay. But I have a great job that I love. There's no better reward than teaching people to program. Not everyone's in that same boat. And I won't lie - if the opportunity presented itself for me to retire, keep my pension, and come back to work, I don't think I'd feel too bad about it. Can you honestly say you wouldn't do the same?

yummyfajitas 16y ago
Seriously, are you gonna do Oracle DBA duties for $50k a year at a university or $100k a year in industry? In my experience, the administrators making $50k in academia would be making precisely $0 in industry. Unlike academia, industry cares about getting things done.
- bphogan 16y ago
  In my experience, "getting stuff done" in the academic world isn't about making money for the business owner. It's about teaching students. So I think your statement is a little unfair. Network admins, DBAs, and developers have to keep the infrastructure working so people can teach, and students can learn. Try explaining to a student that you lost her transcripts, or explain to the government how someone got in and got 10,000 SSNs from your database. The challenges are the same. But it's a lot harder when you can't hire the DBAs who know how to stop that kind of stuff cos you can only pay $50,000. And there's no shortage of under-qualified IT "professionals" in industry. If you've ever done code audits for others, like I have, you know what I'm talking about.
spoiledtechie 16y ago
Its like asking me if I am a moral man. Do I worry about stealing from other people? Yes. Do I worry about stealing from people that pay their HARD EARNED money into a big pot and distribute it wrongfully. Yes. If I were to compare this type of wrong doing to another industry, I would put it right along with Gambling. Working for a Casino is a moral question. Thou shall not Gamble. Sure they pay a bunch of money and if I cheat the system, I can get paid better. I only care about my self anyway, right. Wrong... If people stop caring for other people, then what will this world come to? I would rather do the Moral thing and NOT cheat other people out of their tax money. But thats just me.

by bphogan 16y ago

yummyfajitas 16y ago

Seriously, are you gonna do Oracle DBA duties for $50k a year at a university or $100k a year in industry? In my experience, the administrators making $50k in academia would be making precisely $0 in industry. Unlike academia, industry cares about getting things done.

bphogan 16y ago
In my experience, "getting stuff done" in the academic world isn't about making money for the business owner. It's about teaching students. So I think your statement is a little unfair. Network admins, DBAs, and developers have to keep the infrastructure working so people can teach, and students can learn. Try explaining to a student that you lost her transcripts, or explain to the government how someone got in and got 10,000 SSNs from your database. The challenges are the same. But it's a lot harder when you can't hire the DBAs who know how to stop that kind of stuff cos you can only pay $50,000. And there's no shortage of under-qualified IT "professionals" in industry. If you've ever done code audits for others, like I have, you know what I'm talking about.

spoiledtechie 16y ago

Its like asking me if I am a moral man. Do I worry about stealing from other people? Yes. Do I worry about stealing from people that pay their HARD EARNED money into a big pot and distribute it wrongfully. Yes. If I were to compare this type of wrong doing to another industry, I would put it right along with Gambling. Working for a Casino is a moral question. Thou shall not Gamble. Sure they pay a bunch of money and if I cheat the system, I can get paid better. I only care about my self anyway, right. Wrong... If people stop caring for other people, then what will this world come to? I would rather do the Moral thing and NOT cheat other people out of their tax money. But thats just me.