4 ms·

Yes, I'm primarily a software engineer. Unions are quite often sector-based rather than profession-based. For example, the union I belong to currently covers th

Yes, I'm primarily a software engineer. Unions are quite often sector-based rather than profession-based. For example, the union I belong to currently covers the public sector in Western Australia rather than any specific profession. As to what it does for me: negotiates on my behalf for any required changes to my award, provides a counselling service to assist with localised work issues or general mental health, provides a travel insurance policy that covers my daily commute, provides a purchase negotiation service for appliances and furniture, and provides a number of other discounts at various stores.

ummonk 4y ago
How much do you get paid as a fraction of what unionized tech workers in the US get paid?
- ropable 4y ago
  That's a difficult question for me to answer, given that 1) I'm in Australia and 2) "tech workers" is a very general term. Given the current exchange rate, I can say that I'm currently paid in the range of US$70000-80000 per annum (it varies a bit based on voluntary deployments to bushfire incidents that my org manages). It's a full-time role, mainly software dev but with the mix of sysadmin, BA, DBA and other odd IT jobs that any tech worker does. I coordinate 1-2 more junior software devs to a small extent. I have no idea how that compares to a similar role in the US, but over here that's a pretty comfortable middle-class wage.
  - throwaway2037 4y ago
    I estimate 50% higher in tech-focused places in US. However, that would ignore worse work-life balance and insanely high living costs in those places! I sounds like you are being paid well. I would love to live in Perth for few years, then explore the beaches, reefs, and bush in my free time.
    - ropable 4y ago
      Yeah, it's difficult to compare wages across countries while also taking into account the differences in living costs, etc. Recent data on purchasing power parity between the US and Australia puts Australia at around 1.44 (which would pretty much eliminate the difference in exchange rates). Further, the cost of living outside of our biggest cities (Sydney, Melbourne) is a _lot_ lower. I don't think that it's well-known around the world, but I'd wager Perth as one of the best places to live in the world. Infrastructure, safety, stability, environment, cost of living, etc. are all first-class.

ummonk 4y ago

How much do you get paid as a fraction of what unionized tech workers in the US get paid?

ropable 4y ago
That's a difficult question for me to answer, given that 1) I'm in Australia and 2) "tech workers" is a very general term. Given the current exchange rate, I can say that I'm currently paid in the range of US$70000-80000 per annum (it varies a bit based on voluntary deployments to bushfire incidents that my org manages). It's a full-time role, mainly software dev but with the mix of sysadmin, BA, DBA and other odd IT jobs that any tech worker does. I coordinate 1-2 more junior software devs to a small extent. I have no idea how that compares to a similar role in the US, but over here that's a pretty comfortable middle-class wage.
- throwaway2037 4y ago
  I estimate 50% higher in tech-focused places in US. However, that would ignore worse work-life balance and insanely high living costs in those places! I sounds like you are being paid well. I would love to live in Perth for few years, then explore the beaches, reefs, and bush in my free time.
  - ropable 4y ago
    Yeah, it's difficult to compare wages across countries while also taking into account the differences in living costs, etc. Recent data on purchasing power parity between the US and Australia puts Australia at around 1.44 (which would pretty much eliminate the difference in exchange rates). Further, the cost of living outside of our biggest cities (Sydney, Melbourne) is a _lot_ lower. I don't think that it's well-known around the world, but I'd wager Perth as one of the best places to live in the world. Infrastructure, safety, stability, environment, cost of living, etc. are all first-class.