Saliya Jinadasa

Hi

I have been working in the IT industry for 8 years as a Java/J2EE programmer. My strong desire to move away from IT and follow suit in mathematics prompted me to pursue a degree in Actuarial Studies. Finally, my dream of becoming an actuary came true. Even though I am leaving the IT field, the actuarial role still needs good technical skills as it involves data manipulation for modelling. My technical skills were a key in securing the job and I am glad they won�t be wasted.

I will still visit Javaranch site to from time to time to check on updates in Java/J2EE field.

-Saliya

I worked in Singapore for almost 7 years as a Java/J2EE Developer. People tend to work long hours there. I felt work places lacked efficiency. One notable difference is that I have not seen smart developers throughout my career there, only a few good once worth taking note of.

Now I work in Australia and I can clearly see the difference in work cultures. Here people have more respect for one another, more prfessional, do not work long hours, know how to balance personal life with professional life. Most importantly I have seen very smart people and working with them has been an absolute pleasure.

I know a Java developer who managed to get a break through as an Architect in the investment banking without having any experience as an Architect. When I asked the person about how he managed to get it, his answer was, that he did some smooth talking and bluffed in the interview. So I was wondering how credible interviews are assessing the candidates.

Saliya

Software Engineering appears at the top of the 50 best job list in US. 10 year job growth forecast is 46%. I am not sure how true these figures are.

I started actuarial studies hoping for a career change from Software Engineering to Actuarial Science, which appears at 23rd place on the same list.

top jobs
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/top50/index.html

Regards
Saliya

Saw this article on BBC web site. Very interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5272672.stm

Good to hear that this kind of major events happen in Sri Lanka.

What about having a separate forum for company specific quries so that people who are not interested in have a choice not to visit that forum ?

-Saliya

I am an analyst programmer and working towards becoming an actuary. If actuaries are accountants without personalities then I got to say analyst progammers are doing just monkeys jobs in the eyes of management( I have heard this myself from management)

So you got to select which one you want to be either a monkey or an accountant without personality

Hi Ranchers

I had a rather unexpected experience recently with a company that I joined. Once I joined for the first three weeks I was not given any direction or proper tasks to do. I had to ask for some work. Even now I am just doing miscellaneous things. I sit quite far away from the development team. This seems to be a problem for me as a new comer I prefer to stay close to the team so that I can get to know them better and get their support if needed.

These experiences have led me to wonder whether I am at the right place. My initial impression of the place totally changed.

Any of you guys have gone through any thing similar to this? If so I would like to find out how you dealt with it.

Regards
Saliya

Endure that struts.jar file got tld files inside it.

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Hi Saliya,

Thanks for your information. But, can you tell me what are your friend's qualifications? How about the salary range there?
Thanks.

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Hi

My frined has got more than 7 years of experience of which 3 years in Java/J2EE. For someone with 4-5 years of Java/J2EE can get somewhere around AUS $75K or above. You can check salaries at www.careeone.com.au

Market is very good for Java/J2EE developers specially in Sydney. It becomes quiet during xmas but will pick up again in Jan. A friend of mine visited Syndey for a week from overseas and managed to get 3 interviews within couple of days.

A very close friend of mine was working in London for a big bank as an analyst programmer with good money. He left the job to study medicine. He says he is very happy with his choice. In another two years he will become a doctor.

I am also in software industry working as an analyst programmer. I have the same sentiments as some of you guys. I do not see any future for me in IT. So I started part-time studies in Actuary hoping to become one in the next 3-4 years.

Hi,

I have same sentiments about stuck in a developer position for a long period of time. It scares hell out of me After much deliberation on where I want to be in the next 5 to 10 years, I decided to pursue a career in Actuary. I have already taken the first step by starting part-time studies on it. Hopefully within the next 3-5 years I can make a move in to a new career as an Actuary.

Regards
Saliya

Here is an interesting article published on "Australin IT" on moving IT projects back in-house.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,16054605%5E15317%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html