Hello and questions about teaching and IT jobs

[KiwiHopeful]

Hello all! Great forum and community you have here!

I have some history and some questions ... sorry if I'm overwhelming in my first post here, but obviously moving literally 1/2 way around the globe is a big decision.

First, some history. I've been thinking about moving to NZ for a little over two years now. My EOI has been sitting on the NZIS site for a year now, waiting for me to convince my wife moving to NZ would be a good decision. I want to go to find a better quality of life than we have here in the US. Obviously, I'm not talking about the creature comforts, but the WAY we live.

I'm a secondary-level English teacher and school administrator, and my wife is a project manager for a software company. I have education beyond a master's degree in education, so I'm sure I can get about 145 points (if I've filled out my EOI properly). My wife has a degree in history, with some credits toward an MBA, though she has been in her position for 7 years, doing largely non-technical work in the IT field.

So, what do you think our employment prospects are? I'm not looking to make it rich--if I were, I'd leave teaching and stay here in the US--but I do have my sons to look out for, one who is 3 and the other who is just under a year old.

Also, I could probably land in NZ with about $100,000 USD in my pocket. Would that be enough to, in effect, 'start over' without having to ... well, live like we were really starting over.

Again, sorry for the long post, but thank you in advance for your help. :)

Hi,

Welcome to the forum!

I wouldn't worry about finding work, there's always plenty of teacher and project manager jobs available!

$100,000US is about $140,000NZ at the moment, which is a good start for sure. Many people have come here with a great deal less and have made it without problem. One thing to realise though, shifting countries is starting over no matter how much money you have. As long as you're willing to grasp the lifestyle with both hands, there are probably very few more rewarding countries than NZ.

Knowing from the start that NZ is a lifestyle choice, not a financial one, is the only way to go. The only people that fail and go home are the ones who are not willing to change themselves, or expect to be instantly rich and live in a mansion somewhere.

If you're friendly, laid back and willing to adopt the kiwi way, you'll do great. Your kids will be eternaly grateful for you bringing them here! We've spoken to many people who were brought here as kids, who have gone for a visit to their 'mother land' and returned to NZ thankful that their parents made the choice to move!

If you've got any more questions, then fire away! Long posts aren't a problem at all, so no need to apologise!

[MotherBear]

[color=red:d88d099f5d]Hi Kiwihopeful, hope you'll find this item of some interest[/color:d88d099f5d]

[b:d88d099f5d]IT Skills in Shortage - New Zealand [/b:d88d099f5d]

Following yesterday?s report detailing a large number of shortage skills in New Zealand, today we?re focusing on IT Skills. The Department of Labour has surveyed 16 major IT recruitment agencies to discover which IT vacancies were easiest to fill and which were most difficult.

The survey revealed New Zealand?s employers face growing difficulties in recruiting IT staff. 74 skill-sets, (out of 140 analyzed), were found to be in shortage - an increase from 55 in 2004 and 13 in 2003. To be in shortage at least half the recruiters need to find it difficult or very difficult to find suitable candidates with a particular skill.

The Department found the most severe shortages were in J2EE, data warehousing applications, Java, business analysis and CCNE. In general, recruitment of staff was hardest in network engineering, application development, framework development, and process and systems management.

Least difficulty was found in telecommunications and multimedia IT.
[b:d88d099f5d]
The Ten IT Skills Hardest to Recruit [/b:d88d099f5d]

Skill % recruiters finding it difficult / v. difficult to get candidates
J2EE 100%
Data warehousing 94%
Java 94%
Business analysis 93%
CCNE 93%
CCNA 88%
Biztalk 88%
Visual Basic.net 88%
UML 88%
ASP.net 87%

The percentages in specific examples below indicate the number of recruiters who found the skill difficult or very difficult to fill. Only shortage skills are shown.

Databases Skills in shortage:
Data warehousing (94%), Oracle (81%), Sybase SQL Server (75%), MS SQL Server (69%), DB2 (50%).

Application Development Skills in shortage:
Java (94%), Visual Basic.net (88%), C#.net (87%), Visual C++ (76%), C++ (75%), PL/SQL (69%), Oracle Forms (62%), Embedded C (57%).

Application Design Skills in shortage:
UML (88%), Rational Rose (87%) and Testing Driven Development NUnit (56%).

Web Development Skills in shortage:
ASP.net (87%), Advanced Web Design (50%), ASP (50%), XML (50%).

Media Development Skills in shortage:
None.

[KiwiHopeful]

Taffy--

TY for the sage advice. For me, it is 100% about lifestyle, [i:05684e5ab8]especially[/i:05684e5ab8] for my kids. Last Christmas vacation we spent some time in Montreal and it made me realize just how unhappy most Americans are, how much stress we carry, how little concern we generally give to those around us. It only steeled my resolve to find a better way of life for my sons. From all I've read, NZ is the place my boys and I need to be. :)

Mother Bear--

TY for the information. I have to admit, I know very, very little about the IT stuff--heck, I couldn't even tell you what my wife does now! She began as a project manager for a 'traditional' software package, and now she works with an ASP product ... I'll share your post with her because she'll be able to make sense of it, I'm sure! :)

I have another question which anyone can weigh in on ... Why is there such a severe teacher shortage in NZ? It appears, from what I've read, that lots of Kiwis go to Oz for jobs--and that teachers go to Oz and the UK. Is it just the pay, or is there more to it than that?

Again, thanks! :icon_biggrin:

[moggy]

[quote:91209ba0e6="Mother Bear"]
[b:91209ba0e6]
The Ten IT Skills Hardest to Recruit [/b:91209ba0e6]

Visual Basic.net 88%
UML 88%
ASP.net 87%

[/quote:91209ba0e6]

:icon_biggrin: :icon_biggrin: :icon_biggrin: :icon_biggrin:

[nattydread]

[quote:6ab28500a7]The Ten IT Skills Hardest to Recruit

Skill % recruiters finding it difficult / v. difficult to get candidates
J2EE 100%
Data warehousing 94%
Java 94%
Business analysis 93%
CCNE 93%
CCNA 88%
Biztalk 88%
Visual Basic.net 88%
UML 88%
ASP.net 87%
[/quote:6ab28500a7]

somebody forgot to put IBM As400 / iSeries on the list.
Those positions are so hard to fill they've stopped advertising them..

:icon_cry:

[jamesthecarman]

[quote:7c209c1990="nattydread"][quote:7c209c1990]The Ten IT Skills Hardest to Recruit

Skill % recruiters finding it difficult / v. difficult to get candidates
J2EE 100%
Data warehousing 94%
Java 94%
Business analysis 93%
CCNE 93%
CCNA 88%
Biztalk 88%
Visual Basic.net 88%
UML 88%
ASP.net 87%
[/quote:7c209c1990]

somebody forgot to put IBM As400 / iSeries on the list.
Those positions are so hard to fill they've stopped advertising them..

:icon_cry:[/quote:7c209c1990]

:icon_lol: I think the same thing happened to the abacus (it's still taught in schools though....not as math, but as history) :icon_wink:

[selchie]

[quote:03393f8270="Mother Bear"]Skill % recruiters finding it difficult / v. difficult to get candidates
...Java 94% [/quote:03393f8270]
So are they really that short of people who can make a mean cuppa joe? :icon_biggrin: