Dear What Am I Worth,
I am a straight A+ student with a BSc (computer science and physics), MSc (1st class) and I am about to complete my PhD in physics. Throughout my years at university I have been programming software as part of my studies for modelling and analysis work. I have at least a year’s experience in C/C++, Matlab and Visual Basic as well as other software and languages.
I am familiar with and have set up networks for Win95/98/2000/Linux machines, though most of my development experience has been on Windows 2000 or Unix-based machines. With no significant commercial experience what do you think I would be worth as a scientific programmer? Would such a rare position be better found overseas?
Student
Pinnacle Recruitment replies: Great choice of majors. The languages you are using are in big demand - do you only want to do scientific programming? E-commerce application developers are looking for C and C++ programmers. I would suspect that given your lack of commercial experience, but with the right attitude and marketing (given your qualifications), you should walk into $US40,000 to$US45,000 job.
If you want to do scientific programming or research work, at an entry-level position you could expect something or the order of $US35,000 to $US40,000. Have a look on the nasa.gov website; it will point you at some opportunities. But remember you have to get the right work permits.
Submit your question to What Am I Worth?