Sucker fish
Summary Description IT salaries are completely
out of whack, says Simon Vandore.
Author
Publication
Roullas Top10 Simon Vandore
Newswire
No
Editorial InformationArticle Location
http://www.newswire.com.au/0005/ov23.htm
Article Topic Vandore
Story Order
Story Group 000528
Post Date 23/05/2000 09:18 AM Status Posted Entered by Simon
Vandore on 22/05/2000 05:29 PM
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Content
Introduction
Ever been to an aquarium? A big one, where sharks glide along
behind the glass? If so, you will have noticed those symbiotic
fish swimming beside them, in the shadows behind each shark's
gills. Apparently they're called remoras, or 'shark suckers'.
Remoras have a head that acts like a suction cup, allowing them
to stick onto sharks for a ride and a free feed.
Body
Underwater, the shark gets the better end of the deal. Sure, the
shark does all the work, but it also has its pick of the rewards.
The remoras keep the shark clean and well-presented and in return
. . . well, they don't get eaten. But in business, it's better to
be a symbiont.
This is my segue into a discussion of the relationship between
inventors and those who live off their creation, but let's cut to
the chase. It puzzles me that the ingenious minds who create
products in the IT industry are invariably paid far less than the
marketeers, salespeople, PR consultants and advertisers who sell
the stuff.
This seems particularly so in Australia, where programmers'
salaries, for example, leave a great deal to be desired. Good
programmers are a rare breed with a special type of intelligence
and years of study. I think they deserve far more respect than
they receive.
People say a killer app 'sells itself', but its marketeers and
advertisers are still usually paid as much or more than the
programmers, even if the creator owns the company. Things are a
little bit better in the US, where a culture of technology
startups is more supportive of inventors, but most still have
appoint a figurehead to front the business.
Perhaps it just reflects a need for a charismatic person to
represent a company, no matter how brilliant its creation? The
tanned, power-dressing image of the marketing department and CEO
versus the sloppily presented technologist. But I can't help
feeling that it amounts to exploitation, particularly in the
big-money dot com startups.
It is well known that once a company reaches a certain level of
success, the founder usually feels alienated and wants to move
on. That person often starts another company, and someone with a
different mind-set takes the reins of the original for an
extraordinary sum. It's a similar situation; those who benefit
most from the product are not always the people behind it.
Sure, it's the same in journalism -- us humble pen-pushers are
just not paid the same as the advertising department. But the
'skill' involved in writing an opinion column does not measure up
to the expertise of programmers and hardware inventors. Something
is amiss when sheer mathematical genius is worth five figures,
and fast talking scores six.
Maybe it's just a matter of compensation, because it sucks to be
a remora.
SOUNDING BOARD: Are IT salaries too high? Have your say!
Vandore is an occasional Newswire column. You can contact
Simon Vandore at svandore@acptech.net.
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