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Raspberry Pi daddy: Stroke your hardware at night, land a job easy
Eben Upton, a key player in the Raspberry Pi's genesis, said out-of-work graduates should get busy with computers in their spare time if they want to land a job. And he didn't mean logging into Facebook.
Speaking in a Google Hangout video chat conference call thing, Upton drew on his years of hiring newbies at chip giant …
Cutbacks hit CSIRO wireless unit
One of the CSIRO’s most successful research units – at least measured by the royalties it generates – is being slimmed down, according to the CSIRO Staff Association.
The union has called the job cuts “baffling” given the value of wireless research to the scientific body. Through a series of long-running lawsuits with vendors …
Annual reviews: It's high time we rid the world of this insanity
An inescapable and widely dreaded fact of life for people employed in the financial industry is the annual review. Unlike the way this process might have worked a few decades ago, and still does in most other industries, it’s not a simple matter of sitting down with your manager at the end of the year for a casual discussion of …
Skills shortage may crimp Asia's IT rise
Asia Pacific will once again be the envy of the tech world in 2013 as it posts steady ICT spending growth of near eight per cent, but a worsening skills shortage could hamper enterprise technology adoption, according to IDC.
The analyst’s top ten predictions for 2013 began with good news for the region (excluding Japan) in the 7 …
Outsourcing fingered as UBS cops £30m fine
The perils of outsourcing have again come under the spotlight after regulators investigating the $US2.3bn loss at Swiss bank UBS pointed to key risk management failings at a third party provider based in India.
The FSA and Swiss regulator FINMA launched a joint investigation into UBS in September 2011 after it came to light that …
Chinese cloud firm offers 'love bonus' to amorous staff
A Chinese cloud computing company has taken a novel approach to improving staff morale, ignoring all workplace common sense by encouraging its employees to hook up with each other, and with those of rival firms, in return for a financial reward.
Chengdu Cloud Computing, based in the booming tech hub of Chengdu, in western China’ …
Facebook gets into jobs market with recruitment board
Facebook has developed an application aimed at matching its users with available jobs as part of an initiative with the US government dubbed the Social Jobs Partnership (SJP).
"Nearly a year ago, the US Department of Labor joined the Social Jobs Partnership to explore better ways to connect people with job information through …
Job ad seeks devs to work two hour days in Australia
Want to work a two-hour work day in Australia, without all the hassle of moving to the anitpodes?
Perth company Realcognita may have just the job for you, after it published a job ad seeking staff whose “Working hours must at least overlap 2 hours of Perth business hours (GMT+8).”
Right now that means almost anyone from Europe …
Your job's going to Asia, in a good way
IT spending in APAC will grow by nearly eight per cent over the coming year to $743bn, with Western markets set to benefit eventually as successful Asian firms expand and hire abroad, according to analyst outfit Gartner.
The firm forecast spending in APAC to increase 7.8 per cent year-on-year in 2013, more than double the …
How to spot a terrible tech boss within SECONDS
Part 2 Having been an occasionally competent manager I know that nowhere in the spectrum from micromanagement to management-by-email suits everyone.
In fact, you people don’t even know what sort of boss you want. Your imaginary “manager I like” is really just the opposite of your most hated real-life superior, but what's missing is the …
Sysadmins: Basically a happy lot, but frustrated and underpaid
In old days, you used to throw raw meat into the glass house with an occasional paycheck and the mainframes pumped out the reports and processed the transactions somewhat magically as far as managers and users were concerned. But these days, all users are acquainted with computers and they know exactly who to blame – system …
Mmm, what's that smell: Coffee or sweat? How to avoid a crap IT job
Part 1 Do not try picking up a girl with the line: “You’re not as fat as my current girlfriend; if you sleep with me I’ll drop her as soon as she’s finished painting our bedroom.” Trust me on this, it doesn’t work. It should set off alarm bells in anyone's head.
Yet during job interviews, hopefuls are told things like: “We’re ditching …
How IT bosses turned the tables on our cushy consultancy gigs
I think I’ve been through enough economic cycles in my life to say that the nature of employment, at least in the financial-tech industry that I’m most familiar with, has changed fundamentally in the last few years.
If you’re a technology worker and your job suddenly seems unusually precarious, that’s because it is: fear of …
IT does its part for Obama US jobs creation in October
The economy in the United States added 171,000 net new jobs in October according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, higher than many economists had expected. Even better, more people were added to the payroll in August and September than the BLS had originally expected.
With the economy improving by some …
Big Data's big issue: Where are all the data scientists coming from?
Analysis Plug “data scientist” into Google and it is clear the job title has finally come of age and, suddenly there is a huge skills shortage.
An oft-quoted source about this shortage is a McKinsey Global Institute study, here. This predicts a talent gap of 140,000 to 190,000 people by 2018 in the US alone. I am always sceptical of IT …
A hundred Brit IT bods' jobs under threat at Direct Line
Exclusive Insurance group Direct Line is considering cutting up to 100 IT jobs in its plan to save £100m a year, some of which may go to outsourced employees.
The Direct Line Group confirmed to The Register that 100 jobs are in the middle of a 90-day consultation period that started on 5 September and that outsourcing in general was an …
IBM slices UK GTS contractor rates
IT contractors working for IBM Global Technology Services (GTS) in the UK are being hit with a 10 per cent rate cut from this week.
A Reg reader said that IT bods were being told that they had to accept the rate reduction from this weekend.
Recruitment firm Hays confirmed that contractors were getting their pay chopped, but …
Her Majesty's Secret Service opens a Q-Branch apprentice scheme
A scheme to recruit technical apprentices to work in MI5*, MI6** and UK communications spook central GCHQ*** is now open and accepting applications.
Successful Q-Branch apprentices will do paid work tackling cyber threats and organised crime, deep in the intelligence service headquarters in Cheltenham and London. The young …
Good news for Relational DBAs
Comment Those advocating emerging technologies and ideas often talk as if IT is a zero sum game. When something new comes along, the assumption is that something old needs to move aside to make way. We have seen this happen on a number of occasions in the data management space, with frequent claims relational databases becoming less and …
Amazon seeks 50,000 temporary elves to wrap up America's Xmas
Amazon will be taking on over 50,000 seasonal staff in the US to pack up the nation's Furbies, Lego and video games for Christmas.
The mega-etailer is already hiring 10,000 short-term staff in the UK and said today that it would need five times that for its centres in America.
“We’re hiring at our sites across the US for …
UNSW offers free online Computing 1 class
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has jumped on the international bandwagon of Universities giving their courses away for free, with a 12-week Computing 1 course starting today.
Available here, the course will be taught by Associate Professor Richard Buckland, an academic who specialises in security, cyber crime and cyber …
Asia skills shortages attract job-hunting IT project managers
There was good news today for IT pros keen on a move to Asia, with new data suggesting hiring expectations in the technology sector better than any other and a notable skills shortage emerging in Hong Kong.
It's not all happy days out East, though, as experts also warned of long working hours and risk of employee burn-out for …
US unemployment dips below 8 per cent, but IT sector takes a hit
The economy in the United States added as many jobs as economists had been expecting and President Obama had been no doubt praying for, and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 per cent, the first time it has been below 8 per cent since the current Great Recession began in December 2007.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics not only …
'It is absolute b*ll*cks that contractors aren't committed'
The academic who penned an Australian study into the working lives of freelance professionals says the results would, if they described full-time employees, mean human resources managers tick all the boxes needed to score a bonus.
The study in question, the 2012 iPro Index, was conducted by Monash University Senior Lecturer Dr …
Big Data skills gap needs filling says tech industry
Oracle OpenWorld Concern is growing in the US technology industry about a skills gap in education and training in the field of data analysis.
"Last 50 years arguably have been about computer science," said Jeremy Burton, VP of product operations for EMC, during his Monday keynote at Oracle OpenWorld. "The next 50 years are going to be about data …
Amazon UK: We're hiring 3,000 Xmas temps? Make that 10,000
Amazon UK has tripled the number of temp box packers it will hire in the Christmas run-up: 10,000 short-term packaging jobs will now be created at the company's UK shipment centres.
Amazon has eight so-called fulfilment centres in Rugeley, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Doncaster, Peterborough, Dunfermline, Inverclyde and …
Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'
Microsoft has entered the US immigration debate with a novel proposal for expanding the number of visas available for foreign techies: have companies pay the government a good chunk of change for an expanded number of them.
Redmond's general counsel Brad Smith, speaking on a panel discussing STEM (science, technology, …
Apple scrambled to hire iOS 6 maps engineers DAYS before launch
Apple posted job adverts for six iOS map engineers within the past ten days, perhaps preempting the storm of criticism over the controversial new map app in iOS 6.
Any effort to boost the software's team could be seen as too little, too late after fanbois and fangrrls across the world branded the new satnav-like service as …
CrimTrac seeks new CIO after incumbent joins Gartner
CrimTrac, Australia's agency charged with facilitating intelligence-sharing between States, Territories and the Commonwealth, is looking for a new CIO after incumbent Darin Brumby joined analyst firm Gartner.
Brumby's LinkedIn profile reveals the move, as does the fact that CrimTrac has advertised for his replacement. Gartner …
Budget-slash fest shaves 10% off IT mercenaries' day rates
Cost-cutting at banks and a squeeze in the public sector have pushed IT contractor day rates in the UK down by £38 since 2010.
Freelancing tech bods are therefore taking home £9,000 a year less than two years ago. But the recent RBS/Natwest banking crash offers a silver lining for developers: those skilled in the ancient ways of …
Labour groups booted out of China's tech boom town
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in China’s technology boom town of Shenzhen are up in arms after a sustained and co-ordinated campaign by local authorities forced more than ten to shutter their doors.
The Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen is home to one of China’s biggest technology manufacturing hubs, but workers’ rights …
US job market sneezing, blowing nose: Will we catch cold too?
The way the US economy is adding jobs each month – or rather, not adding a sufficiently large number of new workers – Mitt Romney will be six months into his second term or Hillary Clinton will be a half-year into her first term before the unemployment rate comes back down to levels before the Great Recession hit in December …
Amazon to create 5,000 UK jobs in Kindle Fire hire
Amazon is to bolster the UK launch of its Kindle Fire tablet by creating 5,000 full-time and temporary jobs in Blighty.
The web retailer will open three new distribution centres in Britain, and claims it will recruit 2,000 people on a permanent basis over the next two years - as well as 3,000 temporary workers during the run up …
Ex-pat IT pros have oversized packages
Ex-pat IT bosses working in Asia receive a gross pay package of more than $230,000 (£144,566) a year on average, but those fancying relocation may be better off financially if they head to less well-known parts of the region, according to new research from ECA International.
The consultancy, which helps firms manage …
Fired Toyota coder trashes systems, steals data
A fired former IT contractor for Toyota's US manufacturing wing has been ordered not to leave the country after allegedly accessing the company's servers, downloading proprietary information, and sabotaging its systems.
The automaker accuses Ibrahimshah Shahulhameed, who was dismissed from his contract programming job on August …
Leaked Genius Bar manual shows Apple's smooth seductions
A copy of the training manual used to prepare Apple employees for work at its in-store Genius Bars shows the smooth patter and sales mindset Cupertino seeks to indoctrinate into staff.
Before donning the sacred blue t-shirt and becoming a Genius Bar operative, staff must first pass through a 14 day training course teaching not …
Google crafts algorithms to get more women in more positions
Google has fine-tuned its search algorithms to hone in on many things, from web pages to stock quotes and flight times, but its latest challenge may be its most ambitious yet. It's hoping its vaunted data-crunching prowess can help it bring in more women.
By most accounts, geeks worldwide are falling all over themselves to land …
Technology tops Forbes list of 100 most powerful women
The latest list from Forbes of the 100 most powerful women on the planet suggests that the technology industry is leading the way in promoting sexual equality, contributing 15 per cent of the spots overall and a quarter of the top 20 positions.
The technology industry contributed more names to the list (see below) than any other …
Work for the military? Don't be evil, says ethicist
Engineers should refuse to work on killer robots, says Australian ethicist Dr Robert Sparrow.
Sparrow's definition of a killer robot includes the Predator drone, a weapon he finds objectionable because “Military robots are making it easier for governments to start wars, thinking that they won't incur any casualties on their own …
Mining boom sparks IT jobs rush
Australia’s mining and resources boom is driving demand for IT workers, as new, lucrative tenders see vendors and miners alike start work on new projects.
Kordia Solutions Australia snared a flagship coal seam gas tender this week with the AUD$90 million communications services contract from Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG), after …
High Schools putting kids off IT careers, deepening skills shortage
High School teaching of IT as a career actually puts kids off pursuing careers in the field, according to John Ridge, Executive Director of the Australian Computer Society Foundation Trust Fund (ACSF).
Ridge says general computer literacy courses in early high school are important and welcome, as employers expect some level of …
Why women won't apply for IT jobs
Women won't apply for IT jobs unless they are certain they meet every single criterion for the gig, according to John Ridge, Executive Director of the Australian Computer Society Foundation Trust Fund (ACSF).
Ridge and the ACSF run a national Work Integrated Learning scholarship scheme for IT workers in Australia and have, over …
