Japan's once-dominant carmakers grapple with big salaries for IT staff

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cwerdna

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This sort of related to why many of us find Carwings... er Nissan Connect to be not very good and why automakers generally haven't been very good at writing software.

Japan's once-dominant carmakers grapple with big salaries for IT staff
http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/ct-japan-it-salaries-blm-bsi-20161231-story.html
Headhunter Casey Abel spent four months trying to hire a data-center architect for a Japanese automaker, including five meetings with the client — one with the top executive. In the end, the IT specialist joined an e-commerce company abroad for significantly more money.

"There's just a massive mismatch in salaries," said Abel, managing director at recruiter HCCR K.K., who has spent as long as a year trying to land some IT candidates. "You've got some engineers making 20 million yen ($170,000) a year. Then you try to fit them in the traditional manufacturer-based salary structure where it should be 7 to 9 million yen."
There's a lot more to story and as the story later goes onto say (quoting an analyst) "Japan has an educated and intelligent population, but many highly motivated and capable individuals in these fields flock to areas like Silicon Valley."

7 million yen is currently just under $60K USD and and 9 million yen is currently just shy of $77K. Those salaries would be a joke in Silicon Valley if you want someone experienced, let alone top notch and experienced. (Part of it is due to salaries having to be inflated to get people to come here due to the very high cost of living: mainly insane houses costs and high taxes.)
 
Yes, when I worked in Japan more than 25 years ago, for a big Civil Engineering/Construction, they where "grappling" with how a foreigner would fit in within their normal pay scale.

I can see how this would be a challenge for the fast changing IT world too in Japan.

I do see Govenment agencies in California struggling too.
 
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