

Ask HN: Alternative to being a Java developer? - autoboxing

I have been working for almost 9 years primarily in Java&#x2F;J2EE development in Singapore with WebLogic as the application server and Oracle as the database. Since I am based in Singapore, there&#x27;s not much of development needed and mostly it&#x27;s all about maintenance of the existing systems. After 9 years of working, I have become disillusioned with the salary. The maximum salary an experienced Java developer can get is around 78000 SGD &#x2F; year (unless you&#x27;re working with financial trading systems). Over the years, Singapore government is practising policies of importing cheap developers from neighboring countries which practically makes programming in Singapore as commodity. Average salary has gone down these past few years for Java development work. Therefore, it&#x27;s very hard to justify to ask for a raise unless you go into management which is also pretty difficult since there&#x27;s almost no movement in career in big companies. I am considering to either move into being a business analyst or presales since I believe these positions are harder to be commoditized once you&#x27;re mastering a certain domain knowledge. What do you think?
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frodopwns
That is a difficult situation. Not knowing much about Singapore makes it
worse. I would consider using that java knowledge to develop apps for android.
That way you can deploy to millions of people and not have to worry about
specific details of the market in your local area. Easier said than done of
course.

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beat
Anything you can do to make yourself unique rather than a commodity is
valuable. Business _wants_ programmers to be commodities - it's easier for
them, because then they can deal with a market rate and not have to treat
anyone as special.

