> You know, I've never heard anyone work so hard to justify staying 
> miserable.

You haven't met my mother, have you?

>> Currently my employer loses around four million USD per year. 
> 
> Then it's definitely time to find a new job, wouldn't you say?

At what point have I ever suggested that now is not, in fact, the time 
to find a new job? :-P

>> Right. Well then I guess it's just that everybody I've met happens to 
>> be fairly poor then.
> 
> If you rarely leave MK then that's probably true, yes.

You're right. I should go live in London, where everybody is still poor, 
but everything costs 80x as much. :-P

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>> Most of the "graduate jobs" I can find say something like £18,000 or 
>> maybe even £20,000 if you have a 1st degree [which I don't].
> 
> You're looking in the wrong place.

I had concluded that this was probably the case, yes. (But this just 
raises the question of "where should I look then?")

> I made something like $35k *after* 
> taxes upon graduating from college, at a company no better off than 
> yours. In 1985. And this wasn't in a big bustling city either.

Don't wages vary depending on which country you work in though?

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> You're looking in the wrong place. I made something like $35k *after* 
> taxes upon graduating from college, at a company no better off than yours. 
> In 1985. And this wasn't in a big bustling city either.

You're on the other side of the world, you can't really compare.  For 
example Andrew gets free healthcare and probably a lot more paid vacation 
than you did there, not to mention the cost of living, taxes etc.  Even 
between Germany and UK it is very different (eg Engineers get paid about 50% 
more in Germany).

Post a reply to this message

scott wrote:

> Even between Germany and UK it is very different (eg Engineers get 
> paid about 50% more in Germany).

Is this why Germany is legendary for having some of the best engineering 
in the world?

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>> Even between Germany and UK it is very different (eg Engineers get paid 
>> about 50% more in Germany).
>
> Is this why Germany is legendary for having some of the best engineering 
> in the world?

I don't think so, most Germans don't realise that they are getting paid more 
than people in the UK (and vice-versa I would imagine).  I think it's more 
to do with culture here, in that it seems (with my very limited sample 
size!) that more people are willing to pay for things to be done properly, 
and won't choose a cheaper alternative that is of lower quality.  This 
results in some products simply not being available because there is no 
demand for them, and probably contributes to the way things are designed in 
the first place.

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scott wrote:

> I think 
> it's more to do with culture here, in that it seems (with my very 
> limited sample size!) that more people are willing to pay for things to 
> be done properly, and won't choose a cheaper alternative that is of 
> lower quality.  This results in some products simply not being available 
> because there is no demand for them, and probably contributes to the way 
> things are designed in the first place.

Ah, I see.

Most people I've met see only the price tag. Yes it's nice to have a 
better product, but look at the price tag...

I think I mentioned at some point the horrifyingly low levels of 
customer service that most companies provide. Most people wouldn't 
switch to another provider to get better service, only to get a lower 
price. Three guesses where that lower price comes from.

Personally, I'm one of those people who doesn't mind paying more money 
if I actually get a better product. Then again, I shop at John Lewis, so 
apparently I'm crazy.

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"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
news:4b64af7c@news.povray.org...
>
> Well.. that one's more debatable. "I'm used to large
infrastructure" is

I wouldn't say "used to," it's slang. I would say,
"accustomed to."

~db

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"DungBeatle" <dun### [at] moscowcom> wrote in message
news:4b6860ab$1@news.povray.org...
> "Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
> news:4b64af7c@news.povray.org...
> >
> > Well.. that one's more debatable. "I'm used to large
> infrastructure" is
>
> I wouldn't say "used to," it's slang. I would say,
> "accustomed to."
>
> ~db

And of course, the proper way is, "to which I am
accustomed."

But that might sound snobbish...
~db

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DungBeatle wrote:
> I wouldn't say "used to," it's slang. I would say,
> "accustomed to."

Huh. I wouldn't have said that. "Accustomed" is more formal, but "used to" 
is just fine I think.  Sometimes one can go too far in being formal, to the 
point where one starts saying "utilize" instead of "use" even when it means 
the wrong thing, etc.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Forget "focus follows mouse." When do
   I get "focus follows gaze"?

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DungBeatle wrote:
> And of course, the proper way is, "to which I am
> accustomed."

Not really. :-)

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Forget "focus follows mouse." When do
   I get "focus follows gaze"?

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