I have worked at CUNY in NYC for 3 years now. The main things that I have discovered about working in a university environment are:
1. Make sure you are in the 'System'!!!
I was promoted recently, and this confused payroll to the extent that my first check since the promotion came 6 weeks after the fact.
2. Whenever providing a timeline for a project, double (if not triple) the time to compensate for the bureaucratic B.S. that will definitely prolong development time.
That's a fact. You can almost work out a formula for this. To illustrate, I recently created a web interface to move a prof's course from BlackBoard5 to BlackBoard6. It took 2 days to get port 80 open for the server. The reason given by the portmaster was "I don't want to act too quickly, because then everyone will expect it".
3. The benefits definately add to the salary
I pay about $14 a month for full health coverage. You really can't beat that. Thats $168 per year. Also, vacation time is mandatory ( if you are in a Union situation:)
4. The work environment is nice and liberal
I love the people that I work with. My department is friendly, and with a few exceptions, everyone is a "friend" with each other (in an office sense).
Have fun! The pay will not be what it is in the private sector, but I'm happy with my situation for the time being, and job security is nothing to laugh at in the tech industry.
Slashdot Mirror
I have worked at CUNY in NYC for 3 years now. The main things that I have discovered about working in a university environment are:
:)
1. Make sure you are in the 'System'!!!
I was promoted recently, and this confused payroll to the extent that my first check since the promotion came 6 weeks after the fact.
2. Whenever providing a timeline for a project, double (if not triple) the time to compensate for the bureaucratic B.S. that will definitely prolong development time.
That's a fact. You can almost work out a formula for this. To illustrate, I recently created a web interface to move a prof's course from BlackBoard5 to BlackBoard6. It took 2 days to get port 80 open for the server. The reason given by the portmaster was "I don't want to act too quickly, because then everyone will expect it".
3. The benefits definately add to the salary
I pay about $14 a month for full health coverage. You really can't beat that. Thats $168 per year. Also, vacation time is mandatory ( if you are in a Union situation
4. The work environment is nice and liberal
I love the people that I work with. My department is friendly, and with a few exceptions, everyone is a "friend" with each other (in an office sense).
Have fun! The pay will not be what it is in the private sector, but I'm happy with my situation for the time being, and job security is nothing to laugh at in the tech industry.