IBM Offer extremely low, Mainframe? Wtf lmao?

New
yPLG15

New

yPLG15
Sep 27, 2021 27 Comments

I have about 2 YOE nearing 3. I make $85,000 as a government contractor working with mainframes.

I got an offer from IBM, only $69,000 with $5,000 signing bonus. The position is for application development on mainframes that would involve heavy travel. Up to 3 days a week away from home.

This seems extremely low, even for mainframes.

Before I went through with the interview process I said I was looking to make at least $100,000.

The recruiter keeps saying they see potential and blah blah.

How low is this offer? Is $100,000 unreasonable given my YOE and the technology?

#ibm #negotiation #salary #salary #negotiate #negotiateoffer #salarycomparison

comments

Want to comment? LOG IN or SIGN UP
TOP 27 Comments
  • New
    LaBruja

    New

    LaBruja
    Not unreasonable. Ask for what you want. If you don't get it, keep interviewing
    Sep 27, 2021 0
  • IBM
    eDAi02

    Go to company page IBM

    eDAi02
    Baton Rouge means you’re being hired into a CIC. Did they explain this concept during your interview? CICs are exploitative delivery centers set up in LCOL cities. The company gets a bunch of grants and tax breaks for bringing “jobs” to the city. Your pay and benefits are much less than regular IBMers, which is already really low compared to market. I would advise you to tell IBM to pound sand.
    Sep 28, 2021 2
    • New
      yPLG15

      New

      yPLG15
      OP
      Interesting, No they did not mention that.
      Sep 28, 2021
    • IBM / Consultant
      banana-cup

      Go to company page IBM Consultant

      banana-cup
      CIC = Client Innovation Center

      No innovation happens there, it’s a low cost business unit due to low salary and nonexistent benefits.

      It’ll take you a few years to get back to your current salary, assuming you get on with your management
      Sep 28, 2021
  • New
    and3737

    New

    and3737
    I mean, here's a different/hot take - the COBOL developers with decades and decades of mainframe experience have TC that rivals FAANG folks... And that skillset is far more niche/rare and isn't anywhere near going away.

    You might start out with crap TC, but at the end of that ten year contract go work for Cobol Cowboys billing out fintech places for $500 an hour lol
    Sep 27, 2021 1
    • IBM / Consultant
      soNa08

      Go to company page IBM Consultant

      PRE
      Nielsen
      BIO
      no
      soNa08
      I personally wouldn't bet my career future that this would happen, you could just as easily make 🥜 while the mainframe work well dries up and find you have no current skills that employers want.
      Sep 27, 2021
  • Google
    SunPichai

    Go to company page Google

    SunPichai
    lol I worked on mainframe like 12 to 13 years back …
    Sep 27, 2021 3
    • IBM
      rLeI77

      Go to company page IBM

      rLeI77
      Transfer out early, unless you want to build a niche out of it
      Sep 27, 2021
    • Google
      SunPichai

      Go to company page Google

      SunPichai
      Mainframe developer(3.5 years) —> frontend manual tester (1.5 years) —> Automation engineer (1 year) —>
      SDET (1.5 years) —>
      software engineer (3 years) —>
      senior software engineer(2.5 years) —>
      L5 SDE at Google (current role)
      Sep 27, 2021
  • IBM
    Fakibm

    Go to company page IBM

    Fakibm
    Ibm defn pays way more than that but not sure why you got such a low pay.
    Did you apply for coop or something?
    They offer ~100k for clg grads in mcol-lcol, this year it's more.
    Sep 27, 2021 3
    • IBM
      Fakibm

      Go to company page IBM

      Fakibm
      Do u know what band the offer is for?
      Seems like b5 offer tbh
      Clg grads start at 6 or 7
      Sep 27, 2021
    • New
      yPLG15

      New

      yPLG15
      OP
      I have no idea what band it is. Do you have the pay ranges for each band? I could ask him the next time we speak. I updated my first response to you with more info btw.
      Sep 27, 2021