lordally:


You're a good man ...God bless you for opening his eyes!!!! See we have so many software developers who just learnt how to code and are good at it but they refused to get other Necessary skills to go with it like NETWORKING!!!! see , I just helped a software developer with less than 1yr experience who has applied for lots of jobs on LinkedIn, get a job even though I'm still yet to be a software developer... The little network I have can give me a job but I don't have the skill yet....of which I'm currently studying JavaScript....

Software developers should know that coding alone isn't all you need... You need other skills like NETWORKING , the Act of salary Negotiations etc.

This is one of the reasons why I mentioned a lot of devs are unattractive

JFOD:


Hmm , that sounds aggressive (I'm not sure of your intention but I think you mean well though, because you attached a link).

I'm actually aware of Glassdoor (what you first referenced) and payscale.

OP said someone who knows his/her onions should shoot for 4k.

According to pay scale, a junior back end developer annual salary starts from 60+ (around 5k per month).

Can you see the difference?

Another thing is, I don't think a person with 2-3 active exp can be categorised as a junior (so if I'm to go with that, its going to be higher than that).

Almost twice of what OP quoted if not more than

There can be discrepancies in figures quoted by job boards based on a lot of factors including the location of the company and whether it's a start up or not and of course, years of experience. For example, the figure below is what ziprecruiter is quoting for my niche $74/hr but that figure is ambiguous.

While I have some software development experience, I have little blockchain experience (as with a lot of people out there) and I get paid $50/hr which is even below the lower band of ziprecruiters figure. So the 4k I quoted in the post is just a rough estimate of what an experienced dev should be expecting plus or minus some margins.

pixey:
Nigerian or no Nigerian,you should see yourself as an equal or even better than foreigners.Stop justifying such discrimination because Nigeria is a dead country. We have geniuses that are ten times better than them. Stop this mindset please.

Without adequate exposure plus the suppressing nature of Nigeria, Nigerian devs would think they're not giod enough. I can say I've collaborated with devs in all the continents and one thing is certain, WHAT YOU KNOW IS WHAT YOU KNOW. Javascript in Nigeria is the same in Puerto Rico or Holland. Why should anyone look down on you just because you're from Nigeria. Again, the painful part is that most Nigerians deliberately choose to be trodden upon. At least that's what I could gather from the recruiter.

airsaylongcome:


PayPal?! My employers pay directly into my Nigerian Dom account. And they pay ALL the charges without touching a cent from my pay.

Being employed isn't charity my brother. Put in the effort to be good at what you do. Trust me they will bend all the rules for you. This mentality of them doing you a favour is what makes Nigerian IT guys under price themselves.

I remember turning down a Tekxperts job because the pay was rubbish. And I was unemployed at the time o. So no, employers aren't doing you a favor. You are providing value for them. And should be paid your worth.

So on point. No one is doing anyone any favour. And for the middlemen-like companies milking employees dry, it's because everything goes in Nigeria. And these are the ones popularizing Nigeria as a tech slave port.

CSTR2:
Go to upwork.

Many Nigerians are struggling to get jobs just by the reputation of their country.

It would take years of building our reputation by consistently producing globally acceptable quality, for us to compete favourably with devs from Europe and America.

And that is what determines value.

A beggar has no choice.

Not everybody is you.
Most people are just struggling to get in the door.

A beggar has no choice?

These are the kind of mindsets that shouldn't be promoted. We shouldn't let our background as Nigerians put our backs on the ground.

Remember, by employing you, they're not doing you any more favour than you're doing them. Ffs, no one should become a hypothetical beggar in a recruitment. No matter the hardship, no matter how saturated the market is, you've still got some value.

Karleb:


Seriously, the Nigerian recruiters are not helping matters. You'd see them wanting a full stack developer with 2 years of experience for N150k per month full time.

When a developer is used to such meager pay, they would never believe they have the right to earn huge amounts especially if they are not yet seniors.

Some companies even ask to bring payslip of former working place.

I once read of a company that recruited for one top foreign tech company's scheme in Lagos Island, they were paying their developers N150k, short changing them, these people were just like middle men o. During COVID-19, the original employers shared $500 as relief packages but this Lagos company converted it to loan.

Some developers are naive though.

This is man's inhumanity to another man.

genaro2000:
I would suggest if there’s a way all software developers in Nigeria can come together, because some of them don’t know that what they are doing is wrong, and whatever they do will affect everyone of us.
Both aspiring and experienced ones, we should have a platform for Nigerian software developers, so that we won’t have issues like this. Because reading this, I felt really bad and annoyed.

I think it makes sense. It wouldn't be nice for Nigeria to be labelled as the go-to place for the cheapest "labour".

These recruiters network within themselves as well and they work with multiple companies, it wouldn't take much time before words get out and they start offering us $100/month �

Femmyfestus:

Please sir, what websites can i get this remote jobs.

There are a lot of those websites out there. My most successes have been through LinkedIn.

Wilder is a warrior but Fury is not a human being. A.J may die in the ring fighting any ot these two.

Hannania:
Good morning sir. I'm just getting started on this field. By December, my learning level will be up for junior dev role.

If I may ask, your input to get remote internship to get cooperate experience would be appreciated

I receive at least one email per week with the same question. I hope to create a thread soon where I'll share my own journey and practical tips to transition from a learner to landing the first remote job. I can't address it here cos it'll be too long. The problem is alot of people are learning which is good but they're doing so in a way that makes them unattractive to employers especially foreign companies.

Not to brag but I got my first remote role just 4 months after I started learning. I ascribe that to favour and the fact that I had a clear path to follow which others too have followed and achieved the same result. There is no secret here whatsoever, everything is available in public space for free. Of course, individual realities will differ.

tensazangetsu20:

Seriously I don't know why but I believe if one is too cheap they don't know what they are doing. I remember wanting to hire a designer for some complex design and he told me 10k. I never contacted him again. I assumed him to be a quack.

You risk appearing like a quack when you under price yourself. If you were a lady, would you give your butt or boobs to a plastic surgeon who charged you 50k naira?. I bet you'll run for your life. Same analogy is applicable here.

talk2hb1:

Just throway face my brother,
I interviewed a junior developer sometime last year and he said he is looking forward to 60,000naira monthly. I jẹ́jẹ́ly told him wé will think about it.

That's it. Placing little value on yourself could be interpreted by employers as you don't believe in yourself. Why should an employer believe in you when you don't believe in yourself.

airsaylongcome:


How will he foot his internet bill? Power bill nko? My internet costs almost 50k a month. Let's not add energy and other costs. Minimum anyone should be earning in tech is easily x4 of the $500 per month figure. Even slave trade crossover.com pay a minimum of $10/hour for software testers. That's $1600 per month (assuming crossover doesn't decide to be mad and deduct pay because you briefly looked away from your computer).

I'm surprised I've not seen them come to this thread saying exchange rate is 560/$ and $500 is almost 300k naira. That's how they justify it. A lot of those companies now know what's up and do everything in their power to out negotiate you. Not because you're not competent but because you're Nigerian.

BECALMBECALM:
This is ridiculous. How could someone with three years experience on his job accept salary of 500 dollars/month ? You can only see such people in Nigeria. Very useless country. Even here in Asia people that are doing menial jobs can make 500 dollars in
three to fours days.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear a dev is on less than $500/month working with a foreign company.

People's eyes are not yet opened to blockchain development around here. It's in 3 to 5 years when the ecosystem is becoming saturated, that's when you'll start seeing topics like "Help, How can I become a blockchain dev"? There's global scarcity of blockchain devs right now.

ClixMaster:
The same way a first class graduate is accepting 30k job offer in Nigeria is the same way a web developer can accept $500. Most have no choice.

Bro, there's nothing you want to tell me about hardship that I haven't experienced. Hunger and trekking from Gbaremu market to Ologuneru (Ibadan) on a 15k naira/month teaching job even with a MSc. Let me not even begin.

Like I said, a beginner needs that one opportunity to get in the industry and that's it. My targets here know themselves. They're experienced, they request for shitty pay to the extent that companies are now bench marking those dev's compensation to what is considered fair pay for the rest of us just because we're Nigerians. When you start hearing a company say (unofficially) that "We have a Nigerian in our books who is on 1/4 of what you're demanding" you know it's bad market.

shegzhkn:


I also think the awful pay devs. get in Nigeria is also part of the whole situation and also the inability to be able to discern the value they are bringing to the table.

Yeah. But those are Nigerian companies operating within the economic limitations of Nigeria. A US company that you read online that just raised $153m second round funding, you went to the interview and requested for $500/month. I have an issue with that.

shegzhkn:


Lol, did she hint you on the amount they had in mind for the jobs they are outsourcing, but it actually funny because apart from the fact that you can breath life into an idea and get to solve problem I'm pretty sure the monetary aspect is also an incentives to want to learn to code.

Why the hell will they even go so low.

The best way to figure it out is to think about how much value you'll be adding based on your job description would be adding in dollar terms to the company. Nobody cares who wrote the application whether you live Somalia or bauchi as long as the app works as expected. The company is making money, everybody including the janitor(who earns more than you) smiles home with a fair pay except you.

kennethfranc:
I believe it's mostly caused by lack of exposure... You can't expect someone who have been learning for +7months without a tangible income source to turn down an offer just like like.
I bet 70% of the "gurus" will do the same if they where in there shoes.
More awareness will help a lot

I would say a beginner can accept anything as their first gig just to get their foot in the door. But can you imagine a developer with 2 to 3 years experience who has shipped code to production many times asking for $500/month at interviews?

ClixMaster:
Forget English, na person wey get hope or money dey get strength to bargain salary.

Have you wondered why those companies don't call you back sometimes?

shegzhkn:


Lol, poor orientation and exposure.
So did the recruiter told you they are now thinking of exploiting the devs. even more since they don't know their worth ??

What do you expect? I didn't need to ask her. A business wants to make money and cut cost. And some of these devs are really good. I've worked with a good number of devs in Nigeria and I dont fail to bring up this topic. The outcome has always been the same. They made me feel greedy. I needed this confirmation from a recruiter just to be sure.

I've engaged with some developers on nairaland about this topic and out of frustration, I just surrendered.

Since the pandemic and the popularization of remote work, it's no longer news that western tech companies now look to source talents from Africa and Some parts of Asia. The rationale is to cut cost.

A recruiter that recruits for some of these tech companies recently told me that they no longer disclose potential salary budget to candidates from Africa, especially Nigeria.

She mentioned that they are always shocked at the salary expectations of candidates. She went further to state that 9 out of 10 candidates from Africa request for between 20% to 80% below the budget of the companies( Even though the company is already saving a lot by recruiting from Africa). And the fact that she mentioned Nigeria specifically got me a little angry.

Why tf will you guys be asking for $500/month for a software development role no matter whether its entry level or not? What values do you place on yourself? Just because you live in Nigeria? A cleaner does not even get paid $500/month in those companies. Do you feel good knowing the colleague you'll be working with is earning ×5 of what you're being paid and you're probably even adding more value. Don't you get angry?

The painful part is that some of these companies didnt even offer to pay you these miserable salaries, you requested it yourself.

Sometime ago, on another thread here on NL, on the same topic of remote job compensation, some folks came to the thread with alot of justification why $500/month is a good offer. They cited exchange rate, poverty rate in Nigeria, how there's no job and every other pathetic reasons why they should slave away to a western company. I can't even begin to reason the ones that are hawking their "skills" here on NL offering to build a full fledged e-commerce site with integrated payment solutions for 10k naira.

I don't care what you say, if you know your shit and have good self esteem, you can earn as much as $4k/month. Before you come here and start reciting all the impossibilites in your books, know that I'm writing from a position of knowledge. I have statistics and real life examples to substantiate this figure. I myself have been working remotely even before the pandemic.


I wouldn't have bothered to even write, but this development is now coming back to bite some of us just because we answer the name Nigerian.

I can't believe I just read this.

I was working on integrating the Lightning Network on a blog website earlier this week and it struck me how easy it is to monetize post likes, shares or even views on Nairaland. It'll herald a whole new dimension of usage on NL.

Step 1: The handlers of NL could create a standard ERC20 token and call it any name they wish.

Step 2: Integrate the Lightning Network on the platform using polar. Interested OPs could follow simple steps to update their profiles to allow receiving tokens by integrating their wallets.

Step 3: Post likes (or any other predetermined metrics) could be rewarded with the tokens.

The scope could be expanded to making people with tokens reward quality posts they liked as well.

And with good tokenomics, perhaps, the token could gain wider adoption and have real life value that can be exchanged with naira or any other currencies for that matter. Nairaland has millions of visitors (according to the owners) and a strong community so the most difficult aspect is taken care of.

But then, crypto is banned in Nigeria.

hahn:


Beautiful read.

The most valuable lesson you should have learnt is this, "often to control a powerful person you need to find out who is controlling that powerful person and control them instead".

Obviously the soldier really loves his wife and since you got close to the wife there is no way she would allow anything bad happen to you.

You really had nothing to worry about

Absolutely.

It was just one beautiful family with lovely kids and a wife that loves and is proud of her husband. Although the Major acted like a saddist most times but you could tell she loves his wife.

emmanok24:
OP, your story is completely TRUE!

I attended Command Children School, Letmauck Barracks for my primary education and know the barracks like the back of my hands and currently suppply drinks to the Officer’s Mess which is on the same road as the Officer’s Quarters and Sappers Bar inside the Barracks.

All of your description are apt and very correct and the eerie feeling on that road is so true!

Hope you chop some barracks babe before you vamooze? �

Many times, I would walk the whole length of that road just to clear my head. I loved the serenity and the shade provided by the many trees along that route made it enjoyable.

As for babes, barrack girls were too wild for me. Just too unrefined, the really good ones were borderline prostitutes. I hope to share some of the strangest experiences with barrack girls some of these days.

Solosolojohquay:
Which state did the officer and his wife come from

I wouldn't like to disclose any further details about them but they are not Hausas.

luminouz:

What if you can?

Was he hiding or did he do something nbad to be ashamed of?

Abeg help me ask am o. My story was the same as I told it at the interview in case the interviewers see this and recall the story. I didn't lie against the couple. He/She probably knows the story and possibly knows me. Possibly an ex-corper that served with me.

onomeabuja:

oyà finish d story nah

I just did.

Ishilove:

Leave the shalaye and finish the story before interest wanes

I just finished the story.

onomeabuja:

no mind d Op bt make him continu shà i got nothing doing @moment

I wish you would truly believe me. I could have mentioned the Major's name but that would not be nice. But the name of the GOC at the barracks at the time was Brigadier General Chukwu. Any corper or soldier who lived at Lemauck Cantonement between 2008 or 2009 reading this could confirm this. Corpers occupied 130 rooms in the barrack so we were quite many. I don't know about now.

22o62021:
You wrote this from your imaginations

This is absolutely no fiction. Thank God the interviewers didn't feel this way. They had my CV and saw where I served. I later went on to do my masters at the University of Ibadan. Anyway, I have no control over what you choose to believe. Just my little frightening experience.