IT jobs in Bogota?

durito says on Jan 1, 2008, 15:26:

Even if you were fluent your job search would be nearly impossible.

I'd suggest trying to find a computer job/work in your own country that you can do remotely through the internet.

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bufalo says on Jan 1, 2008, 19:07:

Ypu

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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bufalo says on Jan 1, 2008, 19:07:

I mean "Yup".

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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osuspain says on Jan 1, 2008, 21:29:

A place maybe to check out would be "Ola" have a cousin that worked IT there she had to be bi-lingual (English). However, she is Colombian. It is difficult for many professionals that are Colombian natives in whatever field to acquire employment in Colombia. If they do get a job the pay is low in comparison what one from another country is use to.

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dwr says on Jan 2, 2008, 03:23:

what kind of salary are you looking for? send me your resume.

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bufalo says on Jan 2, 2008, 06:07:

forget about having a salary even close to what you probably are making now.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 2, 2008, 07:48:

Even if you could get a job, you would be very lucky to make $1,000 USD a month. The fact that you are not fluent means you shouldn't even consider it. Durito's suggestion of a remote job with a company in the US is your only realistic option.

I am also in the IT field and have connections that would allow me to easily get a job in Colombia, but even that way, the pay would never be above $2,000. It simply doesn't make financial sense to work in Colombia. I console myself by traveling there five or six times a year.

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Enrique187 says on Jan 2, 2008, 08:25:

I agree with the remote access work. Even Colombians find it very hard to get jobs in their homeland. If you are really computer proficient have you thought of maybe doing affiliate marketing for yourself as income? (if you are really dying to live in Colombia)

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pedro (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jan 2, 2008, 08:51:

There are some jobs advertised on http://www.elempleo.com.co

Use this to get an idea of salaries and geographical spread of jobs offered.

Hope you like working 6 days a week and eating shit any time the boss tells you to.

que nota!

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Simon says on Jan 2, 2008, 11:04:

"It simply doesn't make financial sense to work in Colombia."

Maybe the OP doesn't really care about the money and just wants to live in Colombia.

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 2, 2008, 11:11:

Nobody told the guy not to move to Colombia, but we are giving him realistic advice about making a living in the IT field there. In any case, he doesn't even speak fluent Spanish. You know damn well that he could not get any halfway decent IT job without speaking perfect Spanish.

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Simon says on Jan 2, 2008, 11:29:

"You know damn well that he could not get any halfway decent IT job without speaking perfect Spanish."

I'm not sure about that. If you're a programmer, the language you really need to know 'perfectly' should be C++ , Java, C Sharp, etc. I know people who don't speak perfect English and make a lot of money working in IT in the States just because they know those languages quite well, so why would it be any different in Colombia?

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 11:52:

"I know people who don't speak perfect English and make a lot of money working in IT in the States just because they know those [programming] languages quite well, so why would it be any different in Colombia?" - Simon

Simon? 2 reasons why the US is not Colombia in this regards:

1.) During the computer automation boom within large business in the US (1970s until 1999 - IBM Mainframe Cobol/IDMS/DB2, through UnixC/C up until Web Programming J2EE/ASP.Net) the US was understaffed and had to turn to outside HB1 Visa types - Russian, Chinese, Indian and other heavily accented foreigners, not having a real grip on English. I worked with guys in the US who could barly speak ANY english but we all programmed in the same language and an interpreter was always near by.

Colombia does NOT and never has had this type of demand for IT. Tons of supply. Just the opposite of the US.

2.) Because the US needs cheap labor - Colombia is loaded with it.

That's why the US is stocked up with non native speaking (english) IT professionals and Colombia is not loaded with non native speaking (spanish) IT professionals.

Between 1992 through 1999 entry level programmers, still IN school, not fresh out of school, with 0 experience were being hired at a 50K (adjusted) starting salary - the DEMAND for programmers was astronomical. We took anybody we could get and anybody the government would let us have (sponsor).

C++ (front office trading systems) SAP (ERP) programming consultants/analysts were making $200-$250 an hour because they were so hard to get and could command that salary. Of course foreigners were going to be hired when the demand is through the roof which results in ridiculous rates.

Not true today, these rates, but this is the reason there are so many foreigners in the US IT system today, residuals from before as well as new hires. The US is still outsourcing a great deal and hiring cheap talent to relocate to the US. Check out Infosys - lots of their people are getting hired by US firms, doing 120K jobs for 60K

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 2, 2008, 11:52:

Thanks rocinante. Good explanation. Cool icon BTW.

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 11:59:

There's a lot of talent and not many jobs in IT here.

People THINK (not Simon, but lots of newbies "I want to move to Colombia and get an IT job")

THAT

"Colombia does not have IT guys that are capable of learning complex computer languages." So they think (myself included at one point, I admit) that acquiring a job should be easy because of this and that experience and "All the Colombians know is salsa and rhumba etc... They don't have schools that teach OOP, Colombia needs to be computerized and that nothing is computerized right now so all the big corps in Col are looking for me etc... "

"Of course when I get to Colombia and they see my resume I will be hired instantly because no one in Colombia can do what I do nor do they have the experience I do."

Newsflash:

They do.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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Simon says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:03:

Yeah, that was enlightening Rocicante, thanks. But how about ´'IT security', is that also overloaded in Colombia?

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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Leeroy says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:04:

As I understand it, foreigners working and living in Colombia (generally) fall into three categories:

1. ESL teachers. Working for academies and/or doing private stuff. Easy enough, lots of demand, but pay variable and occasional visa worries.
2. International school teachers. Good money/vacations, quite stressful, not a lot of opportunities, qualifications and experience required.
3. Running your own business (bar, hostel, etc...).

I have not heard of any foreigners with general white-collar jobs here.

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Tinto (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:06:

Anecdote: First trip to Bogota in 2002 -- I wasn't a newbie in the sense of not knowing anything about Colombia but was surprised to see SAP and Microsoft billboards in the Northern part of town. Hell, even the Colombian Army runs on SAP (paid for by US taxpayers according to the magazine article I read).

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Simon says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:08:

"I have not heard of any foreigners with general white-collar jobs here."

How about the guys who work at the Embassies?

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:10:

Simon - that I don't know. Now that Colombia is catching up and IT security is hot and in demand right now, that may be area to an break into. But I would think that the Colombian IT guys would do like their US counterparts and jump over to that sector with some training, in order to fill that void and make the ""better" salary as this IS in demand worldwide right now - Sarbanes Oxley AND the will for SouthAmerican companies to be taken seriously as players. They have no choice but to be compliant in this area.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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Tinto (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:12:

Re embassies - there might be network and security people, but I imagine a lot of the heavy duty applications are developed/installed/managed/enhanced in the home country and deployed to embassies throughout the world.

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:16:

Tinto - great comments... SAP rocks - screw JD Edwards, Oracle Financials and PeopleSoft. I don't do SAP nor ERP - but from what I have seen SAP is second to none on pre-implementation ROI (complete implementation of all modules that is - obviously SOMETHING gets implemented in the earlier phases to realize an ROI). Halfway through the implementation the comapny, heavily commited, contracted to spend millions over 2-3 years, converting thier core system, starts saving so much that the second half of the SAP implementation almost becomes automatically financed.

Those Germans really dazzled the ERP world!

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:17:

Simon you meant Embassies as in regular, white collar, non IT related work?

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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Tinto (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:18:

I don't have it at my fingertips right now, but Juancegomez has posted a document before (it's on the CIP Online website) that lists most/all of the contractors under Plan Colombia and a summary of what they do. That might be a place to start because sometimes they want/have to hire U.S. citizens and even if the budget gets a 10% haircut, it looks like it's going to be around for another five years.

Here's one I remember that does non-military Plan Colombia and US AID work:
http://www.ardinc.com/projects/latinamerica.php

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:19:

Tinto - Also I think many emerging nations are buying a good deal of shrink wrapped software and customizing in house, in an effort to get up to speed in a hurry. More to outlay cash wise up front, yes, but these comapnies have the money.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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Simon says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:22:

"Simon you meant Embassies as in regular, white collar, non IT related work?"

Si.

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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JChrisusa says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:29:

Thank you all for your information... although a lot of them are pretty bleak.
I am not looking to stay in the same salary range I am in the United-States. I understand that I will suffer a significant salary loss and I am aware of that.
I am wondering what are my chances of finding an IT position considering I am not fluent in Spanish. I expect the significant salary loss however is it even possible for a non-fluent person to find a descent job?
Thanks

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Tinto (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:38:

If you're a dual citizen (I noticed you were born in France), maybe multinationals like Casino, Carrefour, Danone and Renault - all with operations beyond just sales offices in Colombia - might have something where your language skills put you at an advantage. It may be worth checking out their websites. Still, I think you have a tough road. Lots of inquiries similar to yours, but I can't remember someone coming back and saying "Hey, I landed a good corporate job in Colombia."

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 12:53:

Simon, embassies probably hire in the home country and then the employee is "dispatched" to the country in which they are to work.

I would venture to guess that one would need to be "native/educated fluent" in both languages in order to land a job like this. For instance I would bet the workes in the US embassy in Bogotá are US citizens (maybe not born in the US), educated, screened, hired and trained in the US knowing beforehand the target language country or countries where the applicant will eventually work.

I cannot 100% verify what I have posted but I would think that this is the case. Anyone feel free to chime in.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 13:00:

JChrisUsa, you never know unless you try but the language thing is extremely important. There is a lot of jargon in the target business - wether it be financial, manufacturing or service oriented. Couple that with the need to be 100% percise in IT on the technical side and this spells damn near fluent.

Now if something drastic were to happen and Colombia could not fill a huge demand then these standards would be altered, of course - just like the US did 20 years ago.

But the fact of the matter is that there is 13% unemployment here now and a slew of qualified, native speaking IT personell. Surely a hiring manager would rather hire a qualified local who speaks the language and is struggling to feed the family, than to hire bloated foreigners who have tremendous opportunities in their home country.

However, as with anything it's who you know. The chance to make something happen always exists.

Good luck and let us know, bro.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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Enrique187 says on Jan 2, 2008, 13:07:

My aunt works in the embassy in Bogota and is fluent in both languages (she's Colombian). I don't think all of the Americans there speak fluent Spanish. My dad (gringo) worked for the UN and didn't speak perfect Spanish. I do think though that the competition is extremely high for those posts and are not too plentiful. Also, spouses of embassy workers get preferential treatment or a leg up on the remaining jobs in embassies, reducing vacancies even more.

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 13:11:

and there you have it

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 2, 2008, 13:14:

My brother's company uses a firm out of Bogota for all his IT work. They have so far done a great job programming a complex airline reservations site. I have been thinking about using them for a few things for one of my side companies. They also do a lot of work for multinationals like Microsoft, Coca Cola and others. I'm pretty sure they are all local talent.

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Enrique187 says on Jan 2, 2008, 13:17:

http://careers.state.gov/officer/index.html

That's the page for embassy jobs. You can see what posts are available in Colombia.

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droble77 says on Jan 2, 2008, 13:52:

I work in IT too, tech support and systems administration are my areas. Some girl I dated in Bogota told me she thought it would be relatively easy for me to find a job in my line of work because of my English, and because companies consider the local IT pool not to be as proficient or have the same set of experiences as someone like myself, so they would even pay me more.

I seriously doubted what she said (kind of a flaky girl) but I didn't challenge her because I was dating her after all. . . ;)

My thinking is, even if you could find work, I doubt you would get paid a lot.

I think you need a combination of things to prosper in Colombia. Either a small business or ESL job combined with renting out one or two properties to foreigners or rich colombians.

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rocinante says on Jan 2, 2008, 13:55:

droble77 that is sage advice. The guy is not looking to make a lot - he said do himself. Will he be happy with $USD750 per month? I'm not sure.

Also in the case with your girl please note - some girls will say anything to keep you in the country.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Not that the US president actually runs the US." Feb 5, 2008

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Mononoke28 says on Jan 2, 2008, 15:08:

My husband worked in IT in Colombia for a very long time and then got laid off, he couldn't find work anywhere for over a year and half until he moved to the States. It's a very competitive field, especially now that every kid you talk to is getting a degree in IT.

Diana

Diana

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osuspain says on Jan 3, 2008, 01:48:

Actually, working at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá does not exactly require one to be fluent in both languages. It really depends on the ad itself. Some HR ads state it requires a certain level of Spanish or vise versa depending if it is a U.S. or Colombian Native.

Although, one will need to get a Colombian working visa prior to employment with the U.S. Embassy even if they are a U.S. Citizen and would really only move there on the basis of a somewhat secure/stable job.

As a OIF Veteran (indicating a preference eligible) I looked at this option prior so that I could be with my husband while all the papers went through however, if I am there and sign on to a contract it may complicate the process and possibly a conflict of interest.

The HR link to the U.S. Embassy jobs in Bogota is.....http://bogota.usembassy.gov/hr.html

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