Well just when you thought we’d gotten over the mad start to 2020, forgotten the limp SONA and forgettable budget, the planet delivered us Covid-19 and all of the body-blows that came with it, and the ratings agencies threw in the final downgrade just because they were grumpy.
Lockdown hasn’t been the most fun, but being stuck at home didn’t stop us working though, and being rather successful at it too, racking up near-record numbers of placements and
candidate interviews during May. Following closely on that good news, was the FANTASTIC announcement that we have graduated to Level 1 BEE status. To suggest I’m thrilled is a quiet understatement. I’m OTF moon!
With the move to Lockdown Level 3 I’ve had a moment to catch my breath, and reflect on life, South Africa and the software development industry, and for what it’s worth, I’ve decided to jot down my thoughts, and share them with you. As you’ve come to expect from me, I pull no punches, and say it “as I see it”. If you’ll indulge me, and find value in my thoughts, stay subscribed, and feel free to let me know what you think. If it’s not for you, you can unsubscribe here, or at the bottom of the page.
It’s so easy to let the negative energy overwhelm your thinking and mood. F*** that! I’m here and from where I sit, I can see a bunch of reasons why a technologist should be excited about staying.

Here are 12 great reasons to stay in SA, let me know what yours are!

1. Standard of living in SA is difficult to match anywhere else in the world.
2. Companies have become far more flexible in terms of how they appoint Developers  – by example, some Developers prefer to manage their own “forced savings” through personal investments as opposed to being forced to use a company’s pension fund where the return of investment is completely beyond one’s control.
3. Our weather is great, our beaches are stunning, our people are friendly, beer is cheap, our roads are exceptional, our homes are big and beautiful, and we get paid a shit load of money, so why on earth would we consider going anywhere else?
4. South African business are becoming that much more creative around retaining their talent which plays into the technologist’s favour.
5. Businesses can often accommodate you in other geographical areas by establishing offices across the country – one client for example can accommodate developers in their PTA, JHB, Cape Town or Durban office.
6. Developers/Technologists returning to SA struggle to secure work more so than local people as international businesses tend to “box” technologists, thereby reducing the exposure and experience technologists gain through the full SDLC process, more so than you would experience through working in South Africa.
7. Technological growth allows you to learn and work with new tech.
8. On exploring the market, technologists often have a number of opportunities to explore (assuming they work with a reputable specialised agency) allowing for a calculated decision around their next career move thereby minimising risk in terms of whether the opportunity was right for them in the first instance.
9. Remote work and virtual office is on the up allowing people to work from the comfort of their own environment if not for 5 days a week, at least a few days a week thereby increasing your quality of life by not spending hours and hours of wasted time in the traffic.
10. Salary offering for technologists in SA are at an all-time high due to the shortage of skills (supply and demand).
11. South African Technologists are marketable all round the world due to the natural high work ethic and good calibre of Software Developers and Engineers that are bred in South Africa.
12. Bonuses and share options are the norm as opposed to a luxury.  Leave days and company benefits are higher than international standards. I remember chatting to a USA-based client and on asking the business whether they pay bonuses or not I received the following response: “Bonuses?? What’s that?? People come to work and best they over perform each and every day that’s why we appointed them. If they don’t over perform we’ll simply fire them. Why on earth would I offer them a bonus for doing their job?

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!