Does anyone work for Keane in the IT field?

[BiB]

I'm gonna probabaly try and score a job out of this place, its a massive multi-national company in the IT field apparently doing very well. What is it like to work for? A friend just signed on but contracted for 2 years since they were providing some up-front training. Screw that - not interested in a 2-year signing, but I imagine I could get in on a shorter term...

BiB

 

[BiB]

^

 

[BiB]

Oh God answer my beckon call, I heed thee.

 

[DaBoneHead]

eI never worked for them, but I can give you some advice...

Be careful of companies that give you training and then make you sign something stating that 'if you leave within the n years, you owe us money'. Basically, some companies will take you at entry level, train you, and then put a dollar value on that training. If you leave within a set period of time, they want that dollar value back. EDS (Perot's old company) was notorious about doing just that. A bud of mine went to work for them out of school, and he had a 3yr/30,000 dollar 'sword of damocles' hanging above his head. If he left in the first three years, he owed them 30 grand (their value for the training). Highly skilled, he unfortunately got stuck in tech support, and hated it, but stuck it out because of the bounty on his head. I'd not be surprised if someday he rents himself a ryder rental truck... if you know what I mean.

I've known people who worked *with* keane consultants, but not for them. I'll poke around.

 

[BiB]

OK please do, well given my current income and that I can expect to increase it by about 20% a year for the next couple years if I don't play around too much I would not be willing to sign a contract of any significant length unless it was for a lot of cash.

My friend who just joined them as a consultant had to sign for two years to receive his $8k training. If he leaves after a year he owes them $4k, so whatever percentage of training is left unpaid for (since you're paying it over 2 years kinda). I want a stable job right now but I do not want a two year thing unless its gonna include a _lot_ of money upfront or gauranteed raises, because in the IT field 2 years is a long time to get stuck somewhere.

BiB

 

[DaBoneHead]

Well,

I talked to a few contacts, and had one "they're ok", and another "they suck".

I guess it is up to you and the offer they make you. As a consultant (really, a contractor), you don't always have alot of say in what goes on, but you can make good money. I contracted for six months (before leaving to find an employee position) @ 65$ an hour. Not too bad, I paid off a few credit cards, but there were no benefits in the rate, so I had to take care of them myself. As an employee, the deal I have now is slightly less in overall value, but I get a bigger say in what goes on around me, and where I work in the company.

It's a good time to be in IT. If you have well rounded skill sets, you can get a good job just about anywhere.

Best of luck.