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Thomas McLeod
Member since Dec 19, 2015
Recent Comments
Re: “Coming and Going: Vermont Struggles to Grow Its Workforce”
As principal software engineer and UVM grad who lives in Vermont yet commutes to Boston for work, I can say that this article does not fully describe the glaring wage gap between the two areas. When I read that a software engineer with a four year degree was "already" making $50k after nearly two years, I'm sorry, but I had to laugh. The website Glassdoor gives pretty good data as to salaries for various job titles. The national median for plain vanilla (junior level) software engineers is $95.1k. Among competitive companies that actively recruit new grads, the median starting salary is $110k, with the 10/90 range being $94-120k.
Furthermore, Vermont has virtually nothing to offer to the most experienced developers, ie those at the principal, senior principal and director level. Wages in Boston metro area for these positions range from $140k to $180k, not including bonuses and stock options. Yet the demand outpaces supply.
Salary and advancement options alone do not completely describe the problem of being a software developer in Vermont. Labor market liquidity will bite you too. If you are mid-level and are laid off for any reason, you can expect to spend six months or more finding a new job. This is an unacceptably long, career damaging period of time.
Posted by
Thomas McLeod
on 02/16/2017 at 10:01 AM
Re: “LG Candidate David Zuckerman Vexes Voters With Vax Stance”
Thank you Seven Days for a balanced article on this highly polarized issue involving personal and public health. Vermonters are sick and tired of media outlets robotically reiterating the talking points of the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics without much investigation into the matter. the time is now for media to emancipate themselves from the pharma dollars that drive ad revenue and do some real reporting again!
Posted by
Thomas McLeod
on 10/28/2016 at 7:24 PM
Re: “ACLU Criticizes Heavy-Handed Policing of Rainbow Family Gathering”
I have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Forest Service law enforcement agents for unconstitutionally prolonging my June 23rd traffic stop, without reasonable suspicion, for the unrelated purposed of investigating illegal drugs. The case number is 2:16-CV-184 in Federal District Court, Burlington. After being stopped for a minor violation, I was subject to a follow-on investigation for illegal drugs. I declined the original officer’s request to search my vehicle, then was subject to repetitive questioning from two additional Forest Service law enforcement officers, and one Rutland County Sheriff’s Deputy. The questioning lasted until K9 drug sniffing unit arrived, which ultimately found nothing.
Posted by
Thomas McLeod
on 07/02/2016 at 11:40 AM
Re: “After Data Breach, Sanders Accuses DNC of ‘Undermining’ Campaign, Threatens to Sue”
As a software engineer with a decades-long background in database consulting, it is inconceivable to me that two competitive organizations would be sharing database management system in such a way that a software upgrade or reconfiguration would cause one organization's confidential data to become accessible to users from the other organization. This is sheer incompetence at best. At worst, it's a intentional flaw designed to entrap Sanders' staffers in something unseemly. What I would like to know is what has not been reported so far: why is it that these campaigns are sharing a database in the first place?
Posted by
Thomas McLeod
on 12/19/2015 at 2:03 AM
Re: “Essex Parents Say Gun Waiting Period Would Have Saved Their Son”
My condolences go to the family of Andrew Black. However, as long as Andrew's suicide is being used as a justification to limit Second Amendment rights, please tell us what psychotropic pharmaceuticals Eric was on (if any), especially those common ones that list 'suicidal ideation' as a side effect. The public has the right to know.