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What was your entry level salary like at your very first IT position.

mxmaniacmxmaniac Member Posts: 49 ■■□□□□□□□□
I hope this isn't a double post, my first post seemed to vanish without a trace. Just trying to see what others IT paths have been like, since I plan to enter the field soon.

What was your entry level salary, at your very first IT position? And what position was it.

What type of schooling or certs did you have, and how long ago? How quickly were you able to move up?

Thanks.
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    kohr-ahkohr-ah Member Posts: 1,277
    $18 per hour.
    I had my A+, Net+ and at the time MCP for Win XP exam. It was for a Desktop Admin job for a hospital.
    I moved out of that position in about a little over a year where I was promoted to a Network Engineer (Basically Jr level) role at that point also had my CCNA, Win 7 MCTS, and Sec+.

    Schooling I have my Associates in Computer Internetworking Technologies.
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    tkerbertkerber Member Posts: 223
    mxmaniac wrote: »
    I hope this isn't a double post, my first post seemed to vanish without a trace. Just trying to see what others IT paths have been like, since I plan to enter the field soon.

    What was your entry level salary, at your very first IT position? And what position was it.

    What type of schooling or certs did you have, and how long ago? How quickly were you able to move up?

    Thanks.

    There is a salaries thread actually.

    But here it goes.

    First IT Position: Desktop Support Technician (Contractor)

    Salary: $15 hourly (2011)

    Education: HS Diploma

    Certifications: A+

    Experience: 0

    Left after a little more than a year, and got a raise. More importantly I moved into a position that allowed me to touch more than just desktops and laptops.
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    philz1982philz1982 Member Posts: 978
    First IT Position: BAS Controls Programmer (Not really an IT position)


    Salary: $ 55k yr (2007)


    Education: HS Diploma


    Certifications: None


    Experience: 5 years as a weapons specialist in the USN
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    IristheangelIristheangel Mod Posts: 4,133 Mod
    $12/hr. No certs, no professional experience. Just luck. I came in to interview for a customer service job and the owner seemed to appreciate my drive to get into IT so I walked away with an IT job.
    BS, MS, and CCIE #50931
    Blog: www.network-node.com
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    lamha88lamha88 Member Posts: 19 ■□□□□□□□□□
    $12 hourly.
    Education: HS Diploma
    Certs: None
    Experience: 0

    Computer technician at Circuit City. I left after about a year when the company declared bankruptcy. I know a lot of people were negatively affected by it, but it was probably one of the better things to happen to my career. I got started on my cert path, started going after my B.S., got another job with a pretty good bump in pay, and never looked back.
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    jvrlopezjvrlopez Member Posts: 913 ■■■■□□□□□□
    First IT Position: Cyber Systems Operator (USAF)

    Salary: aproximately $25000/year

    Education: HS Diploma, 45 hours of lower level college.

    Certifications: None

    Experience: 0

    Stayed with it for my 4 year obligation. Used the experience a year after I got out to land my first IT job outside the military which paid at $12/hour in 2012/2013 (over the phone desktop support and ticketing input).
    And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high. ~Ayrton Senna
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    ScrawnyRonnieScrawnyRonnie Member Posts: 112
    $15/hr working full time as a Help Desk/Desktop Support tech. I had my current certs, minus the Sec+, a 2 year degree, and no experience.
    :lol:
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    logisticalstyleslogisticalstyles Member Posts: 150 ■■■□□□□□□□
    41k per year, but my situation was different than most. I was already with the company for 8 years working in another department. Once I graduated with an AS from my local community college and passed my A+ I was moved to the IT department and worked on the help desk.
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    NinjaBoyNinjaBoy Member Posts: 968
    First IT Position: IT Software Technician in 2003
    Salary: £12k pa (at the time exchange rates were double, so it was approx. $24k pa), in addition employer contribution to pension.
    Education: (College) NVQ2 Software Creation and City & Guilds Certificate in Computer Programming. Also completed the HNC at the time.
    Certifications: N/A
    Experience: 0
    How long it took to move up: Less than two years
    How long it took to get into IT: Took 5 years, most of that time I was concentrating on Software engineering roles though.
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    puertorico1985puertorico1985 Member Posts: 205
    First IT position: Helpdesk Tier 1

    Pay: 16/hr

    Experience: 0

    Education: HS Diploma

    Certs: None

    The story of how I got into IT is long, but here is the short version:

    I used to work at Gamestop, and the IT manager for a large company walks in asking for a Nintendo Wii. This is at the time right after launch where they were extremely difficult to find. So he gives me his card, I see who he works for, and I make a deal with him where if I got him a Nintendo Wii, he would give me a job. So I did my part of the deal, and so did he, except he got me a position working Customer Service for the company. I approached him about an IT job after a few months working there, and about 2 years later, he finally got me into the Helpdesk.
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    JasminLandryJasminLandry Member Posts: 601 ■■■□□□□□□□
    First IT position: Help Desk (Only doing passwords)
    Pay 15$/hr
    Education: What I have as eduction in Canada is similar to an Associates in the US.

    After 2 months, I was promoted to Help Desk Analyst and got an extra 2$/hr bonus. Stayed there for a total of 8 months. I switched for a different company and different role and I've been at the same place for almost a year now and my salary has doubled since the 15$/hr.
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    desi121desi121 Member Posts: 39 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I am from the UK and I finished University in 2012 I've converted all money to $'s for ease.

    First IT Position 2011: IT Internship with the government (3 roles within IT Support)
    Pay: $26,000
    Education: Computer Science & Business BSc (Hons)

    Second IT Position 2012 - Current: IT Analyst
    Pay: $55,000 +
    I've obtained the following qualfications outside of work (Studying in my own time)
    ITIL v3, Prince 2, CCENT, CCNA R&S, and hopefully CCNA Sec (Exam this friday!)
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    TeKniquesTeKniques Member Posts: 1,262 ■■■■□□□□□□
    $11.00 /hr
    Tech Support
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    iBrokeITiBrokeIT Member Posts: 1,318 ■■■■■■■■■□
    $7/hr working part time at a computer repair shop in High School for 8 months. After that $9/hr working at an ISP helpdesk during college
    2019: GPEN | GCFE | GXPN | GICSP | CySA+ 
    2020: GCIP | GCIA 
    2021: GRID | GDSA | Pentest+ 
    2022: GMON | GDAT
    2023: GREM  | GSE | GCFA

    WGU BS IT-NA | SANS Grad Cert: PT&EH | SANS Grad Cert: ICS Security | SANS Grad Cert: Cyber Defense Ops SANS Grad Cert: Incident Response
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    BlackoutBlackout Member Posts: 512 ■■■■□□□□□□
    First IT Position: Technical Specialist

    Salary: 50K

    Education: HS Diploma.

    Certifications: CCENT, Net+, Sec+

    Experience: 0
    Current Certification Path: CCNA, CCNP Security, CCDA, CCIE Security

    "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect"

    Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi
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    kanecainkanecain Member Posts: 186 ■■■□□□□□□□
    First IT Position: Desktop Support

    Pay: $50,000/yr

    Education: Some College

    Certs: A+

    Took a random phone call from a former co-worker who was checking on an applicant at his company, who currently worked with me. The kid was in college, and couldn't work the required schedule. We started to chat, and I told him that I just got my A+.

    48 hours later, I was hired.
    WGU - Bachelors of Science - Information Security
    Start Date: Jan. 1st, 2012
    Courses:
    Done!!!
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    broli720broli720 Member Posts: 394 ■■■■□□□□□□
    First IT Position: IT Intern


    Salary: $ 46yr


    Education: Was completing my bachelors


    Certifications: Security+


    Experience: Prior to this I spent 3 years as a local consultant.
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    J_86J_86 Member Posts: 262 ■■□□□□□□□□
    $13.00 per hour
    Education: I was still in my senior year of high school.
    I went to a 2 year vocational school my last two years of high school, that was my only experience. They hired me part-time while I finished school, then full time right after I graduated.
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    UkimokiaUkimokia Member Posts: 91 ■■□□□□□□□□
    broli720 wrote: »
    First IT Position: IT Intern


    Salary: $ 46yr


    Education: Was completing my bachelors


    Certifications: Security+


    Experience: Prior to this I spent 3 years as a local consultant.

    46K as an intern? Where were you interning at?
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    RHELRHEL Member Posts: 195 ■■■□□□□□□□
    First position: UNIX System Administrator
    Salary: mid 30s
    Industry: Aerospace/defense
    Education: Useless bachelors degree from a major state university
    Certs: None
    Experience: 0 yrs full-time

    Second position: UNIX System Engineer
    Salary: mid 60s
    Industry: Resort/Casino
    Education: MS CIS from a major state university
    Certs: Linux+, LPIC-1, Novell CLA
    Experience: 2.5 yrs full-time

    Current position: UNIX System Administrator
    Salary: high 70s
    Industry: Non-profit Healthcare/Insurance
    Education: Same as above
    Certs: Same as above
    Experience: 4 yrs full-time
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    kohr-ahkohr-ah Member Posts: 1,277
    My friend's reponse:

    11/hr - Circuit City Firedog Support
    No certs
    High School diploma
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    BradleyHUBradleyHU Member Posts: 918 ■■■■□□□□□□
    $40K starting...i was a Jr Tech Support Rep for a proprietary software the firm sold. Had my Bach already, but no certs...
    Link Me
    Graduate of the REAL HU & #1 HBCU...HAMPTON UNIVERSITY!!! #shoutout to c/o 2004
    WIP: 70-410(TBD) | ITIL v3 Foundation(TBD)
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    coreyb80coreyb80 Member Posts: 647 ■■■■■□□□□□
    $22 an hour as a contractor doing desktop support w/ no certs or professional experience.
    WGU BS - Network Operations and Security
    Completion Date: May 2021
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    devils_haircutdevils_haircut Member Posts: 284 ■■■□□□□□□□
    $9/hour working part-time in a locally-owned computer repair shop. This was last year, so I think I've come a ways since then (not really much salary wise, but in "what I do every day" -wise.

    Still wish I could break the $40k mark. I'm just a few months shy of 30. icon_sad.gif
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    Mr. MeeseeksMr. Meeseeks Member Posts: 98 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I started as data entry in an office @ $10/hr. 4 months later (after busy season) they wanted me to start working on some of the IT stuff. After 1 year I was getting paid $12.50. No certs, degree, or any other professional experience. $16 the next year, in what had become a JOAT position. $22.50 the following year. And then no raise the year after... I jumped ship. Grateful for the knowledge I gained along the way and being exposed to so many different technologies.
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    jamesleecolemanjamesleecoleman Member Posts: 1,899 ■■■■■□□□□□
    First IT position: Technology Assistant (work study at GRCC)
    Pay: $7.75
    Education: HS Diploma and some community college work done
    Certifications: A+, Network+ and Security+
    Experience: Not a lot.
    Booya!!
    WIP : | CISSP [2018] | CISA [2018] | CAPM [2018] | eCPPT [2018] | CRISC [2019] | TORFL (TRKI) B1 | Learning: | Russian | Farsi |
    *****You can fail a test a bunch of times but what matters is that if you fail to give up or not*****
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    ehndeehnde Member Posts: 1,103
    $20/hour in 2010 as a NOC tech (CCNA required). I had just graduated with an A.A.S. in IT, had CompTia S+/A+.

    I'm up to 32.96/hour as a linux/unix admin.
    Climb a mountain, tell no one.
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    NovaHaxNovaHax Member Posts: 502 ■■■■□□□□□□
    I got $15/hr for a call center job at a small triple play provider (TV, Internet, VoIP Phone). In hindsight...if I was an employer, I wouldn't have paid myself that much at the time. I didn't have a clue what I was doing. icon_rolleyes.gif

    Experience - None
    Certs - None
    Education - High School

    I just knew the right person to get the job.
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    snunez889snunez889 Member Posts: 238 ■■■□□□□□□□
    First IT position: NOC analyst intern

    Pay: 10 hr

    Experience: 0

    Education: in college

    Certs: ccna, comptia network+,A+, mcts windwos 7

    It was my first job(recent too), I lasted about 4 months and just took a job that pays twice as much.
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    broli720broli720 Member Posts: 394 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Ukimokia wrote: »
    46K as an intern? Where were you interning at?

    I was interning at an engineering company. Still currently working there (3rd year).
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