Did you get a raise after getting your certificate?

TheFORCE

Not sure if this topic has been raised before. My question has to do more with the effect your certification had on your current position. We all know that someone with x years of experience usually doesn't make the same money as someone with x years of experience and a certificate. So, after passing whatever certificate you were going for did your current company or employer rewarded you with a little bump in pay or did you have to push for it?

ajs1976

Once but that was negotiated when I was hired. Another time it was a factor into my annual review and contributed to a higher increase.

Danielm7

I never have, I also haven't worked for an MSP. I've heard some people who work for MSPs say they'll get raises depending on which certs they pass because their companies need to maintain a certain number of certified employees.

kohr-ah

Nope. It does help factor when yearly raises come around but only people in our MSP that got a bump on the spot was anyone that got their CCIE

N2IT

I have not.

I have received bonuses managing projects to completion and stakeholder sign off.

kohr-ah

N2IT wrote: »

I have not.

I have received bonuses managing projects to completion and stakeholder sign off.

This is my case also. I take a lot of projects people don't want and get a nice bonus and this year got a nice bonus bump for doing so.

TheFORCE

kohr-ah wrote: »

Nope. It does help factor when yearly raises come around but only people in our MSP that got a bump on the spot was anyone that got their CCIE

The thing is, I work in the banking industry and as you all may know, banks have taken a lot of negative press the past few years about their employees salary with huge bonuses and the like. I'm about to hit the 3 year mark right now with the company. The first year I didn't get any raise but I got a bonus, the second year no raise but got a little more bonus, last October everyone got a 2% raise for living adjustment and now in March we have the yearly bonus period. I just passed the CISSP so I don't know if I should say something to my manager or if I should just stay quiet and not seem like I'm greedy. The company did pay for all the fees of the exam so they might use that in their favor.

Xavor

I got a job title change and fat raise after a year because I did the VCP. I attribute it all to timing though, because we had a contract opportunity with a government client that required virtualization skills + Security+ cert. My credentials won the contract, hence the raise.

CISSP is a raise-worthy (title change) certification. You should get a large raise out of that based on the 3 year story, and if not walk. If that cert doesn't trigger a promotion, I doubt anything there will.

You'd probably be better off looking for a different job. Your employer probably won't come back with anything more that 10% if they lowballed you the past few years.

-hype

I wish!!

Then, maybe, I wouldn't be looking for a new job.

Archon

Nope, I've passed CCENT and CEH and been at the company for 2 years. I've paid for my own training and not received a bonus or pay rise in that time. Looking to leave once I've passed the CISSP.

markulous

No, but it was one of the major factors in getting my promotion. My boss recognizes that I've gotten more certs than anyone and that I'm continually trying to learn and improve. I don't hear of anyone getting a fat raise for a cert, but that's not really what it's for either.

anhtran35

Only times I got a significant raise was getting another job with another company. Significant meaning 10k above previous salary.

Verities

No raise after getting VCP and probably no raise after RHCSA. Possible bonus/raise for annual review.

Kinet1c

anhtran35 wrote: »

Only times I got a significant raise was getting another job with another company.

This is probably the most common way of getting a raise after getting a cert.

Archon

I generally find that moving jobs is the only way to get a decent pay rise. I find that many companies no longer invest time and money in their staff. They would rather let them leave and replace them.

Snow.bros

Yeah of-course I get compensated when I obtain a certain certification. But I didn't get a raise with my MCP cert which makes me wonder if these certification each have a certain value and I don't know if the amount in the increase should be greater when it's a higher certificate because there are people who earn minimum wage because they have entry level certification??? hmmmm... maybe someone can clarify that for me.

Edit: I just read everyone Else's comments, and I have question for who don't get an increase, who of you guys is works for a reseller company?

Jon_Cisco

TheFORCE wrote: »

I just passed the CISSP so I don't know if I should say something to my manager or if I should just stay quiet and not seem like I'm greedy.

From what I know of the banking industry it is all about the money even in IT. I would bring it up for sure. If nothing happens you need to consider for yourself what that means for you.

reboot570

I didn't get an immediate pay raise but I got noticed. If anything happens I will try to remember to share.

joelsfood

I didn't with any of my certs last year, but the assumption is they are just matching up to my existing experience(VCA, JNCIA, CCNA, CCNP). I will be asking for a raise after I pass my CCIE, though.

RHEL

I didn't even get a raise for getting a master's degree, or a congratulations. They paid for it though.

overthetop

No, Honestly I take certifications for the NEXT job not necessarily for the job I am presently at. Since my current job wanted A, B, C, D they don't really care if you get E, F, or G, it wasn't required and they didn't ask you to get it.

kohr-ah

Snow.bros wrote: »

Edit: I just read everyone Else's comments, and I have question for who don't get an increase, who of you guys is works for a reseller company?

My current company isn't a reseller company but my last one was.

I have heard other resellers and MSPs give increases depending on your position and the cert you got. Like If you were in the NOC and got your CCNA you got a small bump or when they were hired they would tell people "You will start at this. But, If you get XYZ certification we will bump you to this" kind of thing.

N2IT

RHEL wrote: »

I didn't even get a raise for getting a master's degree, or a congratulations. They paid for it though.

While I would of loved a thanks, paying for it is the most important part

I still owe 13,000 for my MBA. The good news is my Bachelors is paid for.

TheFORCE

Jon_Cisco wrote: »

From what I know of the banking industry it is all about the money even in IT. I would bring it up for sure. If nothing happens you need to consider for yourself what that means for you.

Yeah that's why i started thinking about it from now. With only 2 months away for the bonus it would be a bad idea to move now and lose it. That's one, another thing is, if i leave right away i would have to pay almost 4k back to the company because they lock you if you used any of their money to get your certificates. Third and also important is the fact that i will be 80% vested in my 401k and 100% vested in 401k and the pension plan in the next 2 years. Those benefits are good and would hate to give them up since the company is also matching some. But at the same time i'm thinking if i stay here longer i might lose a competitive edge seeing how everyone wants to get in IT security now. The other thing also is, that because of all the regulations we have to follow, my team is very segregated in terms of what we can touch and work on so, my learning now will have to be self study, labs and books, not actual hands on, which i like more since i learn a lot faster when i do things. I will definitely mention it to my manager though.

Heero

Certs rarely help you get significant raises at your current job. You may have to accept that you will have to look elsewhere if you want to get more money.

Nemowolf

Reading through the posts, I get the impression that the certification was done on your own and without any consulting with your current manager or the company in general. More like, hey im going to get this cert and they had zero input to your study and getting it. This leads to your companies not investing you.


One thing that I think that we all semi-expect is that our personal growth will be rewarded by the companies we work for because we learned new skills, etc. That isnt the case though in business. In my first job working in corp IT as a help desk guy, I asked for a bump in title and every year i was turned down. If anyone has read through Ramit Sethi's blog, website, emails, etc then you know this is the wrong way to do it. They kept telling me all sorts of excuses to not hurt my feelings but what it boiled down to is that I couldn't prove the value I brought with my education and experience to deserve them spending more money on me.

The best tactic is Ramit's advice on how to ask for a raise, specifically when it comes to certs, and how you can tailor the conversation to gauge how likely it is to happen. For instance, Ramit would advise you talk to you manager well in advance and ask the question: "Boss, what would it take to get a raise?." Once you broach the conversation, make sure you discuss what exactly you need to do and how you can prove you have accomplished these goals. I provided a youtube link below to Ramit's Vlog discussing this topic.

If you are looking to show what you have already done as proof, then check the second link with the article on Huffiington about how to negotiate. More in line here is that you have to know and have proof of your exemplary accomplishments that merit your increase. When you just ask for something, your going to be told no because there is no reason they are going to use more of their payroll budge just because you think you deserve it. By showing how you bring ROI in yourself to the company, you can justify the increasing of you pay far more evenly on a business level.


By extension of this, I will say that I brought this up to my previous manager and when he said their was not budget for it and that perhaps next year there would be it was a red light in my head. I immediately began my job search because i knew he wasnt willing to work with me in the least to see me improve myself and bring valuable skills into our IT department. I started searching for new employment and when i got my new job in the public sector and turned in my notice, I politely reminded my boss that if he did not have money in the budget then to keep me when I asked about it then there was no money in the budget now to keep me. As Ramit will advise, Top Performers have options and will find other work.


[Link to Ramit's Vlog]
[Link to Huffington article]



I couldnt figure out how to include this but I wanted to add that with the conversation you have concerning you growing your skill set, don't be afraid to ask for some resources internally. I recently went in for my Project+ and asked my boss if they would consider buying a departmental copy of the book i was reading so anyone else after me could go through it and as a reference later. I was surprised when i was asked to provide a link to amazon and anywhere else it could be found for comparison and it showed up a week later for me to start reading. While there may not be much of anything in a "Training" budget, there may be a way for your managers to free up 50-100 bucks for some shared resources like books to have on hand. The big thing here is that you stress shared resource and not, buy this for me.

MordyIT

Nope. When I went for my MCSE training my boss just got paranoid. I do my best to schedule exams on weekends and try not to let him find out im going to classes after work.

Chadius

Ditto. I think my boss is getting paranoid as well. I had some cert books shipped to work, and left them on my desk for couple days. He ended up asking me why I have those items. lol I have told him at least 7 times, that I am going to school for IT. No my fault he can't remember. :P

Codeman6669

THe fact im in school for the CCENT/CCNA while others are not alone has already helped push me into the next higher up position. Granted i have only worked their for 6 months and already moving up and dont even have the ccent yet (i will in about 4 hours though). My employer does give raises for certs but i dont know how much. That will also come with the yearly review.

N2IT

I don't limit a raise solely off of a certification, that IMO is extremely short sighted. I ask how can I get promoted and how can I get additional money. Then I do whatever they ask within reason. If a certification was the task/goal then I would get it, but I have found that project delivery and actual work effort gets you paid.

When they sent management to ITIL training no one got a raise they got a free trip and free hotel and food, while getting paid.

aspiringsoul

My previous employer encouraged me to pursue certifications that helped to ensure that I was skilled enough to not only meet the needs of the organization, but to exceed their expectations.

I was never compensated or given a raise for earning certifications. It was only when I gave my two weeks notice, that I was given a counter offer that amounted to a 25% increase. I accepted the first time, and declined the second time since I knew that I would never advance in the organization.