realistic salary

katiesss

Hey guys,
I want to know what will be a realistic salary for me.

being working in IT close to 5 years but in reality its 3 and a half years of full time and a little over year of part time IT work.
The last 3 and half years has being pure systems engineer work as well as consulting work and project leadership and most of my work has being with the microsoft stack. I have no degree or education just certs MCITP EA on server 2008 track.

i was making 59k in my last role, I am a good engineer (not bragging) annd have good talent.


whats a realistic salary that i can aim for in my next role. Im in US of A and dont mind relocating.

anhtran35

Location is EVERYTHING. If I was making 60k and applying for another position, I would ask for 75 or more.

RHEL

anhtran35 wrote: »

Location is EVERYTHING. If I was making 60k and applying for another position, I would ask for 75 or more.

That's true. Depending on your location, you might be underpaid, right at market, or underpaid. Cost of living and benefits package play into a lot of this, so make sure you're considering more than base salary alone.

I am also a systems engineer with just under 6 years experience full-time. I thought 60K was fair a couple years ago as it was a lot more than I was making at my first job out of school. I figured since I am in an extremely low cost of living area, that no employer would pay me more... Nope, I got an easy 15K raise without negotiating at my next hop.

However, 75K in San Francisco does not carry the same weight at all. To give an example of how dramatic location plays into salary, cost of living calculators show I would need to make $165,000 in San Francisco to have the same buying power that I have with 75K here.

Benefits are where it gets even trickier. Every vacation day, sick day, perk, flexibility in schedule, 401k match, pension, HEALTH INSURANCE benefit adds up to *a lot*.

I did the math and realized that my current employer (a health insurance company) contributes over $18,000/yr on top of my base salary toward my family health insurance premiums. My past employer may have only been $7-8K/yr. 401K match... Last employer matched MORE, but had a 5 year period until you were vested. Current employer contributes less match, but you're instantly vested and are offered a fully company-paid pension.

I'm just trying to convey that it gets super complex when considering compensation. 1) Find out how far a proposed salary really goes in the location you're looking at, 2) make sure it aligns with market rates for your experience, skillset and education, 3) consider benefits package.

Good luck!