120k offering: 40 minutes closer than the other...

So some of you for sure are always wonder how the frig I manage to get these phone calls, I always ponder it myself. But I had a job recruiter send me an email earlier today after he found my blog from a posting I made on Linkedin on an article I made in regards to the flowchart of my home-lab (somehow my connections landed it on his wall) and then we called me a little while ago and he's a CCNP but has a 6 year job lapse from a family emergency so he's a job recruiter instead.

Anyways he started asking me questions about the role, general stuff: multi-area ospf (use multi-area OSPF at work and during play), VRRP, VLSM, etherchannel, MPIO, ,vSwitch, vStorage vs vMotion, LUN Masking, jumbo frames, DNS/DHCP, E1000 vs VMXNET3, "Operations Masters placement", Class A-C addressing, vLAN's, ACL's, netsh winsock reset, arp -a, nslookup, Purpose of a Domain Controller GPO, Why AD is structured, and other things and every question came with a instant response and at one point he asked me to stop so he could get a pad of paper.

He said normally people don't know what half this stuff is.... I mentioned I had a blog and the conversation really started getting interesting. I guess they have been looking for a competent person for the job role for over 2 years but the people they hire don't know what a the OSI layer is or Class A-C or even what a Operations Master is.... Multi-talented is starting to pay off....

long story short, this is a company in Milford, CT and they are offering 120k for the Network/VMware/System Engineer. Only thing is they want someone with VMware and vCloud Director is a plus (only dabbled in vCloud in the home-lab) and they use HP storage Arrays (only been using Dell Equalogics) other than that they want a person that knows it all mainly networking, and VMware with knowledge of Server 2008 and 2012.

All of these things except the above I've been working with, even though not certfied, for the past 4 years. The guy on the phone said the fact I know VMware and support a datacenter than vCloud isn't that hard to figure out and He's worked with Dell and HP and if you know one array it follows suit to the others, storage networking is pretty standardized, thank you SNIA!!!!!!

I'm a generous person and I asked for 95k after the discussion on pay from you guys on the other offering. My thought is if they are offering 120k and I ask for 95k I'm well below budget and it's still a pay increase. They have full benefits and I'd be apart of a networking/system administrations team of 6 guys, something I like I learn more when surrounded by others.

Questions how much more could I learn? The job offering in Hartford is an extra 35 minutes away on the same drive and this one could potentially be more money.

Kind of more focused now to my studies now until the 31st, kind of really want that CCNA. But if anything has shown me its how I present myself and my understanding of things that seems to always outpace my certifications.

I have a Skype interview tomorrow and then a in-person on Sunday.

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Comments

fuz1on

Congrats and good luck! I love these posts!

dave330i

I told you the other job was too low.

blargoe

Nice. I have seen a few roles in my neck of the woods recently that looked to be a senior type role with broad experience across multiple areas to supplement a team with more focused roles. Maybe a trend.

GreaterNinja

get it son! don't sell yourself short man.

Deathmage

dave330i wrote: »

I told you the other job was too low.

I did listen.

alias454

huh I better start updating my blog

- good luck

Deathmage

alias454 wrote: »

huh I better start updating my blog - good luck

You're signature is me in a nutshell.

JustFred

Awesome.

NightShade03

Given that you are in the Greater NYC area I would point out a few things:

- If you are in the city or close by and "reverse" commuting towards Hartford or Milford then your commute (even at 30 mins) isn't that bad. As a fellow NYer I'm sure we could agree that the bumper to bumper is what kills people.
- Given your broad knowledge (which is hard to find these days) I don't think you should take any job less than $100k.
- vCloud is where most orgs are going so the exposure and ability to work with it (even if you don't learn a ton long term) will look good on a resume for your future career steps

Just my $0.02. Good luck!

zxbane

Great post, you've put in the work and dedication and now it is paying off. Good luck!

Chev Chellios

Great to see things going well for you mate- you have definitely put the work in and deserve it!!!!

ratbuddy

Deathmage wrote: »

My thought is if they are offering 120k and I ask for 95k I'm well below budget and it's still a pay increase.

My thought is, if they offer 120k and you ask for 95k, you are off your rocker.

hurricane1091

ratbuddy wrote: »

My thought is, if they offer 120k and you ask for 95k, you are off your rocker.

One guy asked for 70k for this position they were hiring for and they ended up hiring a guy for 6 figures LOL that guy should be lucky he didn't get this job and shorted so much.

networker050184

ratbuddy wrote: »

My thought is, if they offer 120k and you ask for 95k, you are off your rocker.

Um yeah. This isn't charity here. This is business. Literally.

gespenstern

Glad for you, congrats! Now go get it!

bgold87

I would definitely be going for the highest number I can, don't shortchange yourself. You can get in there, be up to speed and doing well in a short time span and wish you had that extra cash.

Deathmage

NightShade03 wrote: »

Given that you are in the Greater NYC area I would point out a few things:

- If you are in the city or close by and "reverse" commuting towards Hartford or Milford then your commute (even at 30 mins) isn't that bad. As a fellow NYer I'm sure we could agree that the bumper to bumper is what kills people.
- Given your broad knowledge (which is hard to find these days) I don't think you should take any job less than $100k.
- vCloud is where most orgs are going so the exposure and ability to work with it (even if you don't learn a ton long term) will look good on a resume for your future career steps

Just my $0.02. Good luck!

Ya I'm easy for the most part, I'm 1/4 mile from Taconic and then it's just I-84 to 684, but 684 can be a royal ***** in the morning....

ratbuddy wrote: »

My thought is, if they offer 120k and you ask for 95k, you are off your rocker.

networker050184 wrote: »

Um yeah. This isn't charity here. This is business. Literally.

It's still 35k more than I make now.

Maybe I'm too kind, dunno, thought 95k would be generous.

kohr-ah

Deathmage wrote: »

Maybe I'm too kind, dunno, thought 95k would be generous.

"Hey I won the lottery. 240 Mil is too much. I'd be happy with 10 mil. Thanks guys" O_O

This isn't about you being generous. This is about them paying you. They offer 120. You take 120. :P

coreyb80

Congrats and you're definitely well on your way!

YesOffense

Congratulations, but i'm not sure I understand the 95k logic. If i'm reading it right, they reached out to you, and told you what the rate was, why offer to take less? makes you look very desperate and insecure in your skills which you shouldn't be based on what you've shown that you know.

gespenstern

Deathmage wrote: »

It's still 35k more than I make now.

Maybe I'm too kind, dunno, thought 95k would be generous.

What? Shut up and accept 120k. That's a mindset that lowers salaries in IT. I mean it, you are worth it totally, you just can't imagine HOW MUCH knowledge have you digested and dedication that you've put into this, vast majority of people aren't capable of. You are among 1%, or even .1%. You totally deserve it, you just don't understand how much you should be paid based on skills because you, just like many other technical non-humanitarian people, can't adequately compare your skillset with what other people have.

We, IT industry as a whole, could have earned much more because in reality so much more depends on us, but we can't! Because we too often think that "it's too generous".

Cut the garbage! Accept 120k!

Dakinggamer87

Definitely go for it!! You have the skills to do the job.

iBrokeIT

Take $120k and we'll start a Techexams pool where you can ship the other $25k you dont want, sound good?

Dakinggamer87

iBrokeIT wrote: »

Take $120k and we'll start a Techexams pool where you can ship the other $25k you dont want, sound good?

Right

Deathmage

I suppose, I do feel like this is a huge jump even at 95k for me this early in my career, I think 95k is high for me just because I only got like 5 years of IT experience under my belt now (it was intense on-the-job training though for 3 years though). I mean most people don't even make this amount and I do admit I eat, sleep, crap Wintel/VMware/Networking the past few years and I still just never feel like I'm at the level some of you guys are at. Guess I'm a perfectionist.

Maybe I do sell myself short, I've devoted so much of my time to my home-lab because I feel I need to know everything to be really good. I, no joke, devote easily 35 hours a week to study. I eat right, take my nootropics cocktail twice a day (those brain pills are what keep me going like a energizer bunny!!!), drink 4 quarts of water a day, 3 times a week I do body training with pushups and pullups for 45 minutes while watching my laptop on a HDMI onto a 70 inch screen of online traning videos at home and

.....

The guy I'm on the Skype with tonight is the recruiter and a technical person from the company hiring. He said to me last night that they were offering 120k and I said 95k and he said well I won't tell them you want 95k just yet but I understand you don't want to come across too expensive.

Milford would be about, probably a 45 minute drive, but as one mentioned above sometimes it can be bump-to-bump since everyone uses I-684 going into Westchester into the Bronx/Queens.

I keep giving it tons of thought cause I really don't want to be in a multi roled job, like i am now, where they want me to learn programming. I enjoy VMware, Networking, and System Administration with Security from Firewalls and Storage for Fibre Channel/iSCSI based arrays; to me that what I love....

This job would be that love, that's why 95k doesn't seem low cause some people work a job for money, I work IT because I truly love it... I go home and do it 24/7... does that make me crazy?

gespenstern

Yeah-yeah, that is what most of us, overachievers here, do everyday, I think. THAT IS WHY you shouldn't accept low.

And this...

Deathmage wrote: »

I eat right, take my nootropics cocktail twice a day (those brain pills are what keep me going like a energizer bunny!!!)

Do you mind sharing what exactly you are on? I also do some (again, like, I think, majority of overachievers) pills like vinpocetine.

TheProf

Makes lots of sense... But also, if you're good at what you do, don't sell yourself short because you only have 5 years experience. I've known people who went from help desk to Architect in 5 years... it's all a matter of what your ambitions are and what you're willing to do to be successful.

At the end of the day, you're worth what you say you're worth (with reason) and no one can tell you to make this or that. Personally, if they make an offer at 120K after reviewing all your credentials, then let it be 120K and don't feel bad or be uncomfortable because you feel you're not at that level. Part of what they're paying you for is your ability to learn new technology quickly and adapt that technology to the enterprise.

Good luck! If this is the opportunity you want, go for it, and make that 120K!!

Deathmage

The nootropics I take I've done a ton of research on and moved the dosages around to find my right mixture:

I take these amounts twice a day with a light carb like an apple or yogurt.

1. 2 x 600 MG Omega 3 lemon-flavored fish oil.

2. 1 x 100 MG Phosphatidyl Serine

3. 2 x 588 MG Acetyl L-Carnitine

4. 3 x 600 mg Alpha Lipoic Acid - the only acid that will penetrate the membrane of the brain, Omega 3 and all non/essentail amino acids bond to Lipoic Acid thus allow entry into brain

5. 1 x 10 MG Vinpocentine

6. 1 x 100 MCG Huperzine

7. 1 x 650 MG DMAE

These all balance the other out and my level of focus, clarity, concentration, short term learning, and energy are thru the roof. I no longer have 3 pm crashes and I always ready for more studies. DMAE will make dreams more vivid, some can be scary, but you need way less sleep too cause these nootropics make your brain work more efficiently. Huperzine and Vicocentine allows thoughts to be more rapidly moved from short-term memory to long-term memory and thus allows for more studying to be absorbed. Omega 3 is found in the largest quantity in the brain, and it's the one acid that is used in the formation of cells after learning something, a good thing is if you have excess Omega 3 in your body your body produces less cortisol and thus your tummy shrinks in a matter of weeks (of course on top of proper hydration and eating)....

I also drink 8 oz of Xtend BCAA's twice a day to rebuilt muscles after working out and they BCAA's are also critical casue L-Glucatimine is a amino acid used with the nootropics above to amplify learning.

do some google searches on these name above on the "benefits of ______" and read for yourself. I've been taking them for 3 months and the benefits keep getting better and better, no side affects, unless you think scary dreams from DMAE are a side effect. Remember most of these are already found in the body, especially after rest (they are produced when you sleep), but since we all study allot we use it up quicker and hence after a while we lose focus...... with these I can't lose focus!!!!

ImThe0ne

Deathmage wrote: »

The nootropics I take I've done a ton of research on and moved the dosages around to find my right mixture:

I take these amounts twice a day with a light carb like an apple or yogurt.

1. 2 x 600 MG Omega 3 lemon-flavored fish oil.

2. 1 x 100 MG Phosphatidyl Serine

3. 2 x 588 MG Acetyl L-Carnitine

4. 3 x 600 mg Alpha Lipoic Acid - the only acid that will penetrate the membrane of the brain, Omega 3 and all non/essentail amino acids bond to Lipoic Acid thus allow entry into brain

5. 1 x 10 MG Vinpocentine

6. 1 x 100 MCG Huperzine

7. 1 x 650 MG DMAE

These all balance the other out and my level of focus, clarity, concentration, short term learning, and energy are thru the roof. I no longer have 3 pm crashes and I always ready for more studies. DMAE will make dreams more vivid, some can be scary, but you need way less sleep too cause these nootropics make your brain work more efficiently. Huperzine and Vicocentine allows thoughts to be more rapidly moved from short-term memory to long-term memory and thus allows for more studying to be absorbed. Omega 3 is found in the largest quantity in the brain, and it's the one acid that is used in the formation of cells after learning something, a good thing is if you have excess Omega 3 in your body your body produces less cortisol and thus your tummy shrinks in a matter of weeks (of course on top of proper hydration and eating)....

I also drink 8 oz of Xtend BCAA's twice a day to rebuilt muscles after working out and they BCAA's are also critical casue L-Glucatimine is a amino acid used with the nootropics above to amplify learning.

do some google searches on these name above on the "benefits of ______" and read for yourself. I've been taking them for 3 months and the benefits keep getting better and better, no side affects, unless you think scary dreams from DMAE are a side effect. Remember most of these are already found in the body, especially after rest (they are produced when you sleep), but since we all study allot we use it up quicker and hence after a while we lose focus...... with these I can't lose focus!!!!

Very interested in this, I feel like I do great while studying for my exams, and short term memory seems fine, but I have a hard time successfully storing information in my long-term memory. This is especially worse if I don't actively use the information I learned on a week-to-week basis.

NetworkNewb

Am I the only one who really wants to try DMAE just for the scary vivid dreams now!