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How much am I worth in Colorado

oxymoron5k

Hello all, I was working the other day and I got a non official job offer of 60k by one of our competitors. He could have been BSing me so I dont want to say "official". It had me thinking what Im actually worth salary wise in my field. I thought I would post my summary on here and see what you guys think I could be making yearly (ballpark). The reason I am asking this is because I know Im getting underpaid but I am learning a ton so I am not complaining. I work for an MSP right now and I managed 12 different clients which consists of installing/configuring/maintaining all their IT equipment (Servers, switches, routers, firewalls, cabling, wireless AP's, ect..) They are all small business's who range from 5 to 50 employees each. I will include my CCNA in this because I know I will have it in a month or 2 and I really want to know what Im worth with that included. So I am assuming I will have this finished by time I start looking for another job. Current Salary= 35,000 with shitty benefits Thanks guys!

2 years experience with MSP
CCNA, N+, A+

Can configure/maintain business class servers, routers, firewalls, managed switches (vlans, STP, ect).
Can run/terminate cables
Have lots of experience with wireless devices. I used to work for a wireless internet provider

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Comments

ratbuddy

You're worth whatever you can convince someone to pay you. With your experience and skills, I'd be looking for a bit more than 60, though I don't know the area you're in - Colorado in general is fairly high cost of living, so don't settle for crappy pay. 35k is just bad.

networker050184

Without knowing much about the CoL in your area I'd venture a guess in the ~$50k range seems fair with two years experience and a CCNA.

NetworkNewb

Sounds like you should be making more with that experience alone. I'd say with the experience should be at least pulling in 45-50k.

I don't think you can include saying CCNA if your maybe 2 months away from taking the test though

markulous

It's hard to give you a hard dollar amount, but I can say that if you're a good employee I would imagine you could make a good amount more than 35k here. 35k is for like a help desk job that only fixes desktop issues.

danny069

You're worth more than that considering what you can do. As stated above, Colorado seems like it has a high cost of living, so I don't see why you couldn't come close to doubling your salary there.

ratbuddy

Just for perspective, our TSA2s are making $55k, and admins start around 65k. This is in south-central CT, fairly high CoL area but not outrageous.

oxymoron5k

Thats awesome to hear guys. Thanks for the advice. I consider my current job like a bootcamp becuase Im exposed to so many different types of technologies but I think here soon I will be looking elsewhere.

Codyy

Also depends on which part, 60k in a smaller town will go a lot further than 60k in Denver.

markulous

Codyy wrote: »

Also depends on which part, 60k in a smaller town will go a lot further than 60k in Denver.

Depends which part of Denver also. Aurora/Centennial is fairly cheap for housing.

OctalDump

oxymoron5k wrote: »

Thats awesome to hear guys. Thanks for the advice. I consider my current job like a bootcamp becuase Im exposed to so many different types of technologies but I think here soon I will be looking elsewhere.

I'd only stay for as long as you are learning. You might get broad exposure, but at some point you are going to feel the lack of depth. If you want the $$$, specialisation is the key, which can be hard when you are supporting small clients.

oxymoron5k

I agree. I also live in Fort Collins which is better than Denver but not by much.

phdillard

I make that as a system operator (I mostly reset passwords and provide application support at a military hospital) with no experience prior to this job, entry level certs, and an associates in general studies. However, I was able to get a security clearance, that is what ultimately got me this subcontract. With your education/certs/experience you should be making more than 35 but then again, Colorado can be a bit different than other areas. Employers seem to be more willing to take someone with less experience/education if they have a clearance than someone with experience or education but without a clearance. 50-60k seems about where you would be. If you can't get that in the private sector I would recommend trying to get something on the government side so you can get a security clearance and definitely get that bump in pay you are looking for.

Most employers in this area seem to not consider cost of living when it comes to paying employees. Rent is insane here. I could probably live in Cali for what I pay to live in Monument.

xenodamus

For comparison, my last job was at a private company in Mississippi, which is VERY low cost of living. Our helpdesk ranged from $30-50k, desktop from $40-60k and network/system engineers from $60-100k.

Lexluethar

You are worth what people are willing to pay - don't kid yourself a company will NOT pay you more than you are worth b/c you are a nice guy/gal.

Official our not it sounds like your skillset would be around 60k.

2 years experience and a CCNA i would guestimate around 50k - but if you have relative experience in your field and another company in the same filed can take advantage you would be worth more b/c onboarding you would cost less. However if you went to another industry you might not get as much because you don't have any related experience.

oxymoron5k

Awesome thanks for the help. I am applying for jobs now and I have landed an interview on Monday. I am looking forward to a pay raise!