What IT Jobs(Non Management) pay 200k a year?

techie2018

So the question is what's asked in the title? What special skillset is needed to crack $200k? I mentioned $200k since $200k is basically what a $100k was 10 or 15 years ago. $200k plus is now what the elite talent is making in IT or so I've been told.

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NetworkNewb

stryder144 wrote: »

In some ways, though, working harder is being exceptional.

+1 , I think that is the case for ALOT of things.

The reason I don't agree with "people only have a certain limitations on their potential" statement earlier is because I believe most people will not work hard enough to reach that potential. And when I say "most people" I mean a very high percent. I definitely know I could be working harder... I just hate the limitation argument because a lot of people today seem to like to place blame on other things besides themselves for why something isn't they way they want it.

Just yesterday I was out to eat and overheard the waitress talking to the table next to me about how when she was 7 she traveled over from Kyrgyzstan over to the US. And how she will be finishing her Bachelor's degree from the Univ of Minnesota in nursing soon. I think it is pretty amazing the things people can accomplish when they are determined.

Queue

Just wanted to jump in and reiterate some things mentioned in the thread. I believe some equally trained practitioners are more successful than others. Why? Because, some have the "talent" and the "instinct" to succeed where others don't. It's not a big deal it just separates the great ones from the greatest.

You see this in every occupation (athletes, IT, doctors, bartenders, carpenters, architects, etc.)

Jasiono

I've seen people mentioning DoD overseas contract work, and that is something I have always been interested in but I lacked the confidence/knowledge/education. I have all that now and I feel ready to apply, however, I have no idea where to begin.

Traveling is one thing that really appeals to me, as well as being in a different environment multiple times a year or two.

ITSec14

Something I've noticed in my 29 years of living...people who earn huge salaries are often the most unhappy. Stop worrying about salaries so much and focus on what kind of career/job will make you happy. You only have one life, so get out and enjoy as much of it as you can.

hurricane1091

ITSec14 wrote: »

Something I've noticed in my 29 years of living...people who earn huge salaries are often the most unhappy. Stop worrying about salaries so much and focus on what kind of career/job will make you happy. You only have one life, so get out and enjoy as much of it as you can.

Yeah, I mean $200k basically means one of a few things.

1. You are selling things and traveling

2. You are contracting and traveling

3. You are a high end genius working in a stressful environment

4. You are in management

I mean for me, I have no desire to travel or work in a stressful environment. I'd call $120k-$140k a better range as high end systems/network guys and programmers can get into that range without giving their life totally away. To each their own though.

Edit: The above this is far from definitive. I'm young and do not know anyone really making $200k asides from management over here on the East Coast, but I read a lot of different things here and elsewhere, and the list I came up with is generally from knowledge I've accumulated over time. I'm a network engineer, and to get paid $200k I would probably need to get the CCIE or just be off the wall amazing at network engineering + have futuristic skill sets like SDN and what not, and even then to be honest I wouldn't even pay myself $200k, so it's hard to imagine someone else doing that. $100k is a goal of mine that I'm close to and I'll be happy to just be at that I think. I am going to push for the raise to get me there when I get my review, but even if I just sat here for 2.5 more years and got just regular raises and did not get a big one / switch jobs I would end up there before I turn 30. It will offer me the best work/life balance. That's me though.

If you're NOT loving what you're doing, you'll never get to $200k. Takes way too much dedication and passion. So just asking how to get to that doesn't really do much for you. But then again, if you loved fixing printers, you'd be damn hard pressed to get to 200k doing that unless you had a business, so passion doesn't equal money either.

Iristheangel

Not necessarily on the travel part of #1, hurricane. Unless 10-20% travel is considered excessive travel

beads

Start your own company, build it up from scratch and pay yourself all the money your organization can afford. Rinse and repeat on an annual basis till retirement.

Of course, this board has seen similar questions before and a time or two the person who became beholden to this frame of mind but no longer on the board or in the industry. I can think of two off hand that many would recognize. 'Nough said there.

What the OP is really asking for is either a very stressful work life or one with a significant chance of burnout. If you really had the abilities to continuously get to that point you'd already be either well on your way or not having to be in a position to ask. Its like asking how much something is on menu... If you have to ask - you can't afford it.

Enjoy!

- b/eads

hurricane1091

Iristheangel wrote: »

Not necessarily on the travel part of #1, hurricane. Unless 10-20% travel is considered excessive travel

I updated my post. Even traveling 20% of the time can mean 50 days a year, which is a lot. So, you make $200k+. Salaries higher in CA I would imagine, but even if you were to earn $200k right in my city (which you very well might), you put in more work than I want to. I can be straight up honest - I am not putting in thousands more hours of studying anymore. This was my first summer where I did not have an education things going on - I just lived my life. I went fishing so much. I got my boat certificate, my hunting certificate, joined a boxing gym. I ran races, I fished for new species. My girlfriend and I went on many adventures. I've personally realized that the things I do in my life mean more to me than work, and I have real passions that I am more into than anything technology related.

This is not to try to convince ANYONE from going all the way with whatever their subject matter expertise is. I work with folks who genuinely love what they do, it's insane. I like what I do, but when the clock hits 4:45, I'm out the door. And I hope to hear from no one regarding work until 8:45 the next day. Some people do go home and just keep at it though, and it's impressive. That's not me anymore though, and I am okay with that. If you want to be a $200k guy/girl, you cannot be like me though lol.

I still enjoy networking. I will get my CCDP to renew my CCNP. I will keep at it to stay relevant and get better. I like the hard problems. Even if I could pass the CCIE, to get the financial benefits I would need to 1) Be in sales (no thanks), 2) Contract or MSP (no thanks), 3) Work at a big time stressful place (no thanks). There's life decisions for everyone. My last boss was a genius. He loved stress in a weird way. He loved networking and being the best. I liked my last job more to be honest, and I think I'd be more into it being near him all the time. He was a big time motivator. That's perhaps one thing that's been lost on me, I do admit.

ITSec14

Iristheangel wrote: »

Not necessarily on the travel part of #1, hurricane. Unless 10-20% travel is considered excessive travel

Everyone's situation is different. I live in the mid-atlantic area here on the east coast (more toward the south). Lower cost of living, slower paced lifestyle's and slightly above average salaries. 10-20% travel isn't terrible, but it's not desired for those who have families. At my job, people leave work early to attend kids sporting practices or school events all the time and no one bats an eye. Just how it is here. Go to NYC or other major cities and many companies expect more out of you. The 6 times a year I'm on-call is the only time I carry my phone on me. Other than that, my work phone gets turned on silent and my nights and weekends are totally my time.

I've even considered moving to Europe (my wife is from there) to get MORE time off. Life is too short to be on the road or sitting in front of a computer. Career's are important things in our lives, but not THE most important thing.

Just my .02

Iristheangel

cyberguypr wrote: »

What's the goal here? Pursue a role that fits the description solely on money?

Cyberguy is spot on here. It's not a matter of us doing this for charity but if you just chase after $$$ and you don't enjoy the work, one of three things is going to happen:
1) You're never going to complete the years and training required in XYZ technologies to make $200K and you'll half-ass it
2) You'll get to $200K and be miserable for 50-80 hours a week.
3) (Least likely) You'll be EXTREMELY lucky that you find that this $200K career you chased after for nothing but money happens to be your passion and you just accidentally and luckily fell into it.

How often do we hear number 3? Yeahhhhh

I'm not saying money isn't an important factor but chasing after ONLY what some random people on the internet tell you is a $200K job isn't really the way to go about it.

Now I'm going to say something that people may or may not agree with: Finding a way to $200K is simple but not easy. I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who has went over that already and looking to go much further. I would recommend finding popular or niche technologies that you are passionate about and then you can layer in multiple methods of capitalizing on it including:

- Presales - Vendors will usually pay more than VARs and there's good money there
- Consulting - Which usually means finding your own customers but there's a lot of ways to brand yourself ahead of time to keep them coming in
- Training - I know one guy who wrote a CCIE SP book and published it on Leanpub as part of his CCIE studies. He sold 300+ copies and pocketed anywhere from $200-300/copy of profit on top of his normal day job
- Start a business like a VAR like Shodown suggested - Like consulting but now with employees. A bit more risk but this could be a later step
- Become an expert at a niche technology and work at a BIG company

And you can combine any of the above at the same time. I know plenty of people who did and were getting well over $500-600K but it takes a LOT of work and time to get that good and to split yourself in that many directions.

dontstop

Cyberguy is spot on here. It's not a matter of us doing this for charity but if you just chase after $$$ and you don't enjoy the work, one of three things is going to happen

I kinda stuffed up on this. Originally IT was a hobby of mine so I've already struggled at making it into a profession and feeling comfortable at charging what I'm worth. Once recruiters or managers ask you for your last salary and you're honest about it (which I have a guilty conscience and always honestly say) and it's low $$$ their eyes light up so bright I have to put on sunnies. Due to this I've literally moved up in responsibility multiple times but my salary has never increased. I've actually been senior in a few places I've worked but my manager kept me back citing my wage was only based on my previous job's salary. I'm thinking I need to start becoming a bit more greedy because at the end of the day I'm making serious money for some of these companies and only earning $49k AUD [$38k USD] (that's inc. benefits)

Iristheangel

It's ok to be greedy and push for a better salary, dontstop, and no one is saying not to keep pushing yourself to get better. This was more of a "what do I need to make X money" from the OP without any background on experience, what he enjoys doing, specializations, etc. Just "give me job titles that make me X money and I'll figure out there rest" which doesn't really translate well in the broad scheme of things.

dontstop

I'm coming from the point of view of what happens on the flip site. If you enjoy the work but don't push for the cash, as opposed to just blindly following the cash with no interest in the work. Both combinations will not result in a great experience or salary at the end of the day.

I'm going to try harder to be a little more confident and greedy when it comes to future roles! Thanks =D

TheFORCE

Please dont throw random numbers around like they are facts. We have enough of fake news lately.

Affording to the [PDF]*Average Salaries in New York City
Office of the State Comptroller salaries in NYC 15 years ago were at 52k and in 2017 its around 72-75k.

100k is still pretty good salary and many people are still trying to crack the milestone.

As for your question, since you are only factoring the money, go into the securitie trading you will make over 200k easy. IT is not the only field to crack 100k or 200k.

UnixGuy

dontstop wrote: »

....and only earning $49k AUD [$38k USD] (that's inc. benefits)

you're close to minimum wage mate!! Your previous wage shouldn't dictate your next one! I state my previous wage but I firmly ask for what I think the new position is worth...they can take it or leave it's up to them - don't undersell yourself!!!

dontstop

UnixGuy wrote: »

you're close to minimum wage mate!! Your previous wage shouldn't dictate your next one! I state my previous wage but I firmly ask for what I think the new position is worth...they can take it or leave it's up to them - don't undersell yourself!!!

it's killing me too. I'm always keen to stay back and work on after hours stuff too but I'm starting to struggle with doing that as the bang for buck isn't there. If I was on something like to $80k I'd be more inclined to say this is worth my time but for what I could earn in McDonalds in Australia, I'd rather just go home & study or watch TV.

DatabaseHead

Sales

Several guys I went to college with dropped the tech gig and focused more on tech sales. All make over 150,000 base, then figure in their bonus structure, usually ~50%. You can surpass 200,000 in a hurry.

DatabaseHead

dontstop wrote: »

it's killing me too. I'm always keen to stay back and work on after hours stuff too but I'm starting to struggle with doing that as the bang for buck isn't there. If I was on something like to $80k I'd be more inclined to say this is worth my time but for what I could earn in McDonalds in Australia, I'd rather just go home & study or watch TV.

The highest paid accountant rarely is the best accountant.....

UnixGuy

dontstop wrote: »

it's killing me too. I'm always keen to stay back and work on after hours stuff too but I'm starting to struggle with doing that as the bang for buck isn't there. If I was on something like to $80k I'd be more inclined to say this is worth my time but for what I could earn in McDonalds in Australia, I'd rather just go home & study or watch TV.

you're severely underselling yourself, even service desk jobs pay more than that! I'm not sure why you accept this salary? to be honest, just apply to random jobs on seek, and ANYTHING will pay more than that (serious)

JoJoCal19

hurricane1091 wrote: »

I updated my post. Even traveling 20% of the time can mean 50 days a year, which is a lot. So, you make $200k+. Salaries higher in CA I would imagine, but even if you were to earn $200k right in my city (which you very well might), you put in more work than I want to. I can be straight up honest - I am not putting in thousands more hours of studying anymore. This was my first summer where I did not have an education things going on - I just lived my life. I went fishing so much. I got my boat certificate, my hunting certificate, joined a boxing gym. I ran races, I fished for new species. My girlfriend and I went on many adventures. I've personally realized that the things I do in my life mean more to me than work, and I have real passions that I am more into than anything technology related.

This is not to try to convince ANYONE from going all the way with whatever their subject matter expertise is. I work with folks who genuinely love what they do, it's insane. I like what I do, but when the clock hits 4:45, I'm out the door. And I hope to hear from no one regarding work until 8:45 the next day. Some people do go home and just keep at it though, and it's impressive. That's not me anymore though, and I am okay with that. If you want to be a $200k guy/girl, you cannot be like me though lol.

I still enjoy networking. I will get my CCDP to renew my CCNP. I will keep at it to stay relevant and get better. I like the hard problems. Even if I could pass the CCIE, to get the financial benefits I would need to 1) Be in sales (no thanks), 2) Contract or MSP (no thanks), 3) Work at a big time stressful place (no thanks). There's life decisions for everyone. My last boss was a genius. He loved stress in a weird way. He loved networking and being the best. I liked my last job more to be honest, and I think I'd be more into it being near him all the time. He was a big time motivator. That's perhaps one thing that's been lost on me, I do admit.

This is me to a T. I had always had grand visions, large goals. I wanted to be a Security Director at a minimum, with my eyes on CISO, or a BAMF at one of the security specialties if I stayed on the technical side. Life circumstances change though. My kids went from infants to toddlers and my oldest from a toddler to school-age, and we started doing a lot more stuff that families do. As well, after knocking out the CISM/CISA/CRISC, I decided I no longer want to feel like I HAVE to pursue any certs, education, or really, even knowledge. I pretty much just want to enjoy spending my free time with my family, spending time on my hobbies, and enjoying life. Like hurricane, if someone wants to aim high, I will never try to convince them not to. But that's just not me anymore. I'm 100% content with my mid-100s, work from home, GRC Sr Manager job. While I will still keep my skills sharp (and keep a backup set of skills), I'm just not that into it anymore.

Iristheangel wrote: »

Cyberguy is spot on here. It's not a matter of us doing this for charity but if you just chase after $$$ and you don't enjoy the work, one of three things is going to happen:
1) You're never going to complete the years and training required in XYZ technologies to make $200K and you'll half-ass it
2) You'll get to $200K and be miserable for 50-80 hours a week.
3) (Least likely) You'll be EXTREMELY lucky that you find that this $200K career you chased after for nothing but money happens to be your passion and you just accidentally and luckily fell into it.

How often do we hear number 3? Yeahhhhh

I'm not saying money isn't an important factor but chasing after ONLY what some random people on the internet tell you is a $200K job isn't really the way to go about it.

Now I'm going to say something that people may or may not agree with: Finding a way to $200K is simple but not easy. I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who has went over that already and looking to go much further. I would recommend finding popular or niche technologies that you are passionate about and then you can layer in multiple methods of capitalizing on it including:

OP, I highly suggest you go research Iris' posts here, and on her blog, to see what it takes to make it to that level. Go look at her dedication, the time spent studying and labbing (ABL!), the sacrifices made, to get to the level she is at. Then make a determination if that is REALLY what you want.

NetworkNewb

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

I pretty much just want to enjoy spending my free time with my family, spending time on my hobbies, and enjoying life. Like hurricane, if someone wants to aim high, I will never try to convince them not to. But that's just not me anymore. I'm 100% content with my mid-100s, work from home, GRC Sr Manager job. While I will still keep my skills sharp (and keep a backup set of skills), I'm just not that into it anymore.

Sounds like you are exactly where I want to be in a couple years... A good job around the 100k, being able to spend a good amount of time with the family and not constantly pursuing the next certification. Only got one 2 year old at home so hopefully following in your footsteps. That sounds like the perfect situation to me!!

NuclearBeavis

It seems to me that getting beyond a certain salary point often (but not always) involves being good with people. I'm not that social. I couldn't do sales lunches and dinners and drinks and conventions and find happiness in that noisy world. So I doubt I'll ever see anywhere near 200k.

networker050184

Don't worry NuclearBeavis, there is hope for us non-social types to earn that much in this industry. Just be really, really good at the tech stuff! Of course you have to at least be able to handle yourself in a professional environment and all that.

techfiend

Devops, SDDC, SDN, AWS/Azure are a few on the rise areas which are paying a lot more for people who know it now then they will be in 5 years. AI tech is potentially $500k+ right now. While infosec is still very hot I think the supply is nearing the demand and the honeymoon salaries era is over. I see infosec salaries just a little more than system/network positions lately.

TheFORCE

techfiend wrote: »

Devops, SDDC, SDN, AWS/Azure are a few on the rise areas which are paying a lot more for people who know it now then they will be in 5 years. AI tech is potentially $500k+ right now. While infosec is still very hot I think the supply is nearing the demand and the honeymoon salaries era is over. I see infosec salaries just a little more than system/network positions lately.

This will likely be true in the next 5-7 years or so. Infosec will of course be around but the big bucks will be made in AI. That means people with a different set of skills will need to come along, skills that you will need to acquire from the beginning of your college career.

asurania

How to make Top Tier Money (The $$$ amount will vary by region)
AND YES THE QUESTION ASKED IS VALID.

- Identify a speciality skill set which is in demand. This will vary by region and cities. (some cities need more security, some need more developers, some need more networking).
- You will need to balance what you like, what is in demand, and what skillsets you are capable of learning.
- Get Certified in it (at a advance level) - example ....CCIE, OSCE
- Get experience in it, and move into a advance a role
- Switch Companies if your company does not pay you the $$$ you want, and if you want more $$$$

Bonus Tips:

- You will get higher salary if you are a profit center and not a cost center. What this usually mean is that you are customer facing, and not doing internal IT.
- Find ways to make your billable rate higher. This usually means more certification (if you not in sales)
- You will hit a glass ceiling, and to break it means to get into the sales side of stuff (usually)
- Always remember the basic
- Am i bringing in the company revenue, or costing the company money
- How much revenue am i generating for the company vs how much am I costing the company
- Can my job be outsourced
- Can my job be automated
-What is the lifespan of this job
- How can I create additional value for the company

NuclearBeavis

TheFORCE wrote: »

This will likely be true in the next 5-7 years or so. Infosec will of course be around but the big bucks will be made in AI. That means people with a different set of skills will need to come along, skills that you will need to acquire from the beginning of your college career.

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly encompasses an AI skillset? Is it just being able to code certain types of algorithms?

E Double U

ITSec14 wrote: »

I've even considered moving to Europe (my wife is from there) to get MORE time off. Life is too short to be on the road or sitting in front of a computer. Career's are important things in our lives, but not THE most important thing.

I did exactly that! We relocated from CA to NL and I feel my work-life balance has improved - actually just quality of life in general. I want to make more money, but I actually value more time which I mostly spend with my wife and two sons. If I can triple my salary while maintaining my flexible schedule and low level of stress then bring it on. Money is definitely one of my motivators, but not more important than peace of mind.

ITSec14

E Double U wrote: »

I did exactly that! We relocated from CA to NL and I feel my work-life balance has improved - actually just quality of life in general. I want to make more money, but I actually value more time which I mostly spend with my wife and two sons. If I can triple my salary while maintaining my flexible schedule and low level of stress then bring it on. Money is definitely one of my motivators, but not more important than peace of mind.

That's awesome! Did you find it difficult to find a job over there? I've looked at jobs in NL, Germany and Switzerland. Only problem I have is I don't speak the native languages. The NL is an amazing country though! People are so friendly there and it's a beautiful country.

TheFORCE

NuclearBeavis wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly encompasses an AI skillset? Is it just being able to code certain types of algorithms?

Here's a good article that provides some inisght in the AI field https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/technology/artificial-intelligence-experts-salaries.html

In a nutshell, you will need advance knowlege of math, algorithms, able to code and interface with different API's, it doesnt hurt to have some master's or PHD and you need to start somewhere where they have AI project's. Like all professions though there is no one particular skillset. Just like infosec and other IT roles, if you can get someone to help you make that first step or open that first door, things could be easier afterwards. Like infosec and other IT fields, you will need people at all levels, project managers, data analysts, infosec people, developers, compliance people and who knows what other types of roles that don't have a name yet. The article does offer 2 links to sites that offer free AI courses you can try some tutorials and test.
But damn thats a lot of money to be made in AI, people are already making 350k to 500k plus stocks and benefits