How much pay rise is appropriate for 1st year ?

Attitude24

Hi, 

I work as a SOC , Security Analyst but I'm not sure how this salary review works and how much is ok for a 1st year SOC Analyst salary hike is fine?. I'm not sure how much to ask because before I started with them I asked for 21K as base price but was offered 18K and top of them I get 4.2K for for doing 12 shift rotation in general but base price is 18K. now I need to know how much is ok to ask for this role. Any advice??.

Thanks

kaiju

What have you accomplished in the last year?

Have you received any official accolades or letters of commendations for performance?

Have you completed any professional certifications?

Have you had any negative counselings?

What is used to track your performance? (Is there a metric that you have to meet?)

You can expect to receive a 2~7% pay raise based on performance IF your position gives annual raises. The best raises actually come from moving up the latter.

cyberguypr

Right. This can be anything from zero to a lot. The sad reality of life is that some companies do not even do annual raises. $18k for a security analyst? Please tell me that is not in the USA.

Attitude24

cyberguypr said:

Right. This can be anything from zero to a lot. The sad reality of life is that some companies do not even do annual raises. $18k for a security analyst? Please tell me that is not in the USA.

Hi, It's in UK so it's £18K . I know it's very low for a Degree job. i just wanted to get myself into commerical side to get experience .of course if I dont get more than 4.5K rise then I will be looking different company.

cyberguypr

Dang! I am curious, what would a desktop/helpdesk person make over there? Asking because your current salary is what I earned when I started my career almost 20 years ago.

Attitude24

cyberguypr said:

Dang! I am curious, what would a desktop/helpdesk person make over there? Asking because your current salary is what I earned when I started my career almost 20 years ago.

Normal Service Help Desk people make between16K to 28K depends on experience. It might be more if it's London or something because living cost is too much,

DZA_

I'm not sure how your company scales out their pay but if you're talking about a normal pay raise (here in Canada, its about 5-7%) covering the cost standard of living or just a tad bit over. You won't see your next big salary jump until you have a few years of working experience under your belt where you can possibly negotiate on your yearly performance, but I'm going to say 3-7% of your base would be your year-to-year salary increase. This would be on top of your bonus that I am assuming that they're covering for if they provide it. I agree with Kaiju as the answer your questions will affect the outcomes of your salary.

Attitude24

DZA_ said:

I'm not sure how your company scales out their pay but if you're talking about a normal pay raise (here in Canada, its about 5-7%) covering the cost standard of living or just a tad bit over. You won't see your next big salary jump until you have a few years of working experience under your belt where you can possibly negotiate on your yearly performance, but I'm going to say 3-7% of your base would be your year-to-year salary increase. This would be on top of your bonus that I am assuming that they're covering for if they provide it. I agree with Kaiju as the answer your questions will affect the outcomes of your salary.

In UK it's different. my buddies are doing the same job but wthin two years their salary jumped to 12K extra and 18K is incredible low for a degree job because even retail workers makes around same. 

kaiju

12K seems more like a position level change than just a raise.

Attitude24

kaiju said:

12K seems more like a position level change than just a raise.

it's not . he's on same role 

kaiju

So basically the company is drastically underpaying employees who are new to the job market?

Attitude24

kaiju said:

So basically the company is drastically underpaying employees who are new to the job market?

basically . all my buddies said it's very low what they paying me.

kaiju

So refer back to my original questions. The answers to those questions will determine how much you standout amongst your peer group.

In the past In used the metrics below to request raises for my team members:

- Accolades and accomplishments

- Professional education

- Professionalism

- Growth potential

Depending on the size of my team and the needs of the contract, I performed at least quarterly counseling sessions to help my team members gauge their progress so they could meet their projected annual goals. Did you have any goals set for the first year? Have you had any counseling sessions with your team lead?

Attitude24

- Accolades and accomplishments

We work as a team so. not too sure how can someone stand out in that .

Professional education
I have Ethical Hacking & Countermeasure Degree and others came as apprentice and worked their way up but I got put straight in that team because of my Degree.

Professionalism

in what sense?

Growth potential

The role itself have growth because it's a security job and i can do Comptia Security + or other cetificates but right now i don't use the use .

generally it's a big company . it's Capgemini . we didn't had any sessions with team yet but normally we talk about the issues or and security concern when we are there.

kaiju

So basically you have nothing that makes you standout. You will most likely get the minimum raise if any at all.

DZA_

@OP - Judging by your username and what you've posted, sounds like you're a fresh new grad with a lot of theoretical knowledge but little work experience. (<2-3 years). This puts you in the "pay your dues" of your career where you have to get your work experience and certifications before you can start making bigger salary jumps or even decent raises. I'm not sure what your what your other peers or friends at other companies are making as a base but if you want to start making more money, start looking at being certified with at least a 1-2 years of experience or else its going to be a paper cert. If the organization is the problem, work yourself there for a couple of years to get the experience and then start looking elsewhere. 

Attitude24

DZA_ said:

@OP - Judging by your username and what you've posted, sounds like you're a fresh new grad with a lot of theoretical knowledge but little work experience. (<2-3 years). This puts you in the "pay your dues" of your career where you have to get your work experience and certifications before you can start making bigger salary jumps or even decent raises. I'm not sure what your what your other peers or friends at other companies are making as a base but if you want to start making more money, start looking at being certified with at least a 1-2 years of experience or else its going to be a paper cert. If the organization is the problem, work yourself there for a couple of years to get the experience and then start looking elsewhere. 

Hi,

Yes, I'm New to industry so not much experieced . I just wanted to know how much is a fail safe salary rise can i go for. I know people started as 19 K and twoyears later they are earning around 30K

kaiju

This the advice that I give to all new team members:

1. Set realistic goals. Certs, cross-training, and so forth.

2. Inquire about goals that the company wants you to meet.

3. Ensure your team lead or the person who will be evaluating your performance knows about the goals.

4. If your company uses a performance system, make sure everything is documented.

5. Keep all emails pertaining to accolades (both group and individual).

6. Request at least a semi-annual performance review.

Keep your head up and forge forward!!

DatabaseHead

Depends first year you rarely start at the beginning of the year so it will be prorated.  Probably looking at ~ .9 to 2.2 depending where you started at during the year, unless you prove that the position you stepped into was completely beneath you.  I had this happened once and they gave me "stretch" which is the top 10 percent of people in my grade.....  

Assuming you participate for a full year, 2.5 - 3.5 % is really good......    If you do something really wonderful maybe 4.5 - 5 TOPS.  

COBOL_DOS_ERA

I would say between 2-3%. Since they already underpaying you. This is very low pay even in UK's standard.

Attitude24

DatabaseHead said:

Depends first year you rarely start at the beginning of the year so it will be prorated.  Probably looking at ~ .9 to 2.2 depending where you started at during the year, unless you prove that the position you stepped into was completely beneath you.  I had this happened once and they gave me "stretch" which is the top 10 percent of people in my grade.....  

Assuming you participate for a full year, 2.5 - 3.5 % is really good......    If you do something really wonderful maybe 4.5 - 5 TOPS.  

That's pretty low, isnt it?. I mean , it's already very low what they are paying but I'm not planning to stick around unless there is a big salary hike. 

Attitude24

promethuschow said:

I would say between 2-3%. Since they already underpaying you. This is very low pay even in UK's standard.

I know, all my mates said it's very low for a SOC and said if the pay is not 4-5k hike then should start looking for sonewsome else . 

DatabaseHead

Attitude24 said:

DatabaseHead said:

Depends first year you rarely start at the beginning of the year so it will be prorated.  Probably looking at ~ .9 to 2.2 depending where you started at during the year, unless you prove that the position you stepped into was completely beneath you.  I had this happened once and they gave me "stretch" which is the top 10 percent of people in my grade.....  

Assuming you participate for a full year, 2.5 - 3.5 % is really good......    If you do something really wonderful maybe 4.5 - 5 TOPS.  

That's pretty low, isnt it?. I mean , it's already very low what they are paying but I'm not planning to stick around unless there is a big salary hike. 

I wouldn't either......   If they low ball you time to look for another position.

jeremywatts2005

Always keep a written log of your accomplishments and achievements for a yr so that come review time you have hard dates and details that you can say this is why I want more. Every employee I ever managed I had them keep a log it was super easy come review time because it gave me as a manager added fire power to go to HR and say hey Bob is awesome look at everything he has done. If you have a decent manager he will fight for his employees benefits and salary. 

DZA_

jeremywatts2005 said:

Always keep a written log of your accomplishments and achievements for a yr so that come review time you have hard dates and details that you can say this is why I want more. Every employee I ever managed I had them keep a log it was super easy come review time because it gave me as a manager added fire power to go to HR and say hey Bob is awesome look at everything he has done. If you have a decent manager he will fight for his employees benefits and salary. 

I had an awesome year also having a "Atta Boy" folder in my inbox and when it came to review time, I basically formulated my list, provide justification and the organization gave me the highest employee rating possible. I ended up walking away with a pretty large bonus. People just don't do this enough. 

jasmine4ccsp

Hi everyone, I'm new here and from China. Awkward but feel the urge to ask to understand the context: when you guys discuss about salary, eg 18K, are you talking about annual or monthly salary? Thx!

kaiju

18k annual would be REALLY low while 18k monthly is a pretty good salary.

Caveat: salary depends on position (entry, mid, high, management), experience and education (certs and actual education) and the job market for that particular area. 100K in metropolitan areas is barely scrapping by while that same salary is really comfortable in a suburban area with cheaper housing/cost of living.  18K base + shift differentials might be OK for a 1st year analyst with no practical experience who is looking to enter the SOC field. BUT most people will move on to a different company seeking mid-level pay (30k~60K) if their current employer doesn't advance them to a mid position.