how high can I earn as network admin?

I'm trying to have an idea of how much can I earn as a network admin. I have a bachelor degree in Management (MIS), an advanced diploma in networking and have worked in IT for about six years (I've worked part time before that for another 5 years when I was young). About four months finally got an actual networking job where I only deal with routers, switches, firewalls, QoS, traffic optimization both a the branch-office and core levels. Although, I'm still learning, it seems that I will stay in networking indifinetely. Unless.

Unless there is a reason (and a chance) for me to do something else. In the next few years, I plan to get industry certifications and study advanced networking. But I have to pay my student loans as wells

So, how much [on average] can I expect? What are the chances of me moving to another IT area if my resume is full of networking experience/training?

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Comments

royal

Depends on where you live and your skill level. Honestly, I know idiots who have been in the IT field for 15 years and they earn 6 figures due to how long they have been in the field. I've seen several Exchange related jobs that want 7 years of experience from a gifted individual and are willing to pay $90,000-110,000 in the downtown Chicago area. Seldom do I see those jobs, but they are out there. Keep looking and you might see these pop up from time to time. This is the time to have your resume in top notch shape, have a good list of references ready, perhaps have a portfolio ready of the work you have done, and make sure you study up on questions/answers that someone might ask in an interview. When these opportunities come up, you need to make sure you will amaze them so they will pick you out of the large crowd.

binarysoul

Thanks for the advice.

As a side note, I have to mention I like IT and networking very much. But because I got a lot of student loans to get a degree and a diploma, I must make sure I'm able to finish them off quickly. So, my desire to have a higher pay isn't rooted in greed, but in student loans

royal

I know exactly how you feel in regards to student loans. I have $45k in student loans to pay off in the next 20 years. Make sure you consolidate your loans which helps you get the lowest interest rate possible. I'm down to 3% interest. I decided I'm going to pay the regular amount over the next 20 years because of the fact that if I invest, I gain more than 3% interest so it makes more sense to invest than to pay off something I'm not paying a whole lot in interest in.

Anyways, to get on subject, liking IT definitely helps. With such a saturated field, a person who intends to do IT as a job rather than a hobby is not going to be too successful. Of course they can be, but they're never going to be one of those people who are good at what they do. Being good at what you do will definitely help you long-term building up those professional references, your portfolio, and your skills as a qualified individual.

mog27

royal wrote:

I know exactly how you feel in regards to student loans. I have $45k in student loans to pay off in the next 20 years. Make sure you consolidate your loans which helps you get the lowest interest rate possible. I'm down to 3% interest. I decided I'm going to pay the regular amount over the next 20 years because of the fact that if I invest, I gain more than 3% interest so it makes more sense to invest than to pay off something I'm not paying a whole lot in interest in.

I have over $30,000 in student loans to pay in the next 20 years with a 5.25% Interest rate ( I consolidated). You think it would be a better idea to just pay the minimum and invest the money that I would pay that loan off?

Someone told me that recently but cutting into that total and maybe even paying it off within the next 5 to 10 years would feel like a big monkey off my back.

royal

mog27 wrote:

royal wrote:

I know exactly how you feel in regards to student loans. I have $45k in student loans to pay off in the next 20 years. Make sure you consolidate your loans which helps you get the lowest interest rate possible. I'm down to 3% interest. I decided I'm going to pay the regular amount over the next 20 years because of the fact that if I invest, I gain more than 3% interest so it makes more sense to invest than to pay off something I'm not paying a whole lot in interest in.

I have over $30,000 in student loans to pay in the next 20 years with a 5.25% Interest rate ( I consolidated). You think it would be a better idea to just pay the minimum and invest the money that I would pay that loan off?

Someone told me that recently but cutting into that total and maybe even paying it off within the next 5 to 10 years would feel like a big monkey off my back.

Well as I said, mine is only 3% and I use those online banks (I use HSBC) that give me 5.05%. I would gain more money long term if I kept that money in my account than paying it off. As for your situation, it always depends. My opinion is almost always, keep the money and invest as you'd make more money long term. I'd rather be saving for a a house and/or taking the extra money and putting it into your 401k or getting an IRA where you'd be getting ~10% interest per year. And don't forget, that's not just 10% on the money you put in that year, it's also being compounded.

So personally, in my situation, I am going to to be saving for a down payment for my house to the point where after I use my down payment, I still have $5,000-10,000 left in my account in case of emergency and then use all extra money to put into an IRA in addition to the 401k I currently have.

Long-term, I'll make more money than if I were to pay off my student loan faster. Of course you can always pay off your student loan faster and just get it off your back. I'm actually thinking of just having my fedral witholding at 0 and using all that income tax return every year to put towards my student loan. Of course this isn't financially smart as I could be claiming 1 and getting my money and investing that every month instead of giving the IRS a free interest loan while my tax money sits in their account building them money. But I think it's a good balance between investing and getting that stupid loan gone.

mog27

royal wrote:

mog27 wrote:

royal wrote:

I know exactly how you feel in regards to student loans. I have $45k in student loans to pay off in the next 20 years. Make sure you consolidate your loans which helps you get the lowest interest rate possible. I'm down to 3% interest. I decided I'm going to pay the regular amount over the next 20 years because of the fact that if I invest, I gain more than 3% interest so it makes more sense to invest than to pay off something I'm not paying a whole lot in interest in.

I have over $30,000 in student loans to pay in the next 20 years with a 5.25% Interest rate ( I consolidated). You think it would be a better idea to just pay the minimum and invest the money that I would pay that loan off?

Someone told me that recently but cutting into that total and maybe even paying it off within the next 5 to 10 years would feel like a big monkey off my back.

Well as I said, mine is only 3% and I use those online banks (I use HSBC) that give me 5.05%. I would gain more money long term if I kept that money in my account than paying it off. As for your situation, it always depends. My opinion is almost always, keep the money and invest as you'd make more money long term. I'd rather be saving for a a house and/or taking the extra money and putting it into your 401k or getting an IRA where you'd be getting ~10% interest per year. And don't forget, that's not just 10% on the money you put in that year, it's also being compounded.

So personally, in my situation, I am going to to be saving for a down payment for my house to the point where after I use my down payment, I still have $5,000-10,000 left in my account in case of emergency and then use all extra money to put into an IRA in addition to the 401k I currently have.

Long-term, I'll make more money than if I were to pay off my student loan faster. Of course you can always pay off your student loan faster and just get it off your back. I'm actually thinking of just having my fedral witholding at 0 and using all that income tax return every year to put towards my student loan. Of course this isn't financially smart as I could be claiming 1 and getting my money and investing that every month instead of giving the IRS a free interest loan while my tax money sits in their account building them money. But I think it's a good balance between investing and getting that stupid loan gone.

I use ING Direct (savings and checking) myself and I love it. HSBC gives a little higher APY I think. fnbodirect.com gives a 6 % APY, the highest I think out there with no min or fees.

I just think it sucks to think that I will be still owing the bank money for my student loan even when I'm close to 50 years old.

royal

mog27 wrote:

I just think it sucks to think that I will be still owing the bank money for my student loan even when I'm close to 50 years old.

Ain't that the truth! I'm 27 in a few weeks and have 19 years to go. I'll be paying off the loan till I'm 46!

dtlokee

royal wrote:

mog27 wrote:

I just think it sucks to think that I will be still owing the bank money for my student loan even when I'm close to 50 years old.

Ain't that the truth! I'm 27 in a few weeks and have 19 years to go. I'll be paying off the loan till I'm 46!

Yeah I feel the same way although I have paid mune off at this point, when I would make a payment I would think about how much money I wasted on that degree and what it has done for me. I could have spent 20k and gotten a degree from any shcool and it would have done the same for me as my 105k education. Most employers only care that you have a degree, any degree, from anywhere.

Now I'm self employed so it does nothing for me

Kasor

Student loan is only the beginning. Car payment and house mortgage are next....

You will do fine. Don't worry and be happy, enjoy life.

mog27

dtlokee wrote:

royal wrote:

mog27 wrote:

I just think it sucks to think that I will be still owing the bank money for my student loan even when I'm close to 50 years old.

Ain't that the truth! I'm 27 in a few weeks and have 19 years to go. I'll be paying off the loan till I'm 46!

Yeah I feel the same way although I have paid mune off at this point, when I would make a payment I would think about how much money I wasted on that degree and what it has done for me. I could have spent 20k and gotten a degree from any shcool and it would have done the same for me as my 105k education. Most employers only care that you have a degree, any degree, from anywhere.

Now I'm self employed so it does nothing for me

Yeah I have noticed in IT that it seems like places don't care if you have your 4-year degree from a well known school as opposed to, say, an online University. They just care that you have one.

binarysoul

I 'm paying 8.75% in interest and have about 30k in student loan! I've heard that if one consolidates a student loan, he/she won't be eligible for government programs that may reduce a student loan (I'm in Canada, so it may be different in the US).

How can you get approved for consolidation?

Smallguy

I can't tell you for sure about any gov't programs here in Canada even though I'm fom Canada myself

I think 8.75% is pretty damn high especially with places in PC financial offering around 5% on loans

realistically I do not think any gov't program is going to reduce your payments by 2.75 % over the period your paying off you loans

if I were you I would seriously look into consolidating your debt if you can get a loan between 5 and 6 %

it's a shame everyone is trying to better them self yet they end up getting put behind the 8-ball with all this debt we get as a result of a necessity to be educated beyond high school in today's world.

not sure about your area but here in NS I know alot of people with a degree who will be lucky to ever make more than 15.00 an hour (minimum wage is 7.60 i think). yet they are 40-50k in debt

GT-Rob

Poor Americans :P

In Canada, the government supplements tuition so instead of 20k/year, its only 5k/year. 3k/year for college

Downside though, we don't have scholarships though.

binarysoul

Ok, I don't get it!

How is it possible that banks would loan out money at 3-5% while the Prime Rate is 6.25%?

Show me the catch before the catch catches me

royal

The rate rose. When I was doing my tuition, the rate was around 3% so they allowed us to consolidate which locks in the interest rate at what we initially started at. If we didn't consolidate, our loans would have gone up to above 6% as well.

binarysoul

Then it's in the best interest of students that the economy deteriorates, that way the interest rate will continue to go down, i.e., the recent subprime rate issue in the US. Not that I want to see the economy down.

One may arge that job prospects will go down with it. Yes, but it would mostly be the executives who lose bonuses and jobs. They still need, the 'working class' to bring the economy up.

Bottom line: When the economy does bad, it means good for students (at least in the short-term)