Your Opinion Please (even if it stinks ;) )

c0d3_w0lf

Okay, so after browsing through a thread on salaries/what people make, I feel the urge to ask this. I just got my CCNA, and just received my raise for it. I work in the NOC of a pretty large company. I now make a little over $30k/year. Does that seem a little low or about right? (23 years old, one year of experience, was making 27k before the CCNA)

networker050184

Depends on lots of factors like cost of living and supply and demand. If there are 50 people like you applying for that job then they aren't going to pay as much. If you were the only guy in town with a year experience and CCNA then it would be a different story. If your not happy with your pay try to find something better. In the mean time some pay is better than none.

GT-Rob

What are your duties? Could someone without CCNA do your job?

I would say with only a year experience, you are about right. Although I have heard that Houston is expensive.

sprkymrk

Sound a little low for Houston. Maybe 5-6K low for a guy with a year XP and CCNA.

94jedi

Well, honestly it seems like the trend has pushed towards experience AND certs rather than just certs. Back in the late 90's early 2000's, Certs were more important. That lend to a bunch people who were deemed "Paper certs". As in, people who had all the certs but it just meant they could memorize things and pass tests. I worked with a guy who was a Comp Sci Major, had 2000/2003 MCSE and CCNA and he was always asking me questions. I only had one year of exp over him but we were light years apart in ability.

brad-

Its probably because of your age. Employers tend to not think young people are worth as much as older people....and you cant blame them really.

I will say that you're doing very well for a 23 year old. When I was 23 I was still clueless as to what i wanted to do while sowing my oats in the army.

JDMurray

brad- wrote:

When I was 23 I was still clueless as to what i wanted to do while sowing my oats in the army.

Ugh, at 23 I was heavily unemployed because of the Challenger disaster. Every military contract in the USA was immediately suspended, and the ensuing lay-offs ended my high-paying gig as an aerospace electrical inspector. After months of some warehouse work, I found an opportunity to convert my hobby of writing BBS software into a paying job. It's funny how things influence other things.

DMin

It does sound a bit low for an area like Houston, but you'll need to check with your peers (assuming they're willing to share the info) to see where you really stand.

paintb4707

Certainly sounds low for 1 year of experience.

silentc1015

Sounds very low. NOC for the company I work for here in DC pays $60 - $70k.

msteinhilber

I'd say that's fairly low.

I'm not sure how comparable Houston is to Madison, WI but a friend of mine who's only experience was working as a tech for about 6 months at a small local computer chain. He holds no certifications and has his associates degree and works helpdesk for ~45k a year.

silentc1015

Former coworker of mine just moved to Houston and actually works NOC. Haven't talked to him since, so I'm not sure what he makes. But as I understand it, Houston is nearly as good as Washington DC for IT. I think you're getting seriously underpaid. But if you like the job for other reasons more important to you, you should keep it. It's your call. But I'd post my resume around asking for $55k and see if you get any bites. I bet you will. It may take a long time, and they may be few and far between (or maybe not). But you already have a job, so what is there to lose?

94jedi

1 year exp and CCNA??? I'd say you should make about $35k. 1 year isn't all that much exp. 2 years, I'd say $40k. just my .02 based on my own experience.

c0d3_w0lf

Thanks for all the responses, everyone!

I have a feeling it is a little on the low end, but since I can pay all my bills (for the moment), I'll probably stick with it for at least another year, and then with 2 years exp under my belt (along with the additional certs I should have by then), hopefully I can move on to something much bigger and better.

Poison Reverse

silentc1015 wrote:

Sounds very low. NOC for the company I work for here in DC pays $60 - $70k.

what d u do in ya noc?
i used to do noc n it was verrrrry basic

silentc1015

Poison Reverse wrote:

silentc1015 wrote:

Sounds very low. NOC for the company I work for here in DC pays $60 - $70k.

what d u do in ya noc?
i used to do noc n it was verrrrry basic

I don't work NOC. I'm a Unix admin and work alongside NOC in our customer support facility. They basically address difficulties that our customers have relating to their managed firewalls, troubleshoot switching problems, take a look at the networking side of things if one of us (Unix or NT admin) needs them to. They are also available to replace routing and switching equipment if we have a failure. I'm not sure if this is typical NOC work or more advanced, because it's a bit outside my area of expertise.

Plantwiz

c0d3_w0lf wrote:

Okay, so after browsing through a thread on salaries/what people make, I feel the urge to ask this. I just got my CCNA, and just received my raise for it. I work in the NOC of a pretty large company. I now make a little over $30k/year. Does that seem a little low or about right? (23 years old, one year of experience, was making 27k before the CCNA)

Sounds like decent pay. Depends on your area and the size of the company though, but that's reasonable for a year of experience here.

silentc1015

Plantwiz wrote:

c0d3_w0lf wrote:

Okay, so after browsing through a thread on salaries/what people make, I feel the urge to ask this. I just got my CCNA, and just received my raise for it. I work in the NOC of a pretty large company. I now make a little over $30k/year. Does that seem a little low or about right? (23 years old, one year of experience, was making 27k before the CCNA)

Sounds like decent pay. Depends on your area and the size of the company though, but that's reasonable for a year of experience here.

I respectfully disagree. He's in Houston which is very good for IT from what I hear. Here in Washington DC you can earn $27k making coffee for people at Starbucks. Of course, there are many other reasons to keep a job. It sounds like a great place to really learn a lot and launch your career (and it sure beats making coffee!). But I think he could do a lot better in pay. However, pay is not the most important thing in my experience!

I spent about 5 years working very hard as a sysadmin starting at $9/hour then ending at $16.50/hour. Both rates were embarassingly low, but they enabled me to get the skills to make almost triple that now doing much less demanding work. At the time I wasn't aware that I could be earning so much. I think it's very important for us to be completely aware of how valuable we are. The people on this board I believe are also the top echelon of employees, at least in terms of dedication and motivation. Just being here shows how much we care about our careers.

silentc1015

c0d3_w0lf wrote:

Thanks for all the responses, everyone!

I have a feeling it is a little on the low end, but since I can pay all my bills (for the moment), I'll probably stick with it for at least another year, and then with 2 years exp under my belt (along with the additional certs I should have by then), hopefully I can move on to something much bigger and better.

This may come as a surprise because of my posts regarding your pay, but I actually think this is a very good idea. I worked at a startup ISP where I was underpaid for several years. I didn't realize I was underpaid until I moved on for other reasons (moved with my gf who went to college). However, it was a good thing. Because when I was doing interviews they really valued all of the experience I had and especially the longevity with the company. The biggest thing to look for with just a year or two of experience is how much exposure you get to new skills and technology on the job. After 2, 3, and 4 years, go for the big bucks.

dynamik

I'll also agree that experience > pay, at least in the beginning. Other IT people wince when I tell them what I make, but I've spent that past 2+ creating an AD domain from scratch, and I'm looking at bringing in Exchange and Sharepoint later this year. The company has been incredibly successful. Last year we received some accolade for being one of the fastest growing companies in the Metro area. I've implemented the entire IT infrastructure behind that. Tell me that isn't going to look good on a resume. I'm going to stay until I feel like I've done all I can for them and that neither of us will really benefit from my continued employ. They are going to plateau in terms of growth and IT needs, and it really won't make sense for me to stick around to do miscellaneous troubleshooting and backups. I'm sure I'll still pop back in after hours or on the weekends once in awhile.

c0d3_w0lf

dynamik wrote:

I'll also agree that experience > pay, at least in the beginning. Other IT people wince when I tell them what I make, but I've spent that past 2+ creating an AD domain from scratch, and I'm looking at bringing in Exchange and Sharepoint later this year. The company has been incredibly successful. Last year we received some accolade for being one of the fastest growing companies in the Metro area. I've implemented the entire IT infrastructure behind that. Tell me that isn't going to look good on a resume. I'm going to stay until I feel like I've done all I can for them and that neither of us will really benefit from my continued employ. They are going to plateau in terms of growth and IT needs, and it really won't make sense for me to stick around to do miscellaneous troubleshooting and backups. I'm sure I'll still pop back in after hours or on the weekends once in awhile.

Man, wish I could've found something like that when I was still livin' up there! I can't complain too much though...moving down here has allowed me to play in a kickass band (albeit in a very underground genre) and meet some pretty interesting people. I've thought about maybe eventually moving back up to the Twin Cities, but I haven't really investigated how strong the IT scene is up there.

dynamik

c0d3_w0lf wrote:

Man, wish I could've found something like that when I was still livin' up there! I can't complain too much though...moving down here has allowed me to play in a kickass band (albeit in a very underground genre) and meet some pretty interesting people. I've thought about maybe eventually moving back up to the Twin Cities, but I haven't really investigated how strong the IT scene is up there.

Why don't you come up this weekend? We've got some sub-zero temperatures coming our way. I think you'll realize you made the right choice pretty damn quick.

It was actually a fluke opportunity. I worked a crap job for about three years when the company I was at got absorbed in a merger. The guy I used to work for convinced the new owner that I really knew my stuff, and I was given free reign to develop things as I saw fit. The funny part is, the merger eventually fell through, and they asked me if I wanted to come back to my old job. "Um... No thanks."

I'd describe the IT scene as solid. I don't think it's on fire like other areas, but there's definitely work. I occasionally drive by a new three-building Medtronic campus that's being developed and wish I had another 6-12 months of experience and certifications. That would be a killer gig.