Realistic Salary Expectations

Hey everyone, I was just thinking about realistic salary expectations. I hope to put in a few more years at my current company (a non-profit) and then move on in hopes of getting a better salary.

After my time here, I will have 4-5 years of IT experience (Systems/Network Administrator). I will have hands on with MS Servers, Vmware (some linux), and Cisco routers/switches (no firewall)

I will have atleast these certifications: MCSE 2003: Security, Security+, CCNA (maybe even a CCNP

)

I currently live in southern New York. What is a realistic average salary for someone with this type of experience?

Find more posts tagged with

Save $250 on 2025 certification boot camps from Infosec!

Book now with code EOY2025

Button

Comments

silentc1015

homerj742 wrote:

Hey everyone, I was just thinking about realistic salary expectations. I hope to put in a few more years at my current company (a non-profit) and then move on in hopes of getting a better salary.

After my time here, I will have 4-5 years of IT experience (Systems/Network Administrator). I will have hands on with MS Servers, Vmware (some linux), and Cisco routers/switches (no firewall)

I will have atleast these certifications: MCSE 2003: Security, Security+, CCNA (maybe even a CCNP )

I currently live in southern New York. What is a realistic average salary for someone with this type of experience?

Do you live in New York City? If so, I wouldn't take less than $90,000. When I had my resume around, I was routinely sought out for positions paying $100k+ in the city and around Jersey. I'm a UNIX admin with a few more years of experience and certifications, but the impression I got was that it's one of the highest paying regions in the country. I also know that you typically get exactly what you ask for if you're insistent during the hiring process.

dynamik

www.salary.com will give you a rough idea of what you could get. You can get pretty granular with education, experience, etc. if you want to fine-tune your results. It's not perfect though, so I wouldn't go entirely off of that.

HeroPsycho

Two years from now, I would suspect that Windows 2008 will be deployed frequently, so you might want to ensure you've got certifications in that.

Also, you might want to try getting certified in VMWare. VCP is in high demand. I just searched on dice.com for New York City for VCP, and I saw a $50-70/hr contract position, which should be over $100K/yr pay rate, although it's only for 6 to 9 months.

SRTMCSE

In NYC, I'd say between $60k-$75k would be on average. I just completed a job search and I have about the same time in the field and experience (albeit with MCSE:Security as opposed to MCSA:Security) and the positions I got call backs for would pay the same and recently accepted a position for $65,000 as a Internal Systems Administrator for a consulting firm in midtown.

Positions heavier into cisco (CCNP and higher level) you may run into high 80's and up.

homerj742

HeroPsycho wrote:

Two years from now, I would suspect that Windows 2008 will be deployed frequently, so you might want to ensure you've got certifications in that.

Also, you might want to try getting certified in VMWare. VCP is in high demand. I just searched on dice.com for New York City for VCP, and I saw a $50-70/hr contract position, which should be over $100K/yr pay rate, although it's only for 6 to 9 months.

Wow, I didn't realize that VCP's were getting offers like that. I do enjoy working with VMware, and it's very easy to practice with at home (rather than Cisco equipment! lol)

Thanks to everyone for their input. I will continue to work hard at my current job, rack up experience, supplement with certifications and good references.

hypnotoad

On a somewhat related note, I have a question for those of you on the East Coast...

Is it possible to "live" on $70,000 a year in NY or Boston? I keep finding these jobs paying anywhere from 70-130,000 and my girlfriend thinks we'll be poor out there because cost of living is so much. Any thoughts?

Thanks for helping a farm-boy out

silentc1015

nlabelle wrote:

On a somewhat related note, I have a question for those of you on the East Coast...

Is it possible to "live" on $70,000 a year in NY or Boston? I keep finding these jobs paying anywhere from 70-130,000 and my girlfriend thinks we'll be poor out there because cost of living is so much. Any thoughts?

Thanks for helping a farm-boy out

I disagree with those saying $65k or something is average for NY. Just not true in my experience. If you have experience, education, and certifications it is very possible to make $100k+ year there.

In answer to your question, I was living in Boston making about $55k/year when I had less experience. I could have never afforded to buy a home in a safe neighborhood, but I rented and still lived a very easy and nice lifestyle.

paintb4707

nlabelle wrote:

On a somewhat related note, I have a question for those of you on the East Coast...

Is it possible to "live" on $70,000 a year in NY or Boston? I keep finding these jobs paying anywhere from 70-130,000 and my girlfriend thinks we'll be poor out there because cost of living is so much. Any thoughts?

Thanks for helping a farm-boy out

I can't answer for the city but in Long Island, you can most definitely live off 70k. You wouldn't be wealthy but you could certainly live off it. It's just that the taxes are at an insane level in NY.

Any jobs paying 100k and above you would be living very well.

blargoe

I can't speak to NYC specifically, but in general you will find that when you reach the 5+ year mark in actual systems administration, that the better paying jobs will start becoming much more readily available. I made a huge jump at my last job change after had put in a little over 5 years at a couple different companies.

HeroPsycho

You do need to watch closely the cost of living. I worked in DC for awhile. I took a pay cut and moved to a smaller city still in the east coast, and I'm doing better financially.

In DC, I paid $1900/mo. rent for a two bedroom apartment with a garage. Where I am now, I pay $1500/mo. for a mortage on an 1600 sq ft. house with spacious backyard.

homerj742

blargoe wrote:

I can't speak to NYC specifically, but in general you will find that when you reach the 5+ year mark in actual systems administration, that the better paying jobs will start becoming much more readily available. I made a huge jump at my last job change after had put in a little over 5 years at a couple different companies.

I'm revisiting this thread after some time, and I have to say, I've noticed a significant change in salary on job postings once one has reached 5 years of experience. Right now, I'm at 3 1/2, just 1 1/2 more years to go and I'll probably get my resume out there again!

BradleyHU

yo...wtf is southern ny? you mean like rockland & westchester county? i've never even heard of southern ny, and i'm born & raised here, but then again, i'm from nyc, so we dont really worry about the rest of the state.

but even if you're in west bubble Oswego, with 4-5 yrs sys/net admin, you can command a 75k+ salary, so you know it will be more in the nyc metro area.

BradleyHU

hypnotoad wrote:

On a somewhat related note, I have a question for those of you on the East Coast...

Is it possible to "live" on $70,000 a year in NY or Boston? I keep finding these jobs paying anywhere from 70-130,000 and my girlfriend thinks we'll be poor out there because cost of living is so much. Any thoughts?

Thanks for helping a farm-boy out

lol...i always find this question hilarious. man, nyc is not as expensive as ppl think. unless you're thinkin of living in manhattan on the upper east side or upper west side, then yeah, COL is ridiculous, but then again, those ppl can afford it. and also if you're living in Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx or Staten Island, its all dependent on what neighborhood you live in, and what type of housing you have. I know ppl that have rent for 950 with utilities included, and then those with rent for 1200 with no utilities. and also its about how you spend your money...if you're living beyond your means, then yeah, you will struggle living here.

famosbrown

Yeah I agree. I'm originally from the East Coast and it is all about where you live. If you want to live 1 minute from downtown, then you will pay for it. Most people commute to work and live comfortably on the outskirts...

BeaverC32

Hypnotoad -- people seem to forget NY is much more than just New York City...cost of living varies drastically depending on where you live in NY (Buffalo vs. Rochester vs. NYC...etc)

homerj742

BradleyHU wrote:

yo...wtf is southern ny? you mean like rockland & westchester county? i've never even heard of southern ny, and i'm born & raised here, but then again, i'm from nyc, so we dont really worry about the rest of the state.

but even if you're in west bubble Oswego, with 4-5 yrs sys/net admin, you can command a 75k+ salary, so you know it will be more in the nyc metro area.

Yes, I live in Rockland, I just figured most people wouldn't know what that was. So I just generalized it.