Disappointed with my salary after 1.5 years and a MCSE?!

Alright, I have been doing IT since September 2006 for a smaller credit card incentives company. I was hired on as "Systems Support" at their remote travel agency at 27k. Now, I admit I knew basically nothing coming into this job and it was a definite fluke I was basically given an entire LAN to administer. Yes, I was on my own from day one administering this site's entire LAN by myself. I have basically been in charge or anything and everything that plugs into the wall. I also manage 10 servers locally.

Here I am over a year and a half later with a MCSE:Security paid for by my company. I still have lots to learn but I am heaps and bounds more comfortable troubleshooting problems. At my first review I was given a 3k raise and approval of training to the tune of 7k. Now, I sit here at 30k/year and this great certification, but little satisfaction in my current salary. Yes, I appreciate the opportunity given to me by my employer, and no I cannot quit because I signed a 2 year contract saying I would not quit for 2 years and if I do I owe 7k within 12 months of quitting and 3.5k in 13-24 months of quitting.

My review isn't until September, but this salary is killing me and my gf is quitting her job soon, so I will be the sole rent payer come June.

In addition, by boss brought up the fact during my last review that the 7k training factored into my total compensation, and now he briefly mentioned that it may have an impact on my review this year which I think is totally unfair considering it played its role last year and should have no effect this coming review.

I have an idea of what I would like to make and I believe I am worth somewhere in the 36k-37k range come September. No?

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Comments

snadam

DANG! that sounds pretty sweet!

basically that took care of your costs to your other company, and your getting around double the salary!

congrats!

pooker

Wow I am proud for you man, I am glad to see you found a company that will appreciate your skills and not take advantage of you. Best of luck in life man , you sound like you have a bright future!

royal

Good deal. I was thinking of buying a house in Oak Brook, but decided to settle down in Aurora. Oak Brook is a good town and I actually hang out there every so often.

blargoe

Excellent! I knew it would just be a matter of time for you.

UnixGuy

Good Luck dude.

your thread gave me a boost, because I am in similar situation. Only that I am Sun Support Engineer, working with High end servers, with zero experience. I am only fresh grad ! but they trained me and gave me the time to be prepared, but I am still underpaid.

all the best

TechJunky

Wow, that is insanely low...

I started out at 40k when I signed on and I thought that was bad.

Keep it up youll get there!

ScottFern

My boss is attempting to counter offer me today......after I already accepted the other job verbally.

If he comes close and promotes me to junior systems administrator and moves me to the main office I think I would take his offer.....I am not sure yet.

Sepiraph

I'd be sort of wary to stay behind with the old company, especially when they underpaid you for so long and only started to do something about it when you are leaving.

Also I think people in IT should need to consider our salary more carefully, because we are really underpaid consideirng what some other professions are making. In Canada at least, we have unionized subway ticket collectors making $100k/year.

And as a network specialist I'd still make slightly less than my friend who works for the city as a parking officer.

itdaddy

I admit the economy is ever declining but that is no reason to take advantage of me, and I am worth around 37k. I just don't get how they can lowball me and tell me they paid 7k for training and that it affects my salary increase.

welcome to the real world -- CHEAP!!! IT pros unless have paid the test of time
or get reeally lucky! get paid crap! evenif you have credentials. I agree MCSE should get 35K min but to have your company pay for your certs and give you time to do so and only ask 2 years that is nice get your experience and the move on but 1.5 years into and MCSE is not enough. I am not MCSE but I bet I know more that you about MCSE topics! cause i have work them all hands on! but have not taken exams yet! oops except my Exchange but I can do the work and have been and get 35K a year without MCSE only A+ and MCP and when something breaks or is buggie; i fix it! bam!

give yourself sometime too often young bucks want want want after only 1.5 years
4 years MCSE should yield 45-65K jobs in todays market

itdaddy

Also I think people in IT should need to consider our salary more carefully, because we are really underpaid consideirng what some other professions are making.

IT is paid $$hit compared to a lot of numbskulls!. I have seen CPA in our Credit Union get paid
for crunching a few numbers and I have to baby sit them for every little issue on their pc. holy crap...trust me...IT gets paid crap!.........

not to pick on you guys with100 certs. but you guys are way underpaid for all the time blood sweat tears put into your certs with 5 or more big certs like

MCSE, CCNP, CCVP, CCDP,CCSP, you guys should be getting a min of 100K a year take home
for all you hard work..just like doctors and lawyers do

but i know you dont. but maybe you guys with 15 certs make that much but it is really
a giant RAT race.love my job but hate my career field outlook and the dudes i work for
IT manager who dont knwo anything about IT. but dish it out!

i am hanging tough hopeing some day for my ship!

itdaddy

well i sure need to read before ranting! hahaha
great job - how lucky is that talk about it and then magic job appears.
maybe i should start a thread B$tching about my job! and maybe i will be offered
a great paying jobo! ahahahah

NOT!

hetty

There are plenty of MCSEs earning 6 figure. Dare I even say MCSAs. Just depends on where you live, if you work for someone else, contract or own your own business. Im sure there are poor lawyers and accountants if you look hard enough, well somewhere. IT is all I know, so im stuck with something I love to do.

ScottFern

I have actually moved on from the whole being under paid and have moved into the do I stay with my existing company with a raise or leave for a different one?

royal

hetty wrote:

Dare I even say MCSAs.

I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't even have their MCSA that make 6 figures. Would make sense though as MCSA and MCSE is a cert people can obtain through just labs at home. Some of the people with no certs have many years of experience and their company's know they know their stuff so why should they bother getting certified. Granted if they were to get laid off, having the cert would be required for a lot of company's regardless of knowledge/experience. It's just protocol.

Turgon

royal wrote:

hetty wrote:

Dare I even say MCSAs.

I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't even have their MCSA that make 6 figures. Would make sense though as MCSA and MCSE is a cert people can obtain through just labs at home. Some of the people with no certs have many years of experience and their company's know they know their stuff so why should they bother getting certified. Granted if they were to get laid off, having the cert would be required for a lot of company's regardless of knowledge/experience. It's just protocol.

Certification just get's you through HR nets if you get lucky. As for getting hired and then 'not' fired. That is all down to how effective you are at work. I read a post from 5 years ago where a hirer had taken on 4 CNEs and an MCNE to get his BorderManager firewall working properly, all to no avail.

HR remain certification happy. They don't understand the stuff, but can understand cert requirements. The technical folks that hire, fire and keep on people are timeserved and looking for the right stuff. Certs aside, if you don't have the right stuff you get waxed. Before certs it was the same.

blargoe

ScottFern wrote:

I have actually moved on from the whole being under paid and have moved into the do I stay with my existing company with a raise or leave for a different one?

What are the pros and cons here? Did I read correctly the new job pays a lot more but is "PC support"? And you're currently doing jr. sysadmin type stuff, and might get a promotion and more sysadmin responsibility if you stay?

Depending on what "PC Support Specialist" means at the new company... being the one to plan for long term, I would stay. I don't think that you're under any illusion that your current job is a long term job, but if you want to make the most of your early career years, jumping ship to more money but taking a step back in responsibility (if the new job is only "PC Support") likely wouldn't turn out as well in the long run. Particularly if your current job gives you the jr. sysadmin position.

ScottFern

blargoe wrote:

ScottFern wrote:

I have actually moved on from the whole being under paid and have moved into the do I stay with my existing company with a raise or leave for a different one?

What are the pros and cons here? Did I read correctly the new job pays a lot more but is "PC support"? And you're currently doing jr. sysadmin type stuff, and might get a promotion and more sysadmin responsibility if you stay?

Depending on what "PC Support Specialist" means at the new company... being the one to plan for long term, I would stay. I don't think that you're under any illusion that your current job is a long term job, but if you want to make the most of your early career years, jumping ship to more money but taking a step back in responsibility (if the new job is only "PC Support") likely wouldn't turn out as well in the long run. Particularly if your current job gives you the jr. sysadmin position.

Your read my posts correctly and are dead on. I agree I can have more control and more advanced experience designing and planning networks at my current job. Moving to the main office is a big step forward as well. If my boss can come within 2k of the my current offer you think I should take it?

Random coincidence, my current employer is implementing changes to help the employees benefits. We just got direct deposit, and eye insurance and they are looking to increase our dental insurance. Little things I fully get that, but helpful and a good gesture none the less.

jbaello

That's a pretty hard question Scott, this have to be weighed by you, on how happy and comfortable you'll be with your current situation as soon they meet your demand, if you would ask me, I would ask for a 10% matchup...

Technowiz

Scott,

I got into IT about the same time as you and have had a very similar career path in the last 18 months. First off big congrats on already having your MCSE:Security! That is impressive. I just finished my MCSA in March and should finish MCSE sometime this summer. I gotta tell you though, you are getting SCREWED by your current employer. You could probably make better than 30k in Chicago just having your A+ and fixing desktops at Geek Squad.

You have been given a great deal of good advice and already followed the advice I was going to give which is to find another job with an employer that will cover your past training with a sign on bonus in lieu of a lower salary than they would otherwise pay. It's a win-win for both you and the new employer.

For the people who said that keeping that lower salary for the next two years in exchange for the training you got I couldn't disagree more. Even factoring in the training expenses (which are tax deductible for your employer by the way) your employer saved thousands the first 18 months you worked for them by having you do the job they would have had to pay someone with experience much more to do. If you are worth 50k+ on the market now and being paid 30k you are giving up 40k over the next two years. For what? They certainly wouldn't pay you 20k over your market value so why should you accept a salary that is 20k below your market value?

Also I think there is an important factor here that noone had brought up yet. When you are working lets say for 30k and worth 50k it isn't costing you just 20k because that impacts your future earnings and pay raises as well. Why do you think potential employers want to know your salary history? If you have two candidates with the exact same experience and certification level coming in to the same position at a company with one guy having made 45k at his last job and the other having made 30k at his last job which one do you think is going to be making more money? May not be fair but that is the reality of how the business world works. A lot of people only see the difference in current earnings but don't also take into account the impact your salary has on future earnings.

As for accepting your current employers counter offer I would caution against it. There are situations where counter offers by a current employer should be considered but not yours. If you go to your employer after getting your MCSE and asked for 45k and they agreed you were worth 45k and then another company offered you 55k, then they would have grounds to try and keep you. But to refuse to pay you what they know you are worth to them even when you have approached them and given them an opportunity is not the kind of employer I would want to work for. At this point them countering is akin to a man refusing to propose to a woman until after she goes out and gets a proposal from another man. That ship has already sailed and considering such an offer is not smart IMO.

There are other factors besides salary such as the experience you will gain but you should be able to find an opportunity that will pay you what you are worth on the market AND get you experience that will increase your value. You shouldn't have to sacrifice one for the other. When you came into your current position you were only worth 30k AND it was a great opportunity for you to learn and gain experience. But now you are worth significantly more than 30k. If your employer is willing to pay you what you are worth and you are still gaining valuable experience then great. But if they aren't there is no reason you shouldn't be able to find an opportunity where you can have both the salary and the learning opportunities. At least that is what you should be striving for.

My situation was very similar to yours in that I went to work for a company in a position that was above my experience level in exchange for an entry level salary that was below what they had paid in the past or would have had to pay someone with more experience. It was a win win situation for both me and the employer. I was fortunate that after completing my MCSA I approached them asking for a 5 figure raise and got it. If you want to pm me I will share my experience and salary history in more detail.

Good luck as it sounds like you are on the right path and again congrats on your accomplishments to this point!

ra13

WoW, I live on the east coast near NY and I started at a small insurance company as an It assistant not nearly what you are doing, right after graduating school with an associates degree and no certs with a base of 30k. After 2 years I was bumped up to 47k (included pager duty, cell phone reimburs, cable line reimburs) I left after 3 years and have moved around a bit. I still yet have mcsa and am making just under 70k. Usually in order to get a good bump in Salary you need to move now that doesn't mean stay for 6 month's and leave but get some time in and it also depends on the company, what industry etc. Good Luck with everything.

ScottFern

My boss lowballed me at 40k and said I should think about more than just money......Yeah, don't think I am doing that in this case.

I am out of here! Last day should be around May 14th. Congrats to me and 48k!

blargoe

ScottFern wrote:

Your read my posts correctly and are dead on. I agree I can have more control and more advanced experience designing and planning networks at my current job. Moving to the main office is a big step forward as well. If my boss can come within 2k of the my current offer you think I should take it?

I'll give you some thoughts but you have to think on this seriously.

If it were me personally, they'd have to come pretty close to the current offer, and the promotion and move to the home office would have to be in stone. If that were the case, then it would come down to more intangible things like how comfortable I am with the current job and the people I work for/with, and other things like benefits (training, vacation, how far it is for you to drive, etc). If the two competing jobs were equal, I wouldn't have any reservation about jumping ship immediately, but (based on what you're saying), the new job would be about a half step back in quality of experience and (if the promotion happens), you'd move forward a half step forward if you stay. That makes it a harder decision.

Like others have said, you might be able to move to this new job and then find something else, or if there is an opportunity, move up at the "new" job. I don't know what it's like where you live, but that would certainly be a reasonable goal. But if that's your intention, what's the difference whether you leave your current job now or leave later? There wouldn't be anything to stop you from continuing to look for a better job if you get the promotion at the old job.

Either way you decide, you are going to do better for yourself than you're doing now.

jbaello

Congrats on your new job!

ScottFern

jbaello wrote:

Congrats on your new job!

Thanks I am actually excited about the opportunity to work in a different environment with different technologies and get paid well for it!

jbaello

ScottFern wrote:

jbaello wrote:

Congrats on your new job!

Thanks I am actually excited about the opportunity to work in a different environment with different technologies and get paid well for it!

I'm glad to see that things finally worked out for you, no need to mention things are getting very expensive nowadays, I believe this will serve your best interest, cause when you do this move, you'll be on that pay scale and hopefully it will continue to climb, it doesn't seem your old manager knows the right compensation for you, or maybe he just wants to rip you off.

Well whatever it is congrats!

blargoe

ScottFern wrote:

My boss lowballed me at 40k and said I should think about more than just money......Yeah, don't think I am doing that in this case.

I am out of here! Last day should be around May 14th. Congrats to me and 48k!

I think you made the right decision in this case. Congrats and best of luck to you!

snadam

blargoe wrote:

ScottFern wrote:

My boss lowballed me at 40k and said I should think about more than just money......Yeah, don't think I am doing that in this case.

I am out of here! Last day should be around May 14th. Congrats to me and 48k!

I think you made the right decision in this case. Congrats and best of luck to you!

+1

They under-appreciated your skill set, and then put even more emphasis on it by lowballing their counteroffer. But hey, its business; and you both played the game. I think you are coming out the winner. The lowball was the nail in the coffin. I think you made a wise choice and best of luck on your new job adventure!

Aldur

HeroPsycho wrote:

Also, learn that in this field, typically speaking, you make your money coming in the door, not by staying at a company. It's unfortunate, but true.

It is so sad that this is sooo true.

Nsdad1107

Sorry to hear about your situation. Good learning experience it sounds like but the pay leaves alot to be desired. I'd say as soon as that two year contract is up, bail if you can. Don't sign anything else. Start looking way before then. Can you ask for more money soon? I'm under a union agreement so I get what I get, I don't know a thing about asking for an increase or how to go about it. Hope things work out!

achef67

Hello,

How has everything turned out?