How much can I make?

uthman_53

I am 21 years old I am a full time student and I will be graduating college in May ’09 with a BS in Computer Science with a concentration in information systems. I been interning with a school system for 4 years doing desktop support, field support, and system administration. The school system has about 150 Windows servers, 5000 end users, and 150 schools. I have no cert and I would like to work as a system administrator when I graduate. I am wondering when I graduate what type of job will I be able to get as well as what type of salary I might be offered? Also what cert(s) do you guys recommends me to get before I graduate? P.S. I am planning on working in the DC area.

ULWiz

In my opinion a 4 year degree should get you somewhere into the 30 grand range. Most people wont give you a job without a few certs like A+,Network+, MCP,MCSA,MCSE. So i would get cracking on the certs that are going to benefit you in what you want to accomplish.

blargoe

The fact that you have been interning like that is GREAT. That puts you WAY ahead of the fresh grads with no experience, even if they do have some entry level certs.

That said, get some certs. I think the MCSA would be a great reflection of your current skill level and you'll tie up the loose ends of the things you haven't worked with while you study. Then you'll have the following when you're ready to get a FT job:

College degree
5 years IT experience including some systems administration
Microsoft (and maybe A+/N+) certification

You would have the complete package. With the experience, I think you could see as high as 40-45 with the right town and some luck, but mid 30's for sure. The secret to this money stuff is not to focus on how much you can make right now, but how much you can be making in 4 or 5 years. Pick the job that will build your skills first that will help you get to the next step in the ladder quicker.

shednik

It all depends on where you live really and what company you can get into I got very lucky tho. I just graduated this past December and landed a job with a fortune 500 company and they started me at 46k. Which is above average for someone with roughly 2 years experience. I also like you started working in my last 2 years of college and my last year was full time. I also picked up my A+, N+ and CCNA. I was going to get my MCSA until I got a job dealing with almost all cisco gear. So I'd recommend deciding what it is you think you might want to do and pick up a book on that, whether it be systems admin -> MS type reading or networking -> cisco reading. Good luck to you though I can tell you it can be frustrating looking for a job I recommend to start interviewing and looking in the fall. I know some companies will do their spring hires in the fall before but just make sure you keep your options open.