What was your entry level salary like?

paintb4707

SRTMCSE wrote: »

but NY is expensive

Isn't that the truth.

SRTMCSE

paintb4707 wrote: »

Isn't that the truth.

And the taxes....ugh, don't even get me started

sambuca69

Hmm.... I got in when CEO's were having nightmares about the Y2K bug (lol) and I started at $50K, no experience, no certs....

jryantech

$13/hour as a Part-Time Information System Technician.

Fixing computers, Imaging computers, Supporting company applications, Supporting third party applications and more.

Lamini

jryantech wrote: »

$13/hour as a Part-Time Information System Technician.

Fixing computers, Imaging computers, Supporting company applications, Supporting third party applications and more.

I do kinda what you do, full time, at about 3x the salary. add overtime rate to that and goes much higher (did 400hrs last yr), toss 3-4months of travel/yr=per diem pay. Prior IT experience... uhm.. i got A+ in 2004 (hobby), sec+ net+ last month. same stuff you do + server, voip, teach, etc. im electronics/communications guy that just crossed over to IT.

skrpune

SRTMCSE wrote: »

And the taxes....ugh, don't even get me started

hey, at least your sales tax is 2% less than in IL. We need that extra state income here to line our politicians pockets...

My first IT job was when I lived in Toronto - $10CAD/hr as a technician for small computer/tech shop. I built computers, fixed computers in the shop or at customer sites, did some phone support, etc. Pay was crap, but the boss and experience were great. Turned down a $16/hr night shift crackberry support job to take this one, and I'm SO glad I did.

jryantech

Lamini wrote: »

I do kinda what you do, full time, at about 3x the salary. add overtime rate to that and goes much higher (did 400hrs last yr), toss 3-4months of travel/yr=per diem pay. Prior IT experience... uhm.. i got A+ in 2004 (hobby), sec+ net+ last month. same stuff you do + server, voip, teach, etc. im electronics/communications guy that just crossed over to IT.

$39/hour? Seriously?
You are making $81,000/year with an A+, Sec+ and Net+.. Lol

Well I actually work for a fortune 500 company, the office is beautiful, part time because I go to school and they are VERY flexible also I am very happy with the pay and work environment.

Xcluziv

I need to find something part-time like that. I'm in school to...

jryantech wrote: »

$39/hour? Seriously?
You are making $81,000/year with an A+, Sec+ and Net+.. Lol

Well I actually work for a fortune 500 company, the office is beautiful, part time because I go to school and they are VERY flexible also I am very happy with the pay and work environment.

Agent6376

Started in Geek Squad about 2 1/2 years ago at $11.50. Worked my way up into the field after a year to $15.50, then up another tier in field services to $19/hr.

I'm looking to find a company that I can gain significant experience in and grow. As it stands now there isn't much else that Geek Squad provides in the field that's more complex than 20 users in a company with an occasional server deploy here and there.

Until I find someone willing to take me in, I'll keep knocking down the certs.

Slowhand

I got a job working in a CompUSA tech shop from 2004-2005. At $8.50 per hour, it was not only crap-pay but it was also less than some of the sales-weasels out in the store made before their commission. The only reason I stayed was because it was steady work, my boss was uber-cool, and they paid for my first cert, A+. I quit when my boss left and was replaced with a former sales-manager who acted not unlike your average high-school senior that thinks he knows everything and likes to try to show anyone around him at any given moment.

My next job was my first "official" IT job - that is, not retail-tech - which was at Kaiser hospital as a contractor. I got $15 per hour for doing some very basic helpdesk stuff, mainly installing printers and fixing minor issues on workstations. It was supposed to be more security-oriented, but that particular hospital had already locked down and cleaned up before I got there. Incidentally, this was in late 2005, around the same time I joined TE and got Security+ certified. The next gig was my first permanenent salary-position, working as a systems engineer at a NOC/datacenter for about $35,000 per year. Not exactly a living wage in the Bay Area, where a 1-bedroom apartment averages $1,200 per month, but it was a start.

I also did some on-the-side consulting as far back as 2000, but that was minor stuff that didn't exactly bring in the big bucks. The work was scarce and often times the customers were stingy. As my former business partner and current roommate put it, "we took what we could get, we basically worked for cookies and h@ndj0bs."

paintb4707

jryantech wrote: »

$39/hour? Seriously?
You are making $81,000/year with an A+, Sec+ and Net+.. Lol

Certs have nothing to do with salary...

Sunshine_54

I was lucky. Graduated from school a couple of years ago and got my first IT job starting at 46k with benefits (canadian).

jamesp1983

I was in my first year of college and had my A+. My first job paid 14/hr.

tomtech

My first IT job was a part-time position making $19/hr while I was still going through college. I graduated at 23 with an BS in MIS and got my first full-time IT job with a starting salary of $58k. I had all my certs in my sig except MCSA at the time.

I'm now 25 and I make around $63k while trying to finish my MCSE as well as other certs.

Bokeh

$3.12/hour, before taxes .. Yep .. Was making 541/month from Uncle Sam when I started in IT many moons ago.

matradley

Well up until recently, I was contracted as a Computer Equipment Technician making $15/hr. I was just offered a position as of yesterday making $40,000/year as a Operations Support Specialist level 01 (2nd line support).

jnwdmb

I will start off by saying that I am very fortunate to have found a job that I enjoy and can pay the bills in this economy. I know that some of you guys will not like this, but I broke from the traditional route and obtained my MCSE, A+, and Net+ without having any major work experience or Bachelors degree. I know that this is not ideal, and I do not suggest that anyone else take this path, but I had some unique personal circumstances that made me choose to do things this way. After my MCSE I started looking for work and landed some temp/independent contractor gigs making about $30 per hour, but only part time (around 18-20 hrs a week). I rode that for about two months while I searched for a full time position. I turned down two higher paying offers (low 50k range) before landing a permanent full time position w/ benefits. This worked out well because it is based in a small rural New England town with only about 10k residents and cost of living is very reasonable and I work a regular shift without having to be on call or work weekends. I plan to build up my resume for a while by adding my CCNA and some more experience.

Tryntotechit

I started my first IT position as of February 2009. It is a part time pc technician position for Fastteks. I am making 18$/hr. No benefits. I also have been working a factory job since '00. Just graduated with AAS in CIS in May. Starting BS this fall and currently looking for a full time IT gig. Had current certs.

KoolTrix

I started in April 09.

Desktop Support 13.00/hr (only work 2 days/week tho )

I have my A+ Net+ Sec+ MCP MCSA MCSA: Sec

No Prior experience other than College/TrainingCamp (certifications)


Hoping to get my MCSE MCSE: Sec soon, and use that to land a
Sys Admin Job.

My next job, I wont take less than 18/hr fulltime.
wish me luck.

Lamini

paintb4707 wrote: »

Certs have nothing to do with salary...

1 word pretty much sums up my work last 5yrs, frustration. Like many others here, im a "worker bee", i do my best, work well with others, and provide quality results, no shortcuts.

not long ago, a company was to pick me up and pay me considerably more than the smaller dominos pizza driver-like pay i was getting. however, the day before I put my 2 week notice in, another company heard the news and couple of those managers were teaming on counteroffering the original deal. the day i was to put in my notice, my own company heard. i told the first company everything, they wanted the other offers in writing and they would counter again. there was a bidding war. needless to say i was not prepared for that drama (who is?). i was shocked when my original employer called me in, doors locked, windows closed, was begging me to stay and asked me how much i wanted to be payed... 2yrs before i came in drenched from the rain in a similar situation asking what i was doing wrong as i had never seen a raise.

someone has a sig here... something along the lines of "luck is opportunity meeting readiness" (?). ps im in the east coast and where i work, i make the least in my shop being the youngest (mid30s), i'd say 90k is OK life here, and i dont mean eating out every night or driving an NSX. i do cup-o-ramen and carpool like others. 90k in jersey is, what i heard from a buddy as "rough".

redline5th

I had a job offered to me as a web admin/techy starting out at $12.75 an hour.

Had to decline due to school. Company hopes to pick me up when I'm done with school.

stlsmoore

Lamini wrote: »

1 word pretty much sums up my work last 5yrs, frustration. Like many others here, im a "worker bee", i do my best, work well with others, and provide quality results, no shortcuts.

not long ago, a company was to pick me up and pay me considerably more than the smaller dominos pizza driver-like pay i was getting. however, the day before I put my 2 week notice in, another company heard the news and couple of those managers were teaming on counteroffering the original deal. the day i was to put in my notice, my own company heard. i told the first company everything, they wanted the other offers in writing and they would counter again. there was a bidding war. needless to say i was not prepared for that drama (who is?). i was shocked when my original employer called me in, doors locked, windows closed, was begging me to stay and asked me how much i wanted to be payed... 2yrs before i came in drenched from the rain in a similar situation asking what i was doing wrong as i had never seen a raise.

someone has a sig here... something along the lines of "luck is opportunity meeting readiness" (?). ps im in the east coast and where i work, i make the least in my shop being the youngest (mid30s), i'd say 90k is OK life here, and i dont mean eating out every night or driving an NSX. i do cup-o-ramen and carpool like others. 90k in jersey is, what i heard from a buddy as "rough".

Make 90k in St. Louis and you'll live like a king and can make regular visits to NYC whenever you want along with a NSX (maybe a early 90's model though lol). I'm 22 and I was making $30 a hour for this Application Monitoring job but hated it so I took sometime to seriously think about my fav. thing in IT and it always came back to networking. 2 months later and with a CCNA in my hands I landed my first networking gig. I'm making half the pay but loving every minute of it and I know this is only temporary pay wise. I'm just grateful that a growing ISP was willing to take a chance on a kid with almost 0 true networking experience. Once I pay my dues it should be smooth sailing from here!

BroadcastStorm

17$ / hour - 80K per year at the moment, within the last 5 - 6 years.

KoolTrix

paintb4707 wrote: »

Certs have nothing to do with salary...

Certs dont get you paid, they get you laid

lol. i wish

Xcluziv

Bokeh wrote: »

$3.12/hour, before taxes .. Yep .. Was making 541/month from Uncle Sam when I started in IT many moons ago.

WOW....thats waaay below minimum wage.....isn't that against the law

skrpune

Xcluziv wrote: »

WOW....thats waaay below minimum wage.....isn't that against the law

Well, minimum wage used to be pretty dayum low. I remember making not much more than that at my first (very non-IT) job back in the early 90's.

Bokeh

Military always pays low. But they make up for it in free health care, discount other services, etc.

sandman748

Started in tech support for comcast at $10/hr. Moved to a local ISP for 30k. no school or certs. Just hard work.

I've gone back to school this last year though and had to take a temp job and a pay cut. There's light at the end of the tunnel now. Last place was a dead end

Ashenwelt

Bokeh wrote: »

$3.12/hour, before taxes .. Yep .. Was making 541/month from Uncle Sam when I started in IT many moons ago.

Someone else who has been around a while. $3.35/hr. Minimun wage at the time. Um, a long time ago... worked on CP/M:)

(And how many here did CP/M to DOS migrations:D)

Xcluziv

Ashenwelt wrote: »

Someone else who has been around a while. $3.35/hr. Minimun wage at the time. Um, a long time ago... worked on CP/M:)

(And how many here did CP/M to DOS migrations:D)

WOW....come along way since then.....