Fresh grad, low job offer.. need advice.

I graduate in two weeks with my BBA in M.I.S. I have been sending out resumes non-stop for the past few weeks and recently I got a series of interviews with a healthcare IT service company. The job title was Systems Analyst 1 but really it's a help desk support job for their clients (IE: remote desktop and fix some garbage), but still it's one of the few jobs that have been posted in Memphis, TN in the past 3 months that don't require 2-5+years of IT experience. The company is new, only been around since 2004 and has since grown from 13 employee's to 84 and is pretty much doubling every year.

I was very excited when I went in for the interview b/c it's probably one of the nicest office suites i've ever been. I went to two interviews with the second one being with the CIO and CEO of the company who grilled me for about an hour and a half. I shrugged it off after I left the second interview b/c after looking at the sign in book I saw that they had interviewed around 15 people for the first round of interviews and 7 for this final round and I figured my lack of IT experience outside my degree would count me out.

Well I got a call friday from the operations manager saying that they loved my enthusiasm and felt that my interpersonal skills were top notch and that he would be e-mailing me a job offer later that day for me to review over the weekend.. so i'm immediately super excited... then the job offer came in...

21k/yr annual salary-OT exempt. I was baffled, Memphis is a very low cost of living city but still 21k almost made me upset considering how well the company is doing and that the job, although entry level, still isn't something that just anyone can do. I sent the operations manager an e-mail saying I was very interested in the position but the salary was below what I was expecting and asked if we could negotiate into the 25-28k range at least.

He replied back saying that he discussed my request with the executive team and that they have 21k budgeted for this position and since it's entry level it wouldn't be fair to the other candidates who have the same experience level as me. Then he said that they don't do your typical annual review and depending on performance most systems analyst get their salary adjusted after 90 days and that they still are very interested in me and hope that I take the position.

I'm not sure what to do. It pays $10/hr if it's a 40hr work week but since it's OT exempt they could potentially work me more and I would be making minimum wage ($7.25 here in memphis). During my second interview the CEO kept reiterating about how 70% of their employees started out in the position I was applying for and their were a ton of opportunities to learn and advance if I had the drive to take them. I like the company but I feel like i'm being taken advantage of in the fact that there's NO entry level IT jobs in Memphis and they know that if I don't take the position someone else will. It does come with good benefits and I really enjoyed everyone I met but the salary is 9k lower than the minimum I expected to start out. I can get a freakin management trainee job at walgreens or enterprise and start at 31k/yr.

For you experienced folks, should I suck it up and take it? Since raises are percentages of your current salary i'm guessing that it would take me 1 1/2y-2yr's to make it up to 30k before moving on to another company or a better position within this company.

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Comments

howiehandles

Personally, based on your situation, I'd take it. You've stated that you could still live based on that salary. The big boss said most people started out in that job and were promoted/made more money quickly, which along with the fast growth in that company are great signs, especially with the economy how it is. Plus, experience trumps your degree and certs just about everytime, 99.9%. Being young, having your degree, and getting some experience with a company you seem to like, and is obviously doing things the right way (any company that hires advanced positions mostly from within is good in my book), is a job you should take. Don't focus on the salary right now, focus on the opportunity.

chrisone

Just another example why you need certs in this industry. Degrees dont do much for this field of work and now you probably owe a lot of money in school loans...

oh yeah , and to answer your question. YES! always put your current job title in the resume.

tpatt100

chrisone wrote: »

Just another example why you need certs in this industry. Degrees dont do much for this field of work and now you probably owe a lot of money in school loans...

oh yeah , and to answer your question. YES! always put your current job title in the resume.

Just another example that certs or a degree with no experience in a poor economy means its harder to find entry level positions.

RouteThisWay

chrisone wrote: »

Degrees dont do much for this field of work and now you probably owe a lot of money in school loans...

I kinda disagree.

They may not do much as in validating your knowledge in certain technologies/standards, however ALOT more doors open up for you with a degree. Many companies and government entities absolutely will not even consider a candidate for some positions without a 4 year degree, regardless of certifications.

Sucks? Yep. Seems almost like they require it, just to require it. But to say degrees don't do much for this field is a bit of a overstatement in my opinion.

I think most of the seasoned vets here seem to agree that:

Experience > Degree > Certs

Certifications validate (or should validate) your knowledge with a certain technology.

A degree validates your ability to learn, stick with long term planning, etc. It opens up alot of doors for you.

But, experience does trump all.

ccie15672

I have some advice for you.

You need not care at all about your loyalty to any company. They will never be loyal to you. Don't delude yourself. They would let you go in a heartbeat if they felt like it. Having said that, the right thing to do is: Get involved with good projects when you can, and use this place as a vehicle towards a certification or two.

As quickly as you can, become an authority on *something* in this environment. Be the person they come to for help. Its easier than you think. IT in America is littered with people who just want to leave at 4PM and will open tickets with vendors on literally everything. Don't be that person. This will increase the chance that you get better projects.

In a year or two... after some projects under your belt, and a certifcation or two and with some semblance of technical authority, then start interviewing again. And when they tell you for the third year in a row that there just isn't the budget for bonuses or raises, kindly let them know you are leaving for a better paying job. It helps to have one in queue for real.

Don't get invested in the corporate hype wherever you are at. Companies are stepping stones. Hey... they think you are an expendable tool. Believe me.

Turgon

ccie15672 wrote: »

I have some advice for you.

You need not care at all about your loyalty to any company. They will never be loyal to you. Don't delude yourself. They would let you go in a heartbeat if they felt like it. Having said that, the right thing to do is: Get involved with good projects when you can, and use this place as a vehicle towards a certification or two.

As quickly as you can, become an authority on *something* in this environment. Be the person they come to for help. Its easier than you think. IT in America is littered with people who just want to leave at 4PM and will open tickets with vendors on literally everything. Don't be that person. This will increase the chance that you get better projects.

In a year or two... after some projects under your belt, and a certifcation or two and with some semblance of technical authority, then start interviewing again. And when they tell you for the third year in a row that there just isn't the budget for bonuses or raises, kindly let them know you are leaving for a better paying job. It helps to have one in queue for real.

Don't get invested in the corporate hype wherever you are at. Companies are stepping stones. Hey... they think you are an expendable tool. Believe me.

Derek is right on several levels. The American dream of working your ass off for a company and being looked after for life is dead in the water. Companies are run by pie charts and they are usually always looking for ways to eliminate headcount. That means your job. You should seek to become an authority on something by seeking challenging, important and useful work you can get stuck into to become the goto guy both there and elsewhere when you move on. Avoid the herd mentality of easy riders doing a few tickets and checking facebook, many of these people will be on welfare in the years ahead.

Mishra

Scimming through this post, Aldur had the best suggestion.

I'm glad you took the job. As Aldur said, you should take advantage of them as they are taking advantage of you. You build on your skills as quick as possible then leave when you have a great skill set built up that you can impress in future interviews... Then start that exciting first system administrator job!

I lived with my parents when I had my first IT job... It paid 7.15 an hour... I left there to go up to 10 dollars an hour at a NOC.

However I basically started IT in 2004... Being 2010 now, in 6 years I started making the big bucks. It was worth that 7.15 an hour investment!

Forsaken_GA

ccie15672 wrote: »

I have some advice for you.

You need not care at all about your loyalty to any company. They will never be loyal to you. Don't delude yourself. They would let you go in a heartbeat if they felt like it. Having said that, the right thing to do is: Get involved with good projects when you can, and use this place as a vehicle towards a certification or two.

Fully agree with this. Right now, my company is getting me for very very cheap. I'd be embarrased to disclose my salary, but let's say it's not what a network engineer should be making. But, this experience will be valuable to put on my resume. And since I work nights, I get alot of free time to study. When they ask for volunteer, I'm usually one of the first ones to step up. So they know who I am, and they know what I do (and I have saved the companies collective bacon on more than one occasion).

With all that being said, a couple years down the road (assuming I'm still with them, which isn't a safe assumption for anyone these days) when I complete my CCIE, I'm going to have a nice polite conversation with the powers that be about the big raise they'll be giving me. And after they tell me to <bleep> off, I'll find another job paying at least close to what I should be making. For the most part, I like my company, and I love the people there that I work with, but they are *really* stingy when it comes to salary. I won't feel badly about using them as a stepping stone on my career path, because they're getting some good work on the cheap out of me in the meantime.

nevolved

Hi Forsaken, where in Georgia are you located?

sambuca69

ccie15672 wrote: »

I have some advice for you.

You need not care at all about your loyalty to any company. They will never be loyal to you. Don't delude yourself. They would let you go in a heartbeat if they felt like it. Having said that, the right thing to do is: Get involved with good projects when you can, and use this place as a vehicle towards a certification or two.

As quickly as you can, become an authority on *something* in this environment. Be the person they come to for help. Its easier than you think. IT in America is littered with people who just want to leave at 4PM and will open tickets with vendors on literally everything. Don't be that person. This will increase the chance that you get better projects.

In a year or two... after some projects under your belt, and a certifcation or two and with some semblance of technical authority, then start interviewing again. And when they tell you for the third year in a row that there just isn't the budget for bonuses or raises, kindly let them know you are leaving for a better paying job. It helps to have one in queue for real.

Don't get invested in the corporate hype wherever you are at. Companies are stepping stones. Hey... they think you are an expendable tool. Believe me.

Agree here 100%.

Avoid the herd mentality of easy riders doing a few tickets and checking facebook, many of these people will be on welfare in the years ahead.

haha

BradleyHU

not to reiterate the obvious....but take the job....