certs and level of pay

lrm289

Wondering about what level of employment I'm eligible for with a CIW5 and a COMPTIA A+ certifications, and what kind of income level would that be? Also, I'm looking to get into this field as soon as possible but I need to make atleast $22.00 an hour, how many more certs would I need to have under my belt to reach that income level?

veritas_libertas

lrm289 wrote: »

Wondering about what level of employment I'm eligible for with a CIW5 and a COMPTIA A+ certifications, and what kind of income level would that be? Also, I'm looking to get into this field as soon as possible but I need to make atleast $22.00 an hour, how many more certs would I need to have under my belt to reach that income level?

In the world of IT it's about experience and not about how many certifications you have. Try this thread:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/16350-job-salary-updates.html

Don't expect a lot since you are just starting out.

ipconfig.all

you asked how many certifications you need to have to make at least that much? well a lot of factors matters to answer that question, but you will need at least a couple of years of I.T experience (2-3) or even more to make that sort of salary, but then again it really depends.

Anonymouse

Well I live in the Northern California Bay Area. My first job after getting my A+ paid me $12 an hour fixing computers. I did desktop support after that and made $20 an hour. After that job my pay has steadily decreased though...

asurania

Isn't $18 to $22 the starting wage of Desktop Support?

At least here this is the range i found in Calgary for Desktop Support

$15 to $17- Worse Case - If all else fails
$18 to $22 - Starting Wage
$22 to $27 - 1 to 3 years expereince
$28 to $35 - 3 years and up expereince


Found most of them landed in the $25 to $30 range for contract or Perm was $50k to $55k a year

If you really want to make good money in Desktop Support or anything in general...move to Northern Alberta like Fort McMuarry.

You can probaly pull in 100k/year with not much education/expereince.

Check this link out for more info video on it (watch it in order) - first video is from CBC, second one is from 60 minutes but watch it in order
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-lS7janLzE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYML36YbXo8

Example of Desktop Support Position offer i got once and decline (didn't want to move)

$70 000 /year
$10 000 - Bonus for Not quiting after first year
$1100 Monthly Living Expense (Tax Free) - Per month
$500 Monthly LIving Expense (taxable) - Per month (So a Total of $1600 Living Expense)
Plus Weekly Flights back home to calgary (round trip)
Plus Regualer Bonus/Profit Sharing/Benefits

(That offer was also on low end compare to other company)

Did i also mention - Free Health Care, Low Crime

thenjduke

lrm289 wrote: »

Wondering about what level of employment I'm eligible for with a CIW5 and a COMPTIA A+ certifications, and what kind of income level would that be? Also, I'm looking to get into this field as soon as possible but I need to make atleast $22.00 an hour, how many more certs would I need to have under my belt to reach that income level?

At least three years expierence :P

N2IT

lrm289 wrote: »

Wondering about what level of employment I'm eligible for with a CIW5 and a COMPTIA A+ certifications, and what kind of income level would that be? Also, I'm looking to get into this field as soon as possible but I need to make atleast $22.00 an hour, how many more certs would I need to have under my belt to reach that income level?

Depends where you work, which location.

If you don't have any experience certs will just get you in the door. If you market yourself fairly well you can maybe get a little hire wage. If you are in the midwest, with those skill sets you will get maybe 16-17 dollars an hour. I would figure east coast would be 3-4 dollars more an hour.

Most of our techs have at least one certifications and they still come in around 15 dollars an hour.

tpatt100

I got a lot of my certs during the first two years of IT to get noticed on keyword searches by technical recruiters. What got me my pay raises and new job opportunities was what I did after I was hired which was learn real world skills.

Kind of hard to justify asking for more money from your employer when the only router experience you have with your CCNA was the router sim that came with the book.

blargoe

No, this is not typical at all. At least not for the US. Can't speak to niche areas like the Northern Alberta oil sands, though.

asurania wrote: »

Isn't $18 to $22 the starting wage of Desktop Support?

At least here this is the range i found in Calgary for Desktop Support

$15 to $17- Worse Case - If all else fails
$18 to $22 - Starting Wage
$22 to $27 - 1 to 3 years expereince
$28 to $35 - 3 years and up expereince


Found most of them landed in the $25 to $30 range for contract or Perm was $50k to $55k a year

If you really want to make good money in Desktop Support or anything in general...move to Northern Alberta like Fort McMuarry.

You can probaly pull in 100k/year with not much education/expereince.

Check this link out for more info video on it (watch it in order) - first video is from CBC, second one is from 60 minutes but watch it in order
YouTube - FortMcMoney.com Drt2Oil.com
YouTube - Alberta Oil Sands featured on "60 Minutes"

Example of Desktop Support Position offer i got once and decline (didn't want to move)

$70 000 /year
$10 000 - Bonus for Not quiting after first year
$1100 Monthly Living Expense (Tax Free) - Per month
$500 Monthly LIving Expense (taxable) - Per month (So a Total of $1600 Living Expense)
Plus Weekly Flights back home to calgary (round trip)
Plus Regualer Bonus/Profit Sharing/Benefits

(That offer was also on low end compare to other company)

Did i also mention - Free Health Care, Low Crime

thenjduke

blargoe wrote: »

No, this is not typical at all. At least not for the US. Can't speak to niche areas like the Northern Alberta oil sands, though.

It was during the bubble

blargoe

These days, like someone else said, certs just get you in the door. You don't "Qualify" for a certain wage just because you have a certification. It used to be somewhat like that before the bubble burst near the turn of the century, but you'll be hard pressed to make that wage in an entry level position. But it shouldn't take you terribly long to get there... a year or two of experience with a jump into desktop support probably would suffice, and it goes up from there if you have decent work ethic, stay up to date with your skills, and are smart about things.

If you really want to get started in IT, you might need to look at why you "have to" make that much per hour... is there anything that you can cut back or is it just because that's what you're making today and you don't want to lose it?

Good luck

b