Sysadmin Salary in the Bay Area

lordy

Hi Guys,

since I am currently thinking about relocating from Germany to the Bay Area sometime in the next 12 to 36 months I was wondering if you could help me out with some information on sysadmin salary there. I already tried Google but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I don't want to relocate for the money but of course I want to somehow keep my standard of living, I think you understand.

I consider myself a legit Linux expert with 10 years of experience in the field and I also have some Cisco stuff down (CCNA + real world experience). Unfortunately I do not have a bachelor or master in CS and this is currently not an option for me.

Since I am currently working for a subsidiary of a big US company here in Germany I wouldn't be moving on my own but rather apply for internal jobs that show up in the mobility program. Do you think I stand a chance as foreigner ?

Any comments are appreciated

RobertKaucher

Salary.com Salary Wizard™- Do you know what you're worth?

I have found Salary.com to be relatively accurate for my area.

docrice

If I had to guess, maybe in the 75 - 100k range, depending on the specific skill sets that you can demonstrate (scripting languages, service configurations, database familiarity, etc.).

lordy

Thanks, Robert. That's a good resource that Google didn't list for me.

Looking into it for a few minutes my guesstimate would be somewhere between 80K and 90K.

So, let's take the conservative approach and calculate with 80K, how much would that net ?
Can you make a decent living with 80K in the Bay Area ?

docrice

It's highly dependent on where you live. Although cost of living here is generally high compared to other areas of the country, the Bay Area is divided into several distinct areas...

The south bay (where the Silicon Valley is; San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, etc.) is usually pricey, as is the peninsula (San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, etc.). The east bay is a little cheaper and still relatively close to the technology-centric areas (as long as you're around Fremont, for example). San Francisco has a lot of tech too, but cost of living can skyrocket. It's also crowded, and we have a lot of commute traffic here along 880. 101, and 237.

You can check out a Bay Area map to see where these are located.

Anonymouse

Traffic is another thing to take into consideration. 880 and 680 are horrible anytime between 7am to 8pm. Luckily I work nights so I get to miss the traffic.

lordy

Well, the office would be on Bush St in San Francisco so I was thinking about getting an appartment in that area (Nob Hill maybe? Is that a good place?) so I could get to work without a car.

SubnettingGoddess

*gasp* docrice, you are not a real Californian! Don't you mean the 880. the 101, and the 237??

I lived in Pleasanton and still thought it was way too expensive - my salary of 86k did not go that far.

Lordy, where in Germany? I spent close to 3 yrs in Stuttgart in my early childhood and thought it was the most wonderful place in the world, ever.

lordy

@SubnettingGoddess: Stuttgart is indeed a very nice city. Been there twice. I currently live in Frankfurt where I was born and raised.

After reading through this it seems that relocating would only make sense with a six figure income ?!

Armor149

@SubnettingGoddess: Only Southern CA say "the" when saying freeway names, LOL.

snokerpoker

Depends on which area and experience level, but I would say I have seen anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 to be about average. Anything above 80k tends to be pretty high level.

MAC_Addy

Ooooh. I just checked out what I should be getting paid in my area and it looks like I'm REALLY underpaid...

What's the best way of approaching my boss for a pay raise?

RobertKaucher

jamie.english wrote: »

Ooooh. I just checked out what I should be getting paid in my area and it looks like I'm REALLY underpaid...

What's the best way of approaching my boss for a pay raise?

With a higher payin job in your back pocket.