so many youngers do well in i.t

pitbullgang

i just realised a lot of people in i.t are so young and doing well like most ppl get i.t jobs in late teen years and make a lot, how you guys do it? Any stories?

CodeBlox

I'm young (22 years old), and in IT... And I make 12.5 bucks an hour. O_O If there is a secret, someone please share it with me!

SteveLord

pitbullgang wrote: »

i just realised a lot of people in i.t are so young and doing well like most ppl get i.t jobs in late teen years and make a lot, how you guys do it? Any stories?

Um...grossly exaggerated. More like slim to none.

the_Grinch

Yeah, pay for young people just starting is not so great. In the late 90's it was awesome, but I started at $35k (not that its a bad starting salary) and with just about 3 years of experience going to be making around $50k.

cisco_trooper

Yeah, this is exaggerated a bit. You may in some cases be underestimating the age of some of your peers and colleagues...

Perhaps in the late 90s and early 2000s you may have seen some pretty young kids making a decent wage but that is not the current state of the economy.

qwertyiop

pitbullgang wrote: »

i just realised a lot of people in i.t are so young and doing well like most ppl get i.t jobs in late teen years and make a lot, how you guys do it? Any stories?

I guess a huge part of it has to do with luck and being at the right place at the right time.
I'm in my about 24 with about 3.5 years of experience, a BS in IT and working toward my Masters and currently working as a IT Manager

pitbullgang

yeah i mean if u look in forum u will see lots of youngsters with good pay. Me i had to work for a year free at companies just to get experience and this was after my certs, but hard work paid off and i started at a junior engineering gig at 19 for 45k thats pure hard work and no luck. Hard work does pay sooner or later. But u got to make the most out of your oppurtunity.

ptilsen

I took and passed my A+ at 17, during the summer before my senior year of high school. I immediately began doing contract work from recruiters, which I in turn put on my resume and got a part-time helpdesk job for $14/hr. I went full-time after graduating high school and went to ITT (regrettably) at night. My real secret was just a solid, well written resume that highlighted my technical skills and what little experience I had. It's not like the A+ was worth that much for what I was doing -- it was really the resume and the interview, and the fortuitous need of that company for a part-time in the 3:00 - 6:00 and eventually 3:00 - 7:00 shifts.

That said, I don't think my story represents a trend or something common. Most of my entry-level co-workers completed four-year degrees before starting in IT, and are 24-27. While I would say that they're a great group of smart guys, I don't think it's too out of the norm for mid-twenties college grads to make $30-$40K in entry-level jobs. Outside of my current job, most of my co-workers -- my career peers, specifically -- have been between 28 and 40. While IT perhaps favors the young to an extent, I haven't seen a lot of teenagers or even sub-22 (the typical 4-year grad age) people in IT.

I should add to this: I did "freelance" work and studied my ass off through high school, playing with servers, networking, and computer hardware. I actually sacrificed my grades to learn more about computers.

Everyone

cisco_trooper wrote: »

Yeah, this is exaggerated a bit. You may in some cases be underestimating the age of some of your peers and colleagues...

Co-workers have typically OVERestimated my age. Usually they think I'm ~10 years older than I really am. I learned to just let them think that a long time ago. When people have been in a certain level of position for many years, and they were quite a bit older than you when they reached that level, they can get a little jealous/upset, especially if you pass them up.

A lot of places I've worked (including where I work now) all my co-workers have been 15 to 20+ years older than me.

ptilsen wrote:

it was really the resume and the interview

^^ This.

Mishra

Started at $7.1 an hour

Xcluziv

Everyone wrote: »

Co-workers have typically OVERestimated my age. Usually they think I'm ~10 years older than I really am. I learned to just let them think that a long time ago. When people have been in a certain level of position for many years, and they were quite a bit older than you when they reached that level, they can get a little jealous/upset, especially if you pass them up.

A lot of places I've worked (including where I work now) all my co-workers have been 15 to 20+ years older than me.


^^ This.

I understand where you are coming from. I'm one of the 2 youngest people in the IT department at 25 now. The other person is a year younger than me but had been working for the company 3 years now as compared to me at 1.5 years....so everyone else is at least 15+ years elder to me as well

qwertyiop

Mishra wrote: »

Started at $7.1 an hour

Wow, i started as a payed intern at $10 /hr

pwjohnston

Keep in mind guys that young is a relative term here. I'm 32 and working in IT I make well over what my Dad makes currently as a Machinist with 30 years experiance in a good union job. This idea that you're going to be in your early 20's and makeing over 50k a year like the ad's promise was never realistic for all but a few. For many people 50k isn't a realistic salary at any point in their lives.

qwertyiop

Thats actually true, im 24 and making about 45

vCole

I really think it has a lot to do with three things: Motivation, Education and Location.

I'm 25 and make $55k. I was making $65k when I was working in Boston, MA. Now that I've moved to the southern coast of CT, not much here for work.

Everyone

I should also mention, fresh out of high school I was only making $9.25/hr, I didn't break the $50k/yr mark until I turned 24. I'm trying hard to break the $100k/yr mark before I turn 30, only about 7 months left, I'm not too far off either.

At some point my trend of being the youngest person in the office has to change, I'm getting old.

Akaricloud

It seems to me a lot of the teens/early 20s in IT get to be where they are by learning only technical skills and getting some quick job experience. You could easily break 40k/year in a few years going that route but without any formal education don't expect to go all that much further.

Either way, hard work will get you places. I'm not the super success story that you're talking about but I've certainly made my own thus far. From 16-18 I worked as a software developer helping a small business create the interface software necessary for their GPS product line while obtaining an AAS degree. 18-21 I worked Desktop Support for a university while pursuing a BA:MIS. Now I just turned 22, am working a helpdesk/jr. sys admin position making ~45k and finishing my degree this week! I'm hoping to be changing positions within the next few months with a boost in pay.

I'm the youngest person in my office by a couple years and look much younger than I actually am. When I got hired on here people actually thought I was 15-16 and wondered why I got hired before they realized how much I know.

lsud00d

We need a COL adjustment calc for all these salary discussions

Everyone

lsud00d wrote: »

We need a COL adjustment calc for all these salary discussions

True... place I was living/working in when I broke the $50k/yr mark had extremely low cost of living... salary would have to have been over $100k/hr on the East Coast (DC area) for comparison. Where I was at when I only made $9.25/hr the cost of living was about 30% higher than where I broke the $50k/yr mark at.

Cost of living where I'm at now is almost exactly the same (within 5% difference).

Mishra

qwertyiop wrote: »

Wow, i started as a payed intern at $10 /hr

Yeah, my second job I made 10/hr at a NOC working part time.

Starting that low was completely worth it, that's for sure. A little hard work and I was up to an awesome salary in no time.

vCole

Everyone wrote: »

I should also mention, fresh out of high school I was only making $9.25/hr, I didn't break the $50k/yr mark until I turned 24. I'm trying hard to break the $100k/yr mark before I turn 30, only about 7 months left, I'm not too far off either.

At some point my trend of being the youngest person in the office has to change, I'm getting old.

Glad I'm not the only one with this goal! I have 5 years left, really hoping to break it by 27-28.

Everyone

vCole wrote: »

Glad I'm not the only one with this goal! I have 5 years left, really hoping to break it by 27-28.

I'd have broken it long ago if I was more open to living in places with much higher costs of living. I just refuse to move my family into a much smaller living space (apartment or condo) when we're used to living in a newer 2400sq ft 4 bedroom house with a good sized yard. Seems stupid to cut your living space in half just to say you make a higher salary.

Plantwiz

Everyone wrote: »

I should also mention, fresh out of high school I was only making $9.25/hr, I didn't break the $50k/yr mark until I turned 24. I'm trying hard to break the $100k/yr mark before I turn 30, only about 7 months left, I'm not too far off either.

At some point my trend of being the youngest person in the office has to change, I'm getting old.

Good goal! (regarding the wages)

Keep in mind:

For someone to pay you $100K per year (not counting taxes, benefits, etc..)
You need to earn or save the company more than this amount with the work you do.

So to earn $1923 per week on a 40 hour week (and we'll skip the banter on whether or not the job is actually 40 hours or closer to 60 per week), but on a 40 hour week, you need to save or generate at least $48 per hour (and with benefits and such it will be more like $65-80 per hour)

Do you (or anyone dreaming of the big dollars) do enough in your day each hour to justify the salary or hourly wage which you are paid at $100K?

Merely something to consider...

Tackle

Good post there Plantwiz. Really puts it in perspective!

As for the OP, I've been working full time IT for 1.5 years now (jr sys admin type role) and it's fun to know that I make more per year/hourly than a strong majority of friends that are my age (21).

That'll probably change in a year or two once a few of them graduate with a Bach degree whereas I only have an AAS.

Everyone

Plantwiz wrote: »

Good goal! (regarding the wages)

Keep in mind:

For someone to pay you $100K per year (not counting taxes, benefits, etc..)
You need to earn or save the company more than this amount with the work you do.

So to earn $1923 per week on a 40 hour week (and we'll skip the banter on whether or not the job is actually 40 hours or closer to 60 per week), but on a 40 hour week, you need to save or generate at least $48 per hour (and with benefits and such it will be more like $65-80 per hour)

Do you (or anyone dreaming of the big dollars) do enough in your day each hour to justify the salary or hourly wage which you are paid at $100K?

Merely something to consider...

Speaking for myself, YES.

I've had the ability for years, as I mentioned in a previous post, just wasn't willing to move to a high cost of living area for it. I'm only about $12k away from that goal right now. Actually if I counted the extra income from my Air National Guard service, I'm almost right at it it. If something I have going on right now works out, I may be starting 2012 by obliterating that goal.

vCole

Everyone wrote: »

Speaking for myself, YES.

I've had the ability for years, as I mentioned in a previous post, just wasn't willing to move to a high cost of living area for it. I'm only about $12k away from that goal right now. Actually if I counted the extra income from my Air National Guard service, I'm almost right at it it. If something I have going on right now works out, I may be starting 2012 by obliterating that goal.

Big congrats on that sir!

I plan on certing up this year, learning some new technologies and when I move to my next position I hope to be around $70k-$80k.

drkat

Meh,

Guess it depends- 100K in NYC/DC area may be proportional to 65K somewhere lower cost. I live in Rochester in Western NY and I'd say average salary is $35K for IT depending on the company and role. I presently am in the 50K mark and COL is dirt cheap - I support a 3 person family on this income (actually was able to do so on $30k) so give you perspective.

The job market here however is ridiculous - too many folks offering $14/hr with 3+ years of experience. 100K isn't an option here unless you're a executive or saving the company boat loads of money. IT for most places is just an expense lol

jmritenour

We hired a guy straight out of high school several months back as a Linux sys admin. I have no idea what he makes, but he's a real guru, and is a huge asset to our team.

jamesp1983

I started in IT when I was 21 (28 now) and I made $14/hr. I was given a raise after a year to $15/hr. I make considerably more than that now, but most people don't make a ton of money in their first IT gig.

jamesp1983

Everyone wrote: »

I should also mention, fresh out of high school I was only making $9.25/hr, I didn't break the $50k/yr mark until I turned 24. I'm trying hard to break the $100k/yr mark before I turn 30, only about 7 months left, I'm not too far off either.

At some point my trend of being the youngest person in the office has to change, I'm getting old.

My goal is 100K before 30 as well. I have about 2 years left and I'm pretty close already (over if you count bonus)

swild

I started in IT 10 years ago making $8.50 an hour. I should have been making minimum wage but the department manager could tell how much I already knew. Then, I had a gap of experience of about 5 years.

Now I'm 28 with about 5 years experience and my salary is 45k. Add in overtime and I'm close to 60K. I never expected to be making this much at this point in my life, much less being a homeowner.

COL in Arkansas is close to the lowest in the nation. Unfortunately, you have to live in Arkansas.


Also, if you don't learn to type English correctly, with full words and punctuation, I wouldn't expect to be paid much. Show respect to your education and others will show you respect. Not to mention it's a sign of lazyness. Sorry to go off-topic, but it's a major pet-peeve of mine to see textspeak anywhere. Myself being someone who has had the authority to hire and fire employees, it is a fireable offense. I'm not saying that you have to have perfect grammar, very few do. I'm just saying that you have to try.