30 Years Old

So I frequent this forum a lot and from what I've seen there is a wide scope of ages, talent levels, salaries etc. Sometimes this forum can be more discouraging than motivating when you hear about 25 year olds making 60-$70. Don't get me wrong I think that's great and those individuals have obviously done the right things to be where they are.

I am 30 years old working in a small company as an IT generalist. I pretty much do remote desktop, small network support. I have an A+ and Network+ cert, working on CCENT/CCNA and earn in the 40's. I also work in a city with very little I.T. opportunity but a lot of people vying for these jobs. Sometimes I feel too old to be still sitting at a desk, supporting Windows 7 users and setting up small networks of 20 or fewer computers. Yes, I still enjoy it but I know I should probably be thinking about moving on at some point. However, I've only been truly in IT for a little over 2 years with a few years before that just doing fix/repair work on the side.

My particular situation is that my company is great to work for, good benefits, 35 hours/week paid for 40, flexible schedule, good boss and they just got me to full time from a benefitted part time gig. However, I'm not really learning a lot of new skills and there isn't any position to move up to. This is the end of the road. I'm married with a 1 year old and another on the way in a few months and I'm struggling with my age being factor down the road when I decide to move on to a higher level position at a different company.

I know I'm rambling but basically, I need some good vibes fellow techies!

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Comments

Lord Nikon

REMOVED UNNECESSARY QUOTED REPLY FROM PREVIOUS POST

Take one for the family. You have a great job, and it supports your family. Hang on to the job, but always keep looking.

boredgamelad

I'm only a few years younger than you and in IT for about as long. I recently got a job offer that would increase my salary by almost 50%. This is after spending the last year looking for jobs (on the side, part time) and not getting more than a phone interview. The best part is that THEY contacted ME.

Better opportunities will come with time, just keep yourself relevant by honing those skills on your own time no matter what your age.

powerfool

So, considering that you didn't mention education, I am assuming you haven't pursued it.

Let me give you a little bit of my background as maybe it will give you some motivation, or something.

I had my first child at 17 and graduated school a year early because I had met my core high school requirements already. I worked fast food while my girlfriend tried to go to nursing school. At 18, I got married and started working in IT making $25k doing web development and support similar to what you are doing. I did that for a few years and bounced around to a few jobs. By 19, we have a second child and I was making only a little bit more. Then, the 2000-2002 recession hit. I decided to complete my MCSE on 2000. That happened, but things didn't really take off until I started going to school. I was taking a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester at a traditional brick and mortar school, in the evenings after working full-time... no summers off. Half way through, my salary was in the mid $50k range and we had a third child. By the time I finished, I was in the upper $60k range and quickly moved into the $70k range. My last two years of school and the two years following really made a huge difference in my career as I took on more responsibility. Now, I work for a consulting company doing defense work and make over $100k.

Now, I don't expect everyone to be able to run themselves this way... people think that I am crazy... and I still do similar things from time to time... like my certification binge of 2010 to meet all of my DoD 8570 requirements and starting graduate school at the same time. The point is, you have to put effort into yourself and take yourself seriously if you expect others to do so. I am 31 now... and I have over 13 years of IT experience. There are others who have made this kind of professional leap in a much more compressed timeframe. In any event, you need to set some goals for yourself and start working towards them. Perhaps this employer offer tuition assistance. Maybe you start with just taking a class and work up from there. Also, there are the self-paced options, like WGU.

Best wishes.

Vontech615

Congratz on your success Powerfool.

Thanks for the responses guys.

drkat

Von

I'm 28 and JUST got above $45K so dont worry.. I'm on the east coast too and I think the economies are similar in NC and Western NY, some of these kids making 60/70 may be in higher cost of living areas like SF etc..

GAngel

28 here 200k + bonus and all expenses paid...in a remote location for a year. Money is relative I'll never get back any of the 365 days I'm losing. Enjoy your family in this field if you're good the money will find you.

Devilry

Good advice here, definitely look into education to advance yourself, if you make 40k and have a family you will most likely be eligible for Pell grant that will cover most of your tuition at a place like WGU. The rest of the tuition can be on a stafford loan, if you did that method and finished within 2 years you would owe less than a grand or so.

If you pay attention to most peoples success stories here, the ones who really 'make it', they have degrees. There are always exceptions to the rule.

FloOz

keep your options open. always be looking. "the best time to look for a job is when you already have one"

Vontech615

For those inquiring about a degree. It's not in IT or a BS but it's something. An AA in Graphic and Production design. My previous background is in the printing industry. I worked as a production designer/manager for a small shop so I also fell into the roll of troubleshooting printers, computers, etc. That's how I landed in the IT industry after 6 years of smelling too much ink and inhaling toner.

I really appreciate all the responses. I have thought about going back for BS but IT certifications get you pretty far in my neck of the woods and I can really only afford to pursue either Certs or Degree. Certs are cheaper and take less time but hold a lot of weight in NC so I've gone that route but still not ruling out the degree.

I guess I should also add that my wife does work and makes over 30 so getting a Pell grant is probably out of the question.

apoole15

30 years old is still plenty young to make it in this field. I was 37 when I finally broke into IT. I have worked in the healthcare industry all my adult life and desperately wanted to get into IT but something always fell through. Finally got my shot a little over 3 years ago.

In that time, I have done what I can to increase my earning potential (through studying, certifications, taking on extra responsibilities, etc.). I have had the opportunity to grow from a Help Desk Tech to a System Admin and just this morning was promoted to Network Admin. During that stretch I have been able to double my income from what it was pre-IT.

So hopefully that gives you some hope and lifts your spirits a little bit because at 30 years old, you've still got plenty of time to reach the salary figures you are looking for - it's just going to take some hard work and dedication but you'll get there.

Vontech615

apoole15, that's the post I was looking for. Not because it's exactly what I want to hear but it's exactly what I need to hear. I'm a true believer in looking out for my fellow techies as sometimes we're all we have to keep motivated. It's better to lend a hand than point a finger. Thanks again!

tprice5

I am 22 at 60k. No educational or cert benefits. No annual raises. Just happy to have a job and making good money. Hoping to break into 100k range by 30. I guess we will see.

Devilry

apoole15 wrote: »

I have had the opportunity to grow from a Help Desk Tech to a System Admin and just this morning was promoted to Network Admin.

Congrats on the promotion!

Vontech615

Devilry wrote: »

Congrats on the promotion!

I second that. I bet you'll be celebrating tonight.

apoole15

Thank you

- I didn't want to hijack your post, just wanted to say hang in there, the rewards will come with hard work and determination.

Vontech615

No worries. We're all here for inspiration.

tleade01

sounds like you have it good. I am at a IT help desk at Hewlett Packard as a contractor with no benefits barley making $30000k a year working 40 to 50 hours a week. I have obtained a windows 7 cert, associates degree, and almost 2 years experience with no raise in pay since my start date. I have had no luck with interviews or job offers at any other company.

So in other words you got it made compared to me. I would love to take or trade you jobs

dave330i

I assume you meant $30k, because $30mil/year sounds like an awesome job to me.

kriscamaro68

Vontech615 wrote: »

I have thought about going back for BS but IT certifications get you pretty far in my neck of the woods and I can really only afford to pursue either Certs or Degree. Certs are cheaper and take less time but hold a lot of weight in NC so I've gone that route but still not ruling out the degree.

AS powerfool said look at WGU.edu to get your degree. Their program in I.T. is based on getting certs. You get the certs plus at the end get the degree and its all paid for within the tuition. It really doesn't get any better than that. You already have your AS and have 2 certs so your a little more than half way there. I would look into it for sure.

Geek1969

I played around building and upgrading computers at home for years while working nights in restaurant management, but did not start my first actual IT job until I was 38. A little college and a lot of hours self studying for the certs that I have, and now 5 years later...mid 50K, flexible 8-5 hours, 5 minutes from home. The future is much brighter.....it's never too late. This is something that I can actually consider doing for another 25 years.