Experience and Salary Expectations for IT Career

Hello everyone! Recently I did a career switch into IT, starting out as Help Desk. I have been in Help Desk for about 1.5 years. My salary is 19.50/hr in the Chicago Area. I would like to know if there is a job level above Help Desk/Support that pays over 40k? And would having the Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Support Cert, be of any help in regards to moving up in my career?
Comments
Desktop Support - You MIGHT get over it, but just barely, doing on site IT support. Or you could supplement your current income with a company like onforce.
You can move in to a Technical Lead Tier 2/3 kind of support, or Supervisor. Again, you probably arent going to hit it big with these.
Sys Admin/Net Admin - Your cert probably won't be much help, you want to look at CCNA or MCITP:SA. A couple years helpdesk experience might get you a Jr level Admin job paying 40/45 BUT your potential in 4-5 years, well the sky is the limit almost. You can definitely be at 80k or more in 5 years if you take this route and excel at your duties.
Currently Enrolled - WGU MBA IT Start: Nov 1 2012, On term break, restarting July 1.
QRT2, MGT2, JDT2, SAT2, JET2, JJT2, JFT2, JGT2, JHT2, MMT2, HNT2
Future Plans - Davenport MS IA, CISSP, VCP5, CCNA, ITIL
Currently Studying - VCP5, CCNA
The desktop support certification will definitely help you get a desktop support position. That along with an A+ and Net+ and you should look like a nice candidate - But what do you really want to do? Server admin, network admin, security, linux specialization, virtualization, etc? Find what you want, and begin the journey of obtaining a deep understanding of that technology. The money will come.
Enjoy!
Was your question about IT support careers or about IT careers in general?
The comment by MiikeB echos very true. But if you are curious about salary expectations for IT professionals in general, there really is no limit. At the high end, if you are entrepeturial in nature, folks like Bill Gates and Michael Dell have done quite well. (just wanted to point out that many of these tech leaders are in IT)
As stated above, help desk/junior admin type positions aren't going to increase too much. You've got a great basis of experience, so now is the time to specialize *if* you're seeking that bigger salary. There's a million ways to go, so I won't limit it to the CCNA or MS certs, but once you decide what you're into (virtualization, storage, networking, Microsoft, Linux, Security..voice..), then start working vigorously on learning about that specialization, and try to find a job which allows you the opportunity to break into that specialization. This part is key- that next position probably won't pay much more than what you make now, BUT, the experience it provides will be invaluable. While there, and presumably learning about new technologies, that's the time to get certified. Stay there a while, gain experience and build your resume....too easy right?
3 years ago I was making about 30k doing help desk work. In a week, I will be starting at close to 70k as a Virtualization Engineer. It was a lot of long hours, sleepless nights, taking risks, etc- but it is totally worth it.
I would reply with more advice, but I would be parroting Mrock word for word. Just in my example, I went Help Desk -> Sys Admin (used this job to really get involved with VMWare, certified, storage, etc) -> Virtualization Engineer.
It is very much like Chess- you have to always be looking 2 or 3 moves ahead. Always look for the next job that will get you the experience you want. Again, in my example, in my new job I am looking to pick up skills in large enterprise datacenters- I have always worked in the small business realm. Making this move will set me up in the future to find work in larger environments that can afford to specialize in what I want to do- virtualization.
There is really no other way I can explain it. Things have worked out different for many people, but for the most part- that is how you transition into the roles and technology you want to be working with.
Thanks everyone for the responses!
I definitely love IT and do not regret making this career switch. I definitely want to go beyond Help Desk. I want to become a Windows/Systems Administrator. I'd probably say my strongest interests are Exchange 2010 and Windows Administration. Right now I am studying for the Windows 7 680 exam. I'm trying to figure out how to get to System Admin roles. I notice many jobs will say you need 3-5 years experience, however I do not understand how 3-5 years of help desk would prepare me for a Windows/Sys Admin role. I recently bought Dan Poulton's book on Win 7 680: Configuration and CBT Nugget Vids. I definitely have no problem putting in the hard work.
Some don't advocate that, but I do- it may waste some companies' time but you are out there looking for a job for you. You never know who may take a chance on you.
You have to sell yourself using your attitude, your abilities, and your ambition. (Nice alliteration, eh?)