salary for someone that will just get there bachelors

neo9006

Alright, I will ask this question, based on the area, what can someone make with a bachelors degree just starting off in it, mine is in web and media design and I have pretty well figured I will be in IT in some capacity I would hope. Thanks for you advice.

AwesomeGarrett

What skills do you have? Any internships or experience in anything related to IT?

RouteMyPacket

Do you want the truth or should we continue the lie you have been fed?

IT is a field where degree doesn't mean much until later on in your career should you want to go to the business side (IT Director, CIO) and even then it's not always required.

Getting your foot in the door to start building a skill set is key. Think of it this way, if I am a hiring manager and I have two candidates in front of me such as the following to work on my Enterprise

Candidate A: No degree, 2-3yrs experience, CCNP R&S, Security

Candidate B: Bachelors Degree, 1yrs experience, no certification


Now, on the flip side looking for someone to direct and or manage an Enterprise with employees under him/her

Candidate A: No degree, 10yrs experience, CCIE or CCNP bla bla Certification

Candidate B: Bachelors Degree, 10yrs experience, CCIE or CCNP bla bla, etc.

This is where the degree will carry more weight IMO

Experience first, certification second, degree third

Experience + Certification + Degree = win (more options IMO)


If you are wondering, yes I have a degree as well

ptilsen

Your degree alone doesn't really give us much to go on. Depending on what kind of job you can actually do, your existing experience (be it from internships or non-IT jobs), and how you present yourself on your resume and in interviews, your earning power could vary quite widely. The details of your degree matter, too. We could be talking anywhere from $10/hr on the very low end to $45,000/year on the very high end.

lsud00d

In the Houston job market an entry level position (Help Desk, NOC) will get you $35-45k average.

If you had a Computer Science degree and were going into software development the entry range would be higher, ~$45-60k average.

neo9006

Okay thanks guys no problem and no I do not have an experience, I know I would be starting from the bottom. I will have my degree and 18 years exp in another area. Alright I appreciate things as well. I will be starting at the bottom and just need to get in and get exp. Thanks.

Polynomial

RouteMyPacket wrote: »

IT is a field where degree doesn't mean much until later on in your career should you want to go to the business side (IT Director, CIO) and even then it's not always required.

I agree with Route up until a certain point. A Bachelor's is becoming a must have these days IT or not. Its not absolute law, but this is a transition that has been happening for a while. You're not going to get past HR without a degree in increasingly more cases.

philz1982

It's all about the value you bring to your employer and how niched you are.

I didn't get my degree until last year and I have a very good salary.

I focused on IT for building automation systems, almost no one in the BAS sector knows anything about IT and security and almost no one in IT knows anything about BAS systems. So I filled the void and am profiting nicely from it.

Or you could go the regular route and work up the ladder. Either way works, document what you do, take jobs for what you will learn not what you get paid and then build a compelling argument for your brand value.

Degrees = I can read, spell, write, and research. Check box in most cases.

My current position requires a CCNP and a Masters. When I got this position I had no certifications and no degree.

-Phil

N2IT

Just based off the degree type plays a huge role which you stated and where from. Also figure in internships, aka experience and other factors it's just way to hard to say. What region are you in plays a HUGE role as well. I would think 35,000 - 50,000 USD would be a decent goal to set for yourself. Can you write C# or some other development language? That would kick you up 10,000 or so potentially.

NetworkVeteran

N2IT wrote: »

Just based off the degree type plays a huge role which you stated and where from.

Certainly. Degrees vary in how lucrative they are.

mine is in web and media design and I have pretty well figured I will be in IT in some capacity I would hope.

If you plan to work on router/switches/servers, your degree would mostly have check-box value, no?

The three types of web development work these days seem to be: Basic front-end, which is a cheap commodity. Technical, which goes more towards programmers. Artistic, which goes towards folks with great portfolios. In which area or area(s) do you feel your degree gives you a competitive advantage vs. programmers or artists? Do you have samples to back that up?

instant000

neo9006 wrote: »

I will have my degree and 18 years exp in another area.

If you have 18 years exp in an area, you should try providing IT to that area. You could leverage your experience that way. This way, it is not the same as starting off at the bottom, as you understand the industry.

Look at what philz1982 said about the area he works in.

Khaos1911

More importantly, find/do something that you enjoy. The first thing you usually see on this site is somebody always trying to cram a CCNA cert down your throat. "Hey man, get your CCNA then blah blah blah." Guess what, you may not be interested in Networking or specifically dealing with routers and switches for the rest of your life. It's vital to know how the network operates, but you don't have to be a CCNP/CCIE to work in InfoSec or other IT domains.

Find what interest you about IT, that could be programming, Helpdesk, Network Security, Application Security, the list goes on and on. I think you would find it better off to find what interest you and seeing what jobs/companies are out there for your interest and finding some direction there on what to obtain and what they desire in a strong candidate. To many people are just studying things to get a piece of paper and have a million certs in a million different things but no real/tangible experience in a particular subject(s).

So again, find what interest you. Look into the job market for that field in your area/nationwide. See what certs/degrees are available for that field , and go from there.

philz1982

The trick is to optimize your experience in the fields you know and to temper that experience with IT. IT is a gateway and a tool to contribute to your field. Let's say you have 18 years of fast food experience. You have managed, you have sold, ect. Now you take your degree with web design and you go to small franchises and begin to help them develop their web sites for their restaurants, or maybe a CRM or supply chain management portal. You leverage your operational experience and business know how to and supplement with your degree/skills.

The trick of our new economy, is to combine skills to position yourself in a niche with less competition this delivers a larger salary. Also, make sure your are expanding skills if you decide to go back into the main stream.


Just a few ideas, don't get to focused on a big company...


Athletics background and Networking degree- Help work with stadiums around ensuring they have efficient web access for their stadiums (just read an article about the lake of wifi in stadiums and how it it impacting stadiums).

Cooking and Web Design- Work with small restaurants to capture CRM and build this into a market plan and themed web design.

philz1982

Khaos1911 wrote: »

More importantly, find/do something that you enjoy. The first thing you usually see on this site is somebody always trying to cram a CCNA cert down your throat. "Hey man, get your CCNA then blah blah blah." Guess what, you may not be interested in Networking or specifically dealing with routers and switches for the rest of your life. It's vital to know how the network operates, but you don't have to be a CCNP/CCIE to work in InfoSec or other IT domains.

Find what interest you about IT, that could be programming, Helpdesk, Network Security, Application Security, the list goes on and on. I think you would find it better off to find what interest you and seeing what jobs/companies are out there for your interest and finding some direction there on what to obtain and what they desire in a strong candidate. To many people are just studying things to get a piece of paper and have a million certs in a million different things but no real/tangible experience in a particular subject(s).

So again, find what interest you. Look into the job market for that field in your area/nationwide. See what certs/degrees are available for that field , and go from there.

Good stuff, now go get that CCNA

neo9006

I appreciate the advice. I was a drafter for 10 years and worked with primarily Autocad. Totally different field then IT. I been doing 8 years of data input and grunt work. The one thing I can say about my degree is that I am taking mostly computer science classes with some networking, database class, and gaming classes. At one point I was looking at getting a second Associate degree before ditching that to come after my bachelors. I am in the Houston area, so I know there is oil and gas companies around here. Main problem like everyone is like everyone has said you need the exp to get somewhere which I completely understand. That is why I said I would be starting at the bottom again. I am currently at the bottom now at my job. I do not want to take over the my co workers job when he can retire in 3 years. I do not see my boss really worried about my degree. The only thing he really has said is what days does he need to know about tests that way I can make sure I am there to take them. One of the ladies said I should go to the office manager and explain to him I do not want to do one type of the job. She said I ought to do some training and let them pay for it which is a good idea. I haven't been able to do what I want to do this semester due to taking 12 hours and working 40 plus hours. I know that is not really a excuse just that I am tired and usually I need time to decompress after work. I guess what I am worried to a degree and it is out of my hands is it going to equal more pay for me or am I going to be disappointed. But I know that is out of my hands. I just need to go with the flow of things.

I agree with Khaos, I am always telling my wife that and something that I should follow as well, enjoy something that you like. I feel my exp and my hard work ethic brings something to the table. I also have managerial exp even its in a different field as well. I have 7 years of that as well. Everyone is giving great advice. I just need to figure out how to work my niche. Thanks again.