How to get to 100k by 30?

I'm just looking for some advice on how to get to that goal.

A little bit about me. From the age of 15 my goal was to make 6 figures by 30. I currently just turned 25 and I'm making $60,000 a year (I just got the bump to 60k). I started at $39,000 and have been working for about 1 and half years and I have had a few raises on the way. I graduated with my B.A in Computer Information Systems in December of 2011 and found a job about 5 months later.

I'm currently the network admin/security engineer for a small private healthcare software as a service company. I mange their AWS domain, all the security reviews for clients, and day to day network operations. My company pays for some nice training and I just got back from the AWS invent conference in las vegas so I have that too.

My question is am I going down the right technical track to be at $100,000 by 30? I don't know if network admins or security professionals can really make 100k?. Everything on pay scale etc is so random depending on the company. Also should I stay here another year and hope for another raise in a year or see if I can job swap and get $70-75k?

Just looking for thoughts of what one would advise me to do to meet my goal.

Thanks,

Random IT Guy.

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YFZblu

nestech wrote: »

Call it what you want. Everyone have told a few lies in their career...

This is literally the worst career advice I have ever seen/heard.

CodeBlox

Well, do you think there is any truth to that statement? I'd like to know. Considering even the smallest lies, do you guys think everyone has told a lie at some point in their career? I can only vouch for myself and I haven't told a lie to an employer so I suppose that right there alone makes the claim invalid.

WafflesAndRootbeer

I don't like IT enough to lie about my career but I would say that the majority of people I've dealt with have lied about their careers and not paid any penalty for it. Usually it's just little things like exaggerating what they did when they worked for previous companies as there's often nobody who can set the record straight in such matters.

tier~

I would never condone outright lying especially if trying to get hired by a prospective employer as you're only setting yourself up for failure. However there is some valuable truth to the saying, "Fake it til you make it", when trying to get exposure to new technologies, projects or even a promotion in a current position if your employer knows that you're driven and capable of learning quickly.

SteveO86

O, it's very possible by 30. (I've had my salary more double in a year and a half-two years)

Stay focused and active, always learning always moving & never shy away from an opportunity/problem. Like others have mentioned you tend to get the larger pay raises when you move to another company.

Also it's not always about technical level, definitely be outgoing meeting new people and keeping in touch, sometimes just cause you can fix a problem doesn't always mean you are a perfect fit. (Politics and stuff)

Just be careful what you wish for, as spiderman's uncle said 'with great power comes great responsibility' definitely don't expect any job to be easier or any less demanding when you make it to that pay rate.

RockinRobin

Nobylspoon wrote: »

When I was 26, I was making $11/hr as a security guard. I turned 30 earlier this year and I have a six figure salary.

Become a SME in everything you can, especially relevant things that your peers are less familiar with. Be flexible and be willing to change your 5 year plan when a new opportunity presents itself. Get your degree. You may have the experience and the knowledge but many times, you can't move forward without specific educational requirements. Don't be afraid to change companies.

My story:

While I was a security guard, I earned my first Microsoft certification. It was *cough* *cough* for Vista... I was going to a community college to get my associates in network security. After countless rejected IT job applications, I was finally contacted by a recruiter who setup an interview for an entry level QA position for a software company. I was hired during the interview at $16/hr, a nice jump in pay from my security guard job.

Within six months of working in QA, I familiarized myself with a software solution that my fellow QA peers knew very little about. I became the "go-to" person in QA regarding this product. Soon after, my boss asked me if I would be willing to support this product full time at our customers office on the other side of the country. He offered to double my pay and cover all moving expenses if I could be there within 2 months. After sleeping on it, I decided to accept the offer. I had to withdraw from my associates during my last semester. Fortunately, everything transferred into WGU.

Fast forward another year, the customer that I was working for offers me a permanent job. Now, I have my dream job. I get paid to hack

That's awesome!

pamccabe

YFZblu wrote: »

This is literally the worst career advice I have ever seen/heard.

Quoted for frickin truth... I can't believe someone would think that is ok. I have NEVER lied in my career. Not once. I can't believe someone would think this is ok. So sad see that kind of mentality on a board such as this one... or that kind of mentality period.

nestech

This is funny... Looking at some of your post. Saying that you never told a lie at work or in your career is like saying you never made a mistake on the job.

nestech

WafflesAndRootbeer wrote: »

I don't like IT enough to lie about my career but I would say that the majority of people I've dealt with have lied about their careers and not paid any penalty for it. Usually it's just little things like exaggerating what they did when they worked for previous companies as there's often nobody who can set the record straight in such matters.

There you go...

dspielman

work hard and be your own boss.

LarryDaMan

It depends on what we're calling a lie. It is okay to put some shine on a turd and accentuate mundane or trivial tasks, as to jazz up the resume. The lie comes when there was no turd to begin with

nestech

LarryDaMan wrote: »

It depends on what we're calling a lie. It is okay to put some shine on a turd and accentuate mundane or trivial tasks, as to jazz up the resume. The lie comes when there was no turd to begin with

LarryDaMan you are funny... A lie is a lie...

darkerz

LarryDaMan wrote: »

It depends on what we're calling a lie. It is okay to put some shine on a turd and accentuate mundane or trivial tasks, as to jazz up the resume. The lie comes when there was no turd to begin with

Polished Turd;

Designed and Implemented Data center centric infrastructure such as Nexus 3000, 5000 and 7000 series devices in a Leaf & Spine design.

Turd with visible corn in it;

Slapped on a configuration I standardized in a notepad and had hardware / site team plug things in, put them into HPNA / Solarwinds and created the appropriate, detailed visio's and SNMP / Netflow monitoring entries. Then I troubleshoot and tweaked issues & configs to maximize our awfully huge capital expense so the design didn't suck ass.

No lies, it's all about how you word it to get through the HR drones. But blatantly lying about a responsibility or level of involvement is a stupid, stupid idea - IT is a small world, don't get black listed in your local area. Directors and Managers know each other.

icebeam

I thought I would update this thread as I have always hated wondering the out come on forums.

I just got a new job offer with a new company as an application engineer 3 - AWS. The pay is $90,000 a year with a $5,000 dollar bonus.

I told my current company that I was leaving and the offer and they came back with 100k base salary. So goal complete. Now to accept a counteroffer or not... That is the question.

New goal $150,000 by 30!

jibbajabba

LarryDaMan wrote: »

100K, 200K... it's all relative. I make well over 100 and my wife is almost there and we still don't 'make it rain' everyday. The more you make, the more you tend to spend. If I lived now like I did when I was making very little, I would have Scrooge McDuck stacks of fat cash left over.

The goal is to make enough so that you don't ever have to worry about it again.

So .. true ..

Bokeh

Never accept a counter offer! If they are willing to pay more now, why weren't they a day before you told them about the new job? Studies have shown that those who accept counter offer are the first ones let go when trouble hits. Id take the new job and don't look back.

kohr-ah

icebeam wrote: »

I thought I would update this thread as I have always hated wondering the out come on forums.

I just got a new job offer with a new company as an application engineer 3 - AWS. The pay is $90,000 a year with a $5,000 dollar bonus.

I told my current company that I was leaving and the offer and they came back with 100k base salary. So goal complete. Now to accept a counteroffer or not... That is the question.

New goal $150,000 by 30!

First off congrats

Second never accept the counter. I have had more people accept the counter then let go within 6 months after they made sure someone else could do their job.

Third: take the extra money you make with the new job and act like you never had it. Put it in a Roth IRA or savings. The bonus you should use partially as fun money. That is what I always did

no!all!

$100k...I could never dream of that much money...I just want to make enough to live comfortably and go on vacation every summer...and afford an STi of course...

cyberguypr

Expanding on Bokeh's point: http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/74026-beware-counter-offer.html

icebeam

cyberguypr wrote: »

Expanding on Bokeh's point: http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/74026-beware-counter-offer.html

Very good read. Thank-you for this information.

RomBUS

Man, this thread makes me sad reading how much more people are making and being younger than I.

Feels like I'm being paid peanuts

Some good information though

icebeam

RomBUS wrote: »

Man, this thread makes me sad reading how much more people are making and being younger than I.

Feels like I'm being paid peanuts

Some good information though

You probably are getting paid peanuts. If you can't get more where you are at, start looking.

When I look at your certs it seems like you should be making more. Remember you never make what "you" deserve to make you make what you negotiate to make. Many times I have seen people with more information than me make less because they did not speak up.

Lets say you are in a job making 50k and the average on pay scale or whatever is 60k. You might try to get 60k and you might even be happy with 55k. But if your employer is saying you do great work. Then you're better than average. let me repeat this "YOU ARE BETTER THAN AVERAGE" You want 70k as 60k is for AVERAGE. I have used this explanation in the past with employers and it has worked well.

My favorite thing to do is go into a performance review and hear all the great things and say "so i'm above average at my job" and they will always say yes! followed by more great statements about me and then I say "so how are we going to get me on above average pay for this position". Nothing is better than watching your boss's face as he realizes he has to pay you more now by his own words.

If i'm performing better than average why do I want average pay on those sites? and would I accept anything less than above average pay.... NO!

Just my .2 cents.

PDFOUR

icebeam wrote: »

You probably are getting paid peanuts. If you can't get more where you are at, start looking.

When I look at your certs it seems like you should be making more. Remember you never make what "you" deserve to make you make what you negotiate to make. Many times I have seen people with more information than me make less because they did not speak up.

Lets say you are in a job making 50k and the average on pay scale or whatever is 60k. You might try to get 60k and you might even be happy with 55k. But if your employer is saying you do great work. Then you're better than average. let me repeat this "YOU ARE BETTER THAN AVERAGE" You want 70k as 60k is for AVERAGE. I have used this explanation in the past with employers and it has worked well.

My favorite thing to do is go into a performance review and hear all the great things and say "so i'm above average at my job" and they will always say yes! followed by more great statements about me and then I say "so how are we going to get me on above average pay for this position". Nothing is better than watching your boss's face as he realizes he has to pay you more now by his own words.

If i'm performing better than average why do I want average pay on those sites? and would I accept anything less than above average pay.... NO!

Just my .2 cents.

There is much truth to this. I'm doing tier 2 & 3 desktop support, run the IT budget, monitor web content management while learning HTML 5, monitor old servers. And I am now working on installing and implementing Windows Server 2012 & Hyper V into our current datacenter. And I'm making 47k.

GoodBishop

You know, reading this thread makes me agree with the point that it is important to set goals and focus on them. This includes having the goal for making 100k by 30.

darkerz

I'm at <30 & >100k / year - Fortune 50.

How do you do it? Hint; There is no common or easy answer

My take. Contracting and being uncomfortable (in a good "career maker/project seeker" way) is the key, along with constant learning, training and certification chasing since I was 18. Did some college - wasn't for me.

I think it's a mixture of applicable skill, knowing what the market needs, being half-intelligent, native and fluent... 'with a 'hint of luck.

A lot of my coworkers will give **** when I mention daily studies, pursuing new skills and off-hour classes "For Useless Things". I've learned it's best to keep it under wraps and let the work speak for itself.

So far so good.

GarudaMin

It's good to set goals. 100K is achievable. It's about connections. If you don't have connections, then hard work and diligence. Chase certs and the knowledge in pursuit of them.
On the other spectrum, the more you make the more you have to give to Uncle Sam. I hate the tax system. I busted my chops and still busting my chops to get to where I am. I sacrificed everything (as an immigrant) - no life, no friends, studying every evening/night/weekend - and I am rewarded with higher taxes.

tkerber

GarudaMin wrote: »

It's good to set goals. 100K is achievable. It's about connections. If you don't have connections, then hard work and diligence. Chase certs and the knowledge in pursuit of them.
On the other spectrum, the more you make the more you have to give to Uncle Sam. I hate the tax system. I busted my chops and still busting my chops to get to where I am. I sacrificed everything (as an immigrant) - no life, no friends, studying every evening/night/weekend - and I am rewarded with higher taxes.

Good old America!

The struggle is real guys.

Bloogen

darkerz wrote: »

I'm at <30 & >100k / year - Fortune 50.

How do you do it? Hint; There is no common or easy answer

My take. Contracting and being uncomfortable (in a good "career maker/project seeker" way) is the key, along with constant learning, training and certification chasing since I was 18. Did some college - wasn't for me.

I think it's a mixture of applicable skill, knowing what the market needs, being half-intelligent, native and fluent... 'with a 'hint of luck.

A lot of my coworkers will give **** when I mention daily studies, pursuing new skills and off-hour classes "For Useless Things". I've learned it's best to keep it under wraps and let the work speak for itself.

So far so good.

I agree completely. I came to write the exact same thing.

Chitownjedi

I'd like to add, make sure your chase doesn't make you lose out on company culture, and accounting for stress. My quest has left me in some very down and out states because ultimately being happy and liking your job goes a lot further than an arbitrary number. I realize now that no number can make me give up on some basic things, and the higher you go, the more likely those things become rarefied.

d4nz1g

If money is the only thing that matters to you, then you won't get that haha
It is all about passion.

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