Timeline: Your IT Career Progression

Thexzeno

Title: Technical customer support
Hour/wk: 40
Company size: ~ 10,000
Age: 21
Duration: 6 months
How: Applied online
Certs: A+
Education: N/A
Pay: 24k



Title: Help desk
Hour/wk 40
company size: 100
Age: 22
Duration: 3 years
How: applied online
Certs: CCNA A+
Pay: 35K


Title: Associate NOC engineer
Hour/wk: 40
Company size: 25K
Age: 25
Duration: Current position
How: Reddit
Certs: CCNP R&S
Pay: 60k

Cory.holt

Title: US Navy Operation Specialist
Hour/wk: Salary
Description: Mostly whole time in was Air traffic control than instructor
Company size: >10000
Age: 18
Duration: 8 years
How: Applied
Certs: none
Education: High School Diploma
Pay: 22k (starting) - 32k (ending)

Title: Program Anaylst (Contractor)
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Provide program manangement support.
Company size: >50
Age: 27
Duration: Current
How: Applied on Indeed
Certs: IT Fundamentals, currently working on CAPM (will have done before contract ends)
Education: In school for AA in Computer Networking and techonology(will have done before contract ends)
Pay: 48k

mrs_pink

Title: Senior Technical Writer
Hour/wk: 40
Company size: 200
Age: 35
Duration: 1 year
How: Applied online
Certs: none
Education: Close to finishing BS in Psych
Pay: 78K


Title: Information Security Specialist
Hour/wk 40
company size: 200 (same company as above)
Age: 35
Duration: 3 years
How: was given the job after starting as a Tech Writer
Certs: None
Education: BS in Psych
Pay: 82K

Title: Senior Cybersecurity Engineer
Hour/wk: 40
Company size: 20K
Age: 38
Duration: Current
How: They found me on their talent website
Certs: Acquired Sec+, CEH, and CISSP six months after starting
Education: MS in Cyber and Information Security
Pay: 110K

djrabes

Title: ICT Apprentice
Hour/wk: 35
Company Size: >200
Age: 19
Duration: 2 Years - Present
How: Apprenticeships website
Certs: A+, MCP, MCSA: Windows Server 2012 (Upcoming Certs: MCSA: Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, Network+, Security+)
Education: Level 2 ICT Apprenticeship in ICT Competence, Level 3 ICT Apprenticeship in ICT Competence
Pay: £8K (First Year), £10K (Second Year), £13K (Third Year)

jb4479

My path goes a little differently from others.

First job: Work study USAF contracting Purchasing agent (Age 18-21)
Age 21-23: various low level

Title: Sonar Technician, Surface, US Navy, Department ISSO
Hour/wk: ???
Company Size:
Age: 23
Duration: 10 years
How: Raised my hand, twice!
Certs: None
Education: Military Training, a lot of college classes
Pay: ~32k (ending)

Title: Product Support/Field Service Engineer (Satcom), Go to IT guy
Hour/wk: 50ish
Company Size: ~1,500
Age: 32
Duration: 18 months
How: Military only job fair
Certs: No IT related
Education:
Pay 52k

Title: IT Contractor/Consultant
Hour/wk: Variable
Company size: 1
Age: 34
Duration: 13 years
How:
Certs: Dell
Education: Associates Degree. Computer Technology and Networking
Pay: Varied ( a lot)

Title: Service Desk Tier 3, Team lead
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~650
Age: 48
Duration: Current (1 year)
How: Hiring manager is an old friend
Certs: In Progress; MCSE: Windows Mobility, ITIL Foundation, Security+
Education: BSITM WGU in progress (8 courses to go)
Pay: 45k

From here who knows, as I have said in another thread: There is no room for advancement, a manager would have to be hit by a bus (I report directly to the Service desk manager, and it's management all the way up form there).

Ultimate goal: IT architect.

broli720

Thought I'd update this.

Title: Senior Consultant
Hours/wk: 45~
Description: Full time with benefits
Company Size: 50k+
Duration: 2018 - Current
How: Referral
Certs: CISSP, CCNA, CCNA Security, CCDA
Education: BS in IS, MS in Info Sec, MBA
Pay: $143k

broli720 wrote: »

Title : Project IT Intern
Hours/wk: 30
Description: Internship
Company size: 50k+
Age: 22
Duration: 10 months
How : Career website at school
Certs: none
Education: Super Senior in College
Pay : $21.70 a hour, no benefits

Title : Technology Associate
Hours/wk: 40
Description: Fulltime position same company (was brought on full time)
Company size: 50k+
Age: 23
Duration: 1 year
How : Previous Internship
Certs: Security+
Education: BS in IS some masters
Pay : $59k

Title : Information Systems Security Officer
Hours/wk: 40
Description: Full time position same company
Company size: 50k+
Age: 26
Duration: 3 years
How : A few Internal promotions
Certs: CISSP, CCNA, CCNA Security
Education: BS in IS & MS in Info Sec
Pay : $73k

Title : Security Consultant
Hours/wk: 40
Description: Fulltime position (first job hop)
Company size: 200
Age: 27
Duration: Current
How : Appied on company website
Certs: CISSP, CCNA, CCNA Security
Education: BS in IS & MS in Info Sec
Pay : $115k

causan

Title : Technical Support Agent
Hours/wk: 40
Description: Call center end user support
Company size: 500k+
Age: 25
Duration: 3 years
How : cross trained from customer service
Certs: none
Education: High School Diploma,
Pay : $15/hr.

Title : LAN Gaming Center/Repair Shop Manager
Hours/wk: 40
Description: Help setup and run LAN Gaming Center while also doing PC and phone repairs.
Company size: 5
Age: 30
Duration: 1 year
How : Craigslist
Certs: none
Education: Associates Degree Computer Science
Pay : $35k a year

Title : District IT Support Tech
Hours/wk: 40
Description: Help desk and some network support. Visit different school sites through out the week for any IT related support.
Company size: 17,000
Age: 31
Duration: 4 years
How : Indeed
Certs: Network+, Sec+, Linux+, Project+ and Novel Certified Administrator
Education: Associates Degree Computer Science
Pay : $62k

Title : District System Administrator I
Hours/wk: 40
Description: network and system admin support, some help desk as well.
Company size: 17,000
Age: 35
Duration: 1 year
How : Promotion
Certs: Network+, Sec+, Linux+, Project+ and Novel Certified Administrator
Education: Bachelor's Degree Information Technology
Pay : $75k

dhay13

Updated (salary):

After obtaining a bunch of certs and busting my butt I was rewarded last summer with a nice 22% raise. Very nice to know my company appreciates me and at that point I decided to stick around. I love my job but just needed to be compensated fairly and my company agreed!

Title: Internship (summer 2008 )
Hour/wk: ~35
Description: Local school district
Company size: about 200 staff and about 2000 students
Age: 39 (yeah, got a late start)
Duration: ~3 months
How: knew people at the school and asked about doing an internship
Certs: none
Education: enrolled in dual A.A.S. programs
Pay: $0/hr


Title: IT Support (Feb 2009-March 2011)
Hour/wk: ~20
Description: same local school district
Company size: about 200 staff and about 2000 students
Age: 40
Duration: just over 2 years
How: IT Coordinator called and asked if I would like to come back and help out
Certs: still none
Education: A.A.S. Network & PC Specialist, finished A.A.S. Computer Forensics & Security and completed B.S. Information Technology
Pay: $8.25/hr


Title: System Administrator (2011-2014)
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Small manufacturing business
Company size: ~90
Age: 42
Duration: 3.5 years
How: Applied through newspaper ad
Certs: A+ and Network+
Education: A.A.S. Network & PC Specialist, A.A.S. Computer Forensics & Security, B.S. Information Technology
Pay: ~$50000


Title: System Security Administrator (March 2015-present)
Hour/wk: 40
Description: FT employee of company that holds contract with federal gov't
Company size: ~700 on contract
Age: 46
Duration: 2 years and counting
How: Applied to internet job board
Certs: started with A+ and N+ but added CISSP, Sec+, Solarwinds, Nessus, Six Sigma, and CSA+
Education: A.A.S. Network & PC Specialist, A.A.S. Computer Forensics & Security, B.S. Information Technology
Pay: started at $60,000, went to $64,000, now at $78,000

Muhammed H

dhay13 - You are an inspiration man. Your progress through your IT career proves that age is just a number. And people can really move up to the career ladder even they start late.

Basic85

dhay13 wrote: »

Updated (salary):

After obtaining a bunch of certs and busting my butt I was rewarded last summer with a nice 22% raise. Very nice to know my company appreciates me and at that point I decided to stick around. I love my job but just needed to be compensated fairly and my company agreed!

Title: Internship (summer 2008 )
Hour/wk: ~35
Description: Local school district
Company size: about 200 staff and about 2000 students
Age: 39 (yeah, got a late start)
Duration: ~3 months
How: knew people at the school and asked about doing an internship
Certs: none
Education: enrolled in dual A.A.S. programs
Pay: $0/hr


Title: IT Support (Feb 2009-March 2011)
Hour/wk: ~20
Description: same local school district
Company size: about 200 staff and about 2000 students
Age: 40
Duration: just over 2 years
How: IT Coordinator called and asked if I would like to come back and help out
Certs: still none
Education: A.A.S. Network & PC Specialist, finished A.A.S. Computer Forensics & Security and completed B.S. Information Technology
Pay: $8.25/hr


Title: System Administrator (2011-2014)
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Small manufacturing business
Company size: ~90
Age: 42
Duration: 3.5 years
How: Applied through newspaper ad
Certs: A+ and Network+
Education: A.A.S. Network & PC Specialist, A.A.S. Computer Forensics & Security, B.S. Information Technology
Pay: ~$50000


Title: System Security Administrator (March 2015-present)
Hour/wk: 40
Description: FT employee of company that holds contract with federal gov't
Company size: ~700 on contract
Age: 46
Duration: 2 years and counting
How: Applied to internet job board
Certs: started with A+ and N+ but added CISSP, Sec+, Solarwinds, Nessus, Six Sigma, and CSA+
Education: A.A.S. Network & PC Specialist, A.A.S. Computer Forensics & Security, B.S. Information Technology
Pay: started at $60,000, went to $64,000, now at $78,000

Thank you for posting as it made me realize age really doesn't matter. If it wasn't too late for you than it's not too late for me as I'm in my early 30's. Congrats on everything!!!

dhay13

Thanks guys. Believe me, if I can do it you can do it.

ramrunner800

Started a new job recently, so updating. Keep driving guys, the long hours studying pays off.

Title: Retail Store Manager
Age: 22
Duration: 2 years
How: Applied in-store
Description: Managed a store with 4 FT/8PT employees
Certs: None
Education: Bachelors Poli Sci
Pay: $28k + Performance Incenntives


Title: Fed Law Enforcement Analyst
Location: Washington, DC
Age: 24
Duration: 4 years
How: Met an employee at a networking event
Description: Stuff n' things
Certs: None
Education: Bachelors Poli Sci
Pay: $70k




Title: Tier 2 SOC Analyst
Location: Bay Area, CA
Company size: ~10,000
Age: 28
Duration: 10 Months
How: DICE.com
Description: Network Security Monitoring/Basic Malware Analysis
Certs: A+, S+, CCENT, C|EH
Education: Bachelors Poli Sci
Pay: $85k


Title: Incident Response Analyst
Location: Gulf Coast, TX
Age: 29
Duration: 2.5 years
How: Indeed.com
Description: Digital Forensics/Malware Reverse Engineering
Certs: A+, S+, CCENT, C|EH
Pay: $128k (Base + Bonus)


Title: Senior Security Engineer
Location: Bay Area, CA
Age: 32
Duration: 2 months and counting
How: Personal Network
Description: Digital Forensics/Malware Reverse Engineering
Certs: A+, S+, CCENT, C|EH, GREM, GCFE, GCFA, GCTI
Pay: $247k (Base + Bonus + equity)

Thexzeno

Title: IT support specialist
Age: 22
Duration: 6 months
How: Indeed
Description: Basic help desk and ticketing
Certs: None
Education: none
Pay: $28k




Title: Help Desk
Age: 23
Duration: 2.5 years
How: Indeed
Description: Did everything from desktop to network support
Certs: CCNA, A+
Education: none
Pay: $35k


Title: NOC engineer
Age: 25
Duration: 7 months
How: Indeed
Description: Basically monitored systems and contacted vendors
Certs: CCNP, A+ expired
Education: none
Pay: 60k


Title: Network Site specialist
Age: 26
Duration: 2 months(currently employed)
How: Indeed
Description: Basic desktop support, fixing phones and local PC's
Certs: CCNP
Education: none
Pay: $76k


Oddly enough despite my increasing skillset, the complexity of my jobs has managed to decrease. Not that I'm complaining but it just feels weird. Like I spent myriad hours studying to do the same thing I was doing 3 years ago.

amicmanzo

Title : Cryptologic Technician of Networks
Hours/wk: 40+
Description: Digital Foreniscs, Malware Analysis, Incident Response, Network Pen. Testing
Company size: Navy
Age: 21-27
Duration: 6 years
How : Enlisted
Certs: Sec+, GCFE, Linux+, C|EH,
Education: H.S. , AA
Pay : E3-E5

Title : ISSO / Security Analyst
Hours/wk: 40
Description: IA, Compliancy (CJIS, HIPPA, IRS, PCI), Solution Recommendations
Company size: 150k+
Age: 27
Duration: Current
How : Recruiter
Certs: Same as Above
Education: BA, MS Cybersecurity
Pay : $95k

Neil86

I thought I would contribute, and hopefully look back someday:


Title: Technology Specialist I
Age: 31 (late bloomer)
Duration: 8 months(currently employed)
How: Indeed (out of state applicant)
Company size: ~300
Description: Only me and another in the IT dept, so everything from desktop support to network support. Great learning experience.
Certs: none, working on CCNA
Education: AA Network Infrastructure
Pay: $16/hr

markulous

Title: Support Specialist
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Reset passwords, minor browser troubleshooting
Age: 30
Duration: 3 months
Certs: None
Education: AS IT
Pay: $10 an hour

Title: Desktop Support
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Temp job, migrating XP to 7 for a large company
Age: 30
Duration: 3 months
Certs: None
Education: AS IT
Pay: $16 an hour


Title: Service Desk Technician
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Remote End-user support
Age: 30
Duration: 8 months
Certs: None
Education: AS IT
Pay: $16 an hour


Title: Service Desk Level 2
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Take escalations, Exchange, DNS, firewalls, some end user issues also
Age: 31
Duration: 11 Months
Certs: MTA: OS, S+, N+, CCENT, Project+
Education: AS IT
Pay: 45k

Title: Technical Support Engineer
Hour/wk: 40
Desc: Work for VMware supporting various products, mainly View
Age: 32
Duration: 7 months
Certs: CCNA R&S, CCNA S, Linux+, N+, P+, S+, MTA OS, etc
Education: BS IT Security
Pay: 65k-70k after bonuses

Title: Support Services Engineer
Hour/wk: 40
Desc: Provided SIEM support
Duration: 2 months (Yeah, they sucked)
Certs: CCNA R&S, CCNA S, Linux+, N+, P+, S+, MTA OS, etc
Education: BS IT Security, Enrolled in MS
Pay: 63k after bonuses

Title: Systems Administrator
Hour/wk: 40-45
Desc: JOAT for around 100 end-users. Systems, networking, security, etc.
Duration: 3 months
Certs: CCNA R&S, CCNA S, VCP6-DTM, Linux+, N+, P+, S+, MTA OS, etc
Education: BS IT Security, Enrolled in MS
Pay: 57k

Title:Security Analyst
Hour/wk: 40-50
Desc: Manage all kinds of tools, policies, risk, group policy, etc.
Duration: 1 year, 4 months
Certs: CCNA R&S, CCNA S, VCP6-DTM, Linux+, N+, P+, S+, MTA OS, etc
Education: BS IT Security, Enrolled in MS
Pay: 68k

Title: Security Engineer
Hour/wk:40-50
Age: 34
Desc: Pretty much the same thing as above, but in charge of more projects and tools
Certs: Same as above but with CISSP, GCIH.
Education: MSISA
Pay: 80k+ 10-15% bonus

Hopefully get another pay raise here or somewhere else within a year. Aiming for at least 100k

JackBauer24

I'll play.

Title: Help Desk
Hour/wk: 20
Description: While going to the university, I supported all the college brats and the staff.
University size: ~35,000
Age: 22
Duration: 1 year
How: Applied for an open position and got lucky (no referral from anyone)
Certs: Zero
Education: No degree yet (was working on MIS and Marketing)
Pay: $11/hr

Title: Help Desk
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Supported employees at a company in the transportation industry (Great benefits, that's why I stayed long....but career went nowhere, so quit).
Company size: ~40,000
Age: 23
Duration: 7 1/2 years
How: Graduated, looking for job, looking for airline tickets for vacation, and found job fair instead. Didn't know anyone at the company, toughed my way out through 3 interviews (all the way to director), got the job, moved out of parents' house.
Certs: Zero
Education: Left MIS and Marketing on resume, no one cared to look at it.
Pay: $34k-42k/yr

Title: Technical Field Services Engineer
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Quit (worked for MSP. Was IT (help desk, desktop support, network admin, server admin, etc.) for 15 companies and had to start from scratch knowledge wise).
Company size: ~100
Age: 31
Duration: 4 months
How: Just grabbed any contract job.....needed the $.
Certs: Zero
Education: Left MIS and Marketing on resume, no one cared to look at it. Experience is gold.
Pay: $50k/yr

Title: Sr. Desktop Support / Sys Admin
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Direct marketing firm. Just fit in as a cog to support IT, that's it.
Company size: ~100
Age: 32
Duration: 11 months
How: Before this, went back to school, got certs, then applied to the job market. Got hits quick and jumped on this contract gig because of $.
Certs: A+, N+, MCP, MCDST, MCTS-Vista, MCITP-EST
Education: Dumped MIS, left Marketing on resume. Now with certs and experience, I'm good from here on out.
Pay: $24/hr

Title: Sr. Desktop Support
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Small telecom company. Just fit in as a cog to support IT, that's it.
Company size: ~100
Age: 33
Duration: 10 months
How: Dumped contract job for full-time role. Then got screwed and it ended up being a help desk position even though our title was desktop support. Pay was good, but going nowhere.
Certs: Same as before.
Education: Same.
Pay: $50k/yr

Title: Desktop Supervisor
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Supervising Win 7 deployments to a big engineering company. Had staff of 7 deployment techs and 3 scheduling agents.
Company size: ~25,000
Age: 34
Duration: 6 months
How: Offered a supervisor job, so I thought I would try it out to see how different it is from the technical side of things. Contract gig, but I felt there was an opportunity to get full-time. I quit - didn't like dealing with whiny babies and changing diapers, so I got out.
Certs: Same as before.
Education: Same.
Pay: $50k/yr

Title: Lead Desktop Support
Hour/wk: 40+
Description: Telecom company. I'm supporting IT (another sprocket in the machine). Working in local office doing desktop support and other things (Jack of all Trades position).
Company size: Office - ~800, Company - 50,000+
Age: 34
Duration: 5 years, 9 months and counting
How: Started off contracting, took lower pay just to be closer to home. Worked 1 year, stayed on while other contractors dropped off, got full-time. Worked 3 more years and became Lead over my team. With sticking around, gaining faith from my management, I got promoted and it has been rewarding financially.
Certs: Same as before, but gained ITIL v3.
Education: Same.
Pay: $23/hr + OT (contract) / $59k + bonus & OT (full-time in 2013) / $65k + bonus & OT / $78k + bonus & OT (I'm hourly)

I'm like with what I'm doing now and appreciate the pay, but I don't see my career being desktop support forever. I want to try out the next steps in my career - Server Admin, VM, or Storage. I don't know how much of a cut in pay I would need to take to go to those roles since I have no experience. I think I need to do some heavy lifting on my end to study those areas and get certs before jumping on those teams.

For right now, I'm just going to be patient until there is an opening on the server admin/VM/storage team. I hoping for a lateral of my pay or maybe a small cut just to get onto their team. I see more of a future there and something I won't get bored doing.

Chrisbari14

Guess I'm up

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Title: Front Counter Salesman
Hour/wk: 30
Description: Sale Parts and deliver them to local Auto mechanics
Duration: 1 Year
Age:18

Took a year and a half Hiatus due to Health problems (Hodgkins Lymphoma)

Went Back
Title: Front Counter Salesman
Hour/wk: 35
Description: Sale Parts and deliver them to local Auto mechanics
Duration: 1 Year
Pay:$ 12/hr
Age:20

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AAS: Networking Technologies Finished

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BS: Information Technology Loading

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Title: Helpdesk Analyst
Hours/wk: 40+
Description: Supported about 80 employees at Safety product manufacturing company
Duration: 3 Years
Age: 21-24
How: Saw job posting on College's Career opportunities Site
Certs: Comptia A+,N+,S+, Project+
Education: Associates of applied Science: Networking Techonolgies
Pay: $35k/yr

Was offered the system administration position at my current job paying 55k/yr. Will be moving to Florida in august of this year so company decided not to give me the position. Lesson learned. Only give your company a two week notice.

LeBroke

Finally have something interesting to write here

Title: No title at start, then Security Analyst, finished as Security Consultant
Hour/wk: 0 to 40 depending on how much work I had at the time, mostly 0 with some occasional busy months.
Description: Started off doing basic computer stuff main guys were too lazy to do, fairly quickly got into doing entry-level security work like running Nessus and writing policies
Company size: 5 (grew to about 12 near the end)
Age: 25
Duration: 1.5 years as my main gig while I was in school, then stayed very part time until end of 2016
How: Knew someone
Certs: None
Education: Unfinished, unrelated bachelors
Pay: $20/hr for the first while, when I finished, I was billing at $35/hour. Self-employed, not an employee.

Title: Junior Support Technician
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Graveyard guy at a datacentre. Got to mess around with Linux and networking a lot and reinstalled OS more than I ever wanted to.
Company size: 10
Age: 26
Duration: 8 months then stayed part-time for another 4.
How: Applied on Craigslist
Certs: CCNA, A+
Education: Unfinished, unrelated bachelors
Pay: $15/hr (FTE)

Title: Linux System Administrator (official title was something stupid, like Customer Support and Infrastructure Associate)
Hour/wk: 40, Fridays WFH
Description: Tentatively Linux sysadmin for a SaaS shop managing production and dev environments, in practice spent 60% of my time doing application support for end-users
Company size: 50
Age: 27
Duration: 8 months
How: Applied on Craigslist
Certs: CCNA, A+
Education: Unfinished, unrelated bachelors
Pay: $42,000/year to start, $46,000 after probation

Title: DevOps Engineer
Hour/wk: Officially 40, realistically 60+ after my first year
Description: DevOps all the things! CI/CD, AWS, Config Management. Eventually got roped into DBA stuff as well.
Company size: 250
Age: 28
Duration: 2 years
How: Headhunter. Got invited for an interview even though I was pretty underqualified, but got it because I had experience with pretty much the exact tech stack they used and because of my awesome personality (seriously).
Certs: CCNA, A+, RHCSA
Education: Unfinished, unrelated bachelors
Pay: $70,000 at start, finished at $95,000 after a raise and counteroffer 1.5 years in.

Title: Site Reliability Engineer
Hour/wk: 40, 1 day WFH
Description: Cloud architecture and trying to get rid of snowflake servers
Company size: 100
Age: 30
Duration: Just started a few months ago
How: Headhunter. This seemed like the most interesting offer I had on the table.
Certs: RHCSA, my other certs expired
Education: Unfinished, unrelated bachelors
Pay: $115,000

eansdad

eansdad wrote: »

Title: 02L – US Army
Hour/wk: All
Description: Saxophone player but helped take care of IT support duties for unit, built unit website
Company size: Large
Age: 20-22
Duration: 2 years
How: Was volunteered by platoon leader because I had a PC (in 1997)
Pay: E-4

Title: Configuration Tech worked up to Assistant team Lead
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Configured and built servers for Compaq
Company size: Large
Age: 24-26
Duration: 1.5 years
How: Applied directly
Pay: $10/hr on night shift

Title: Deployment Technician worked up to various Team Lead positions
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Worked several deployments for NMCI project
Company size: Large
Age: 26-27
Duration: 1.5 years
How: Applied after layoff from Compaq after merger with HP, Friend from Compaq got me in with him
Pay: $18/hr

Title: Desktop Support
Hour/wk: 60+
Description: Support for a large university hospital
Company size: Large
Age: 27
Duration: 2 months
How: Applied, Monster
Pay: $20/hr

Title: Desktop Support
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Desktop support for NMCI project site
Company size: Large
Age: 27-29
Duration: 2 years
How: Applied through Careerbuilder, used contacts from deployment days
Pay: $20/hr, paid for benefits

Title: Computer Technician
Hour/wk: 40
Description: All IT needs within the 2 schools I am scheduled at
Company size: 2500 staff, 10000 students
Age: 29-39
Duration: 8 years
How: Applied directly
Pay: $34k start +benefits

Yes, my career stagnated when I got the school district. Yearly raises and a pension made me fat and dumb hence why I am finishing my BS degree and certs like I should have done years ago.

Update to mine

Title: Senior Solutions Engineer
Hour/wk: 40+
Description: Everything from answer phones to projects at a small MSP
Company size: 5, 40ish clients 700 machines
Age: 40
Duration: 1 years
How: Applied directly
Pay: $42k start +$2500 signing bonus

Title: IT Consultant
Hour/wk: 40+
Description: 2nd level support/Over night shift
Company size: 300+ employees, 450+ customers 14k endpoints
Age: 40-current
Duration: 2 years
How: Applied directly
Pay: $48k start +cert and education reimbursement, benefits if I pay, $7,500 bonus/yr for night shift

Not exactly where I thought I would be when I started in IT. Having kids kind of changes your priorities when it comes to needed free time. Not much "advancement" being on the late shift until/unless they create an entire team but I don't regret placing my kids needs before my career. Currently working on VCP as I never took it when I took the VCP 5 class. Also working on updating CASP to renew everything else CompTIA related (free voucher).

jul21

Title: IT Field Tech
Hour/wk: 20~25 Part-Time
Company size: Around 6 Family Owned Company IT Services
Age: 24
Duration: 2 Years
How: Job Craigslist
Certs: A+
Education: AAS Degree
Pay: $15/hr

Title: IT Support Assistant
Hour/wk: 15~20 Part-Time
Company size: ~250
Age: 24~27
Duration: 3 years - Current
How: Direct Hire
Certs: A+
Education: AAS Degree
Pay: $20/hr

Title: IT Support Specialist
Hour/wk: 40 Full-Time
Company size: Works at School District
Age: 26~27
Duration: 1 yr - Current
How: IT Recruiter
Certs: N+,A+, ITIL v3
Education: AAS Degree
Pay: $40k Annual w/ benefits

I'm currently working on Server+ then will do Security+ certifications for this year. I'm planning to move up the ladder after hitting my 2 years experience on my current Full Time work at School District. Hoping to land roles on Networking & Server Administration field. My long term goal is on Cyber Security field.

geeksquad09

Title: IT Coordinator
Hour/wk: 40 Full-Time
Company size: 800 Computers, 80 Servers
Age: 26~27
Duration: 1 week and counting
How: Job posting within the company
Certs: None- Currently studying network+, Server +
Education: Some college, Technical Classes
Pay: $45k ,2k bonus yearly.

jb4479

Update, I start a new job with the National Park Srvice soon.

Title: Information Technology Specialist (Customer Support) GS-9
Hours/wk: 40
Description: Federal Civil Service
Company Size: 20k+
Duration: April 2nd 2018 - ?
How: USAJobs
Pay 58k

jb4479 wrote: »

My path goes a little differently from others.

First job: Work study USAF contracting Purchasing agent (Age 18-21)
Age 21-23: various low level

Title: Sonar Technician, Surface, US Navy, Department ISSO
Hour/wk: ???
Company Size:
Age: 23
Duration: 10 years
How: Raised my hand, twice!
Certs: None
Education: Military Training, a lot of college classes
Pay: ~32k (ending)

Title: Product Support/Field Service Engineer (Satcom), Go to IT guy
Hour/wk: 50ish
Company Size: ~1,500
Age: 32
Duration: 18 months
How: Military only job fair
Certs: No IT related
Education:
Pay 52k

Title: IT Contractor/Consultant
Hour/wk: Variable
Company size: 1
Age: 34
Duration: 13 years
How:
Certs: Dell
Education: Associates Degree. Computer Technology and Networking
Pay: Varied ( a lot)

Title: Service Desk Tier 3, Team lead
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~650
Age: 48
Duration: Current (1 year)
How: Hiring manager is an old friend
Certs: In Progress; MCSE: Windows Mobility, ITIL Foundation, Security+
Education: BSITM WGU in progress (8 courses to go)
Pay: 45k

From here who knows, as I have said in another thread: There is no room for advancement, a manager would have to be hit by a bus (I report directly to the Service desk manager, and it's management all the way up form there).

Ultimate goal: IT architect.

earonw49

earonw49 wrote: »

Title: GeekSquad Computer Agent
Hours/wk: 32-40 Depending on Season
Description: Hands ON IT support, general "fix it" computer shop
Company size: 1000+
Age : 19-20
Duration: 10 months (Left Job for School)
How: I knew a guy and got in
Certs: N/A
Education: High School
Pay : $20k/year

Title: Helpdesk I
Hours/wk: 40
Description: General helpdesk/tech Support over the phone and in house desktop development
Company size: 50
Age : 23
Duration: 8 Months (Promotion)
How: Applied Online
Certs: A+
Education: High School
Pay : $32/year

Title: Helpdesk II (Same company as Helpdesk I)
Hours/wk: 40
Description: General helpdesk II support over the phone. In house tech support, sys admin apprentice.
Company size: 35
Age : 23
Duration: 2 months (Moved to different city due to marriage)
How: Promoted
Certs: A+, Network+,
Education: Some College (Community)
Pay : $34k/year


Title: Desktop Support Engineer II / Information Resource Analyst (Field Tech) II
Hours/wk: 40-60 depending on the project
Description: Desktop Support, T1 network and system admin (active directory and server repair) support, project lead/management support, deployment support
Company size: 5000+
Age : 23-24
Duration: 10 Months (Moved to different State for wife's engineering job)
How: Applied Online
Certs: A+, N+, S+
Education: Some College/Xfer to WGU
Pay : $35.5k/year

Title: Launch and Mission Operations Intern
Hours/wk: 50-65
Description: Desktop Support III, Helpdesk Support II, Cisco Routing / Switching maintenance, Server and Sys Admin projects/tasks, various rebuilds, computer builds and projects assigned by the LO and CIO managers.
Company size: <5000
Age : 24-25
Duration: 3 months
How: Applied, 8x interviews and luck
Certs: A+, N+, S+, L+ Useless CIW certs
Education: Some College (Attended WGU)
Pay : $52k/year

Title: Launch and Mission Operations Technician
Hours/wk: 50-65
Description: Desktop Support III, Helpdesk Support II, Cisco Routing / Switching maintenance, Server and Sys Admin projects/tasks, various rebuilds, computer builds and projects assigned by the LO and CIO managers.
Company size: <5000
Age : 25
Duration: 5 months (Left for School Full Time)
How: Side-Promotion
Certs: A+, N+, S+, L+ Useless CIW certs
Education: Some College (Attended WGU)
Pay : $52k/year

Title: Information Systems Network and Firewall Engineer I (Professional Development Program)
Hours/wk: 40
Description: Cisco and Juniper engineering and support. Firewall and security support
Company size: 10000+
Age : 25
Duration: Starting in June
How: Applied, 6 months of constant interviews and contact with HR/Hiring managers, references
Certs: A+, N+, S+, L+, P+ Useless CIW certs
Education: Some College (Graduating WGU in 07/2016)
Pay : Pending (60k+ a year however in negotiations for more salary because I never accept an offered salary at face value)

2 year update:

Title: Information Security Systems Engineer (Professional Development Rotation Position)
Hours/wk: 40+ (Overtime Approved)
Description: Firewall and security project support as well as project management
Company size: 65000+
Age : 26
Duration: 1 year
How: Applied internally
Certs: A+, N+, S+, L+, P+ Useless CIW certs
Education: BSIT @ WGU
Pay : 65k. Note that this position was within a rotational program (glorified post graduate program). The pay does not decrease with the rotation switch. My pay significantly increased once I was hired out of the rotational program.
Location:Florida

Title: Information Security Analyst
Hours/wk: 40 (Overtime Approved)
Description: Firewall and security project support as well as project management
Company size: 65000+
Age : 27
Duration: I start in a few weeks
How: Applied internally, word of mouth, knew the team that had the opening due to my Systems Engineering gig above
Certs: A+, N+, S+, L+, P+ Useless CIW certs, CCNA, CCNA:Security
Education: BSIT @ WGU, MSISA pending late this year
Pay : 72k + Bonus Upfront
Location: Florida

ITSec14

Title: IT Analyst
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~250
Age: 26
Duration: 1 year 4 months
How: Promotion into IT from office job
Education: Finished Bachelors in IT
Certs: None
Pay: Starting - 42k | Ending - 50k


Title: Sysadmin
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~2000
Age: 27
Duration: 13 Months
How: Applied
Certs: MCSE
Pay: 65k (Including bonuses)


Title: IT Security Admin
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~2500
Age: 28
Duration: 14 Months
How: Applied
Certs: MCSE, Security+
Pay: 68k (Received 15k signing bonus as well)


Title: Security Engineer
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: Global (50k+)
Age: 29
Duration: Current (5 months)
How: Applied
Certs: MCSE, Security+, CISSP
Pay: 95k (Including bonus)

elbennett

Title: Antenna Systems/Wiremean
Hours/wk: Unlimited
Company Size: ~1.5 million
Age: 18-26
Duration: 8 years
How: Promotion into IT from office job
Education: Fresh out of high school, into the USMC
Certs: None
Pay: Starting - 18-20k Ending 25k

Title: Game Tech
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: 5000
Age: 26
Duration: 1 year 6 months
How: School work study into full time
Education: Community college telecom studies
Certs: None
Pay: Starting - 21k

Title: IT Analyst
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~10000 (School District)
Age: 27
Duration: 1 year 4 months
How: Applied
Education: Didn't finish College Coursework
Certs: None
Pay: Starting - 22k ending 24k

Title: IT Consultant
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~5
Age: 30
Duration: 1 year 4 months
How: Applied thru craigslist after no raise in sight from last job
Education: Veteran, College Coursework
Certs: None
Pay: Starting - 30k ending 32k


Title: Systems Engineer
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~250
Age: 31
Duration: 4 years
How: Applied after insight from consulting client who went to work in HR for same company
Education:Veteran, College Coursework
Certs: None
Pay: Starting - 42k | Ending - 44k

Title: Helpdesk Admin
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: ~500
Age: 31
Duration: 1 year
How: Applied after insight from consulting client who went to work in HR for same company
Education:Veteran, finished college AAS telecommunications
Certs: Security Plus Began CEH
Pay: Starting - 42k

Title: Security Info Analyst
Hours/wk: 40
Company Size: 100000
Age:26
Duration: current
How: recruited
Education:Veteran, College Coursework
Certs: Security +
Pay: Starting - 60k

elbennett

Good deal bro.

Kyrak

I've enjoyed this thread and it helped motivate me so I'll throw my hat in the ring.

Title: Network Administrator
Hour/wk: 40
Company Size: 150
Age: 22
Duration: 1 years
How: Newspaper ad (remember those? haha)
Certs: None
Education: B.S. Computer Science
Pay: $35K

Title: Network Administrator
Hour/wk: 40
Company Size: 73K, but only 50 in my office
Age: 24
Duration: 3 years
How: Can't even remember
Certs: None
Education: B.S. Computer Science
Pay: $50K

Title: Regional Technology Manager
Hour/wk: 40
Company Size: 1000
Age: 27
Duration: 3 years
How: Employee Referral
Certs: None
Education: B.S. Computer Science
Pay: Start $67K-> End $72K

I then have a 10 year gap running my own businesses loosely related to IT, web design, affiliate marketing, etc
Pay: Variable from 0 - 20K a month but priceless experiences!

Title: Field Service Engineer for MSP
Hour/wk: 40
Company Size: 15
Age: 41
Duration: 1 years
How: LinkedIn
Certs: None
Education: B.S. Computer Science
Pay: $52K
At this point I absolutely hated this job so ended up quitting without a new position (don't make this same mistake I did!). When I wasn't getting enough interviews I decided I had to change something and focused on certifications so that would never be the reason I didn't get an interview I wanted.

Title: System Engineer II
Hour/wk: 60
Company Size: 4K
Age: 42
Duration: 1.5 years
How: Referral from a guy I met in cert training classes!
Certs: PMP, VCP5-DCV, A+,N+, CCNA, MCSA 2012, ITIL
Education: B.S. Computer Science
Pay: Start $85K ->End $93K

Title: Security Engineer II
Hour/wk: 40
Company Size: 4K (Lateral move at same company)
Age: 44
Duration: current
How: Company Transfer
Certs: CCNA R&S/Security, CISSP, A+, N+, S+, MCSE CP&I, VCP5/6-DCV, ITIL
Education: B.S. Computer Science
Pay: $93K

I'm expecting my next move to the the big one I've been working towards. We will see!

Squished

I'll play. Don't laugh too hard.

Title: Support Analyst
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Tier 1/2 Support for large corporation
Company size: 30,000
Age: 20-22
Duration: 3 years
How: Applied and interviewed
Certs: None
Education: Bachelor's
Pay: $55k/year

Title: Support Analyst
Hour/wk: 40
Description: Tier 1 Support for large corporation
Company size: 145,000
Age: 23
Duration: 1 years
How: Applied and interviewed
Certs: None
Education: Bachelor's
Pay: $70k/year

Title: Manager/Director of IT
Hour/wk: Infinite
Description: Oversee all IT operations for small non-profit
Company size: 125
Age: 24 -> present
Duration: 8 years
How: Applied and interviewed
Certs: ITIL, A+
Education: Bachelor's
Pay: $75k/year current, started at $55k 8 years ago

Jove

Title: Web Programmer
Hours: 20 hour/week
Description: Web Programmer for Computer Science Department.
Company Size: Unknown
Age: 22-24
Duration (2002-2005) 3 Years
How: Applied in person.
Certs: None
Education: Pursed B.S. in Information Technology
Pay: $9/hour

Title: I.T. Technician
Hours/wk: 40 plus on call support.
Description: I.T. Desktop Support/IT Manager/System Administrator/Network Administrator/Security Administrator, for a Nursing Home.
Company Size: 300 employees, (20 Servers, 200 computers)
Age: 25-31
Duration: (2005-2014) 9 years
How: Volunteered for 6 months after college until I accepted a full time I.T. position.
Certs: A+, Network+, Server+, Security+, CCENT, CCNA, CCNA Security, VMWare 5.0, MCSA: Windows Server 2012, MCSA: Windows 7, MCDST, MCP, ITILv3 Foundations.
Education: B.S. in Information Technology, M.S. in Computer Science and Information Systems.
Pay: $39,000 to $48,000


Title: I.T. Technician
Hours/wk: 40 hours (no on call support)
Description: IT Helpdesk Support for State of Michigan
Company Size: 300
Age: 31-35
Duration: (2014-2017) 2.5 years
How: Applied online.
Certs: A+, Network+, Server+, Security+, Linux+, CCENT, CCNA, CCNA Security, VMWare 5.0, MCSA: Windows Server 2012, MCSA: Windows 7, MCDST, MCP, ITILv3 Foundations.
Education: Education: B.S. in Information Technology, M.S. in Computer Science and Information Systems.
Pay: $46,000 to $49,000


Title: IT Security Designer
Hours/wk: 40 hours (no on call support)
Description: I.T. Security Designer for the Department of Defense
Company Size: ~40,000
Age: 35-Present
How: Applied Online
Certs: CEHv9, A+, Network+, Server+, Security+, Linux+, MCSA: Windows Server 2012, MCSA: Windows 7, MCDST, MCP, ITILv3 Foundations.
Education: B.S. in Information Technology, M.S. in Computer Science and Information Systems.
Security Clearance: Yes (full scope)
Pay: $96,000