Anyone climbed the ranks in one company?

jthunderbird

So I read threads all of the time about folks asking when is too early to quit, job is stagnant, etc. Pretty much always has the same responses like move if you cant move up or you can make much more and get a better title.

That is the path I have followed as well. Went from network technician with no certs or degree 4 years ago making little money to a network engineer making around 6 figures today... on my 5th job in that time span because promotion from within was just never really an option. I plan on staying at my current position until I finish my bachelors and masters and begin a move to management, but reading all of these similar threads had me curious.

Has anyone on this forum worked their way up from a low level (helpdeskish) position into a higher level position WITH accompanying higher level fair market salary all within the same company or is that just an impossibility in today's world?

QHalo

I went from intern, to helpdesk, to building support, to application support, to system administrator at one company over 7ish years. I'm no longer at that organization currently although my current boss is someone I worked with while there.

Edit: I should clarify that the organization was a Fortune 500 and fairly large.

cyberguypr

At my previous job I went from Desktop Support, to Team Lead, to Systems Admin over the span of 4 years. Over there increases were minimal and compensation was way under industry averages. With my current company I was hired as a Systems Admin and jumped to Systems Engineer at the 2 year mark. There was a double digit percentage increase when I took the latest position but nothing as big as when I switched companies (30%).

mikeybikes

At my current job I went from Desktop Support Technician to Systems Administrator. Officially my title is Journeyman Systems Administrator or something stupid like that. I suspect it is just to separate me from the more experienced, senior guy who has been here for eight years. The raise I got was a bit better than market level for a junior system admin position.

It depends on the company, but many do have opportunities for internal advancement. In my case, I demonstrated my knowledge and technical abilities numerous times throughout my time in desktop support.

xenodamus

I went from Desktop Support to Desktop Support Supervisor to Network Administrator in 3 years at my current company (1 year in each position) and doubled my salary along the way.

We're a medium sized organization with 2000+ employees and ~50 IT staff.

NinjaBoy

I went from Senior IT Tech to IT Manager, does that count?

joemysterio

So far I went from Driver/Tech to IT Tech in 6 months. Not bad for me.

TomkoTech

I worked as a part-time/intern for a few months, and was eventually brought on as full time help desk. Then bumped up to systems administrator a little over a year later. I had an 80% increase from my original full time pay. However that was a little under industry standard. I was supposed to receive a nominal raise to the salary I requested within 6 months, but that never happened. It's about 18 months later and still no raise. It's looking as though I will have to lateral\promote out of my current place if I want a raise. But as it stands about half of my income is disposable, and I really enjoy working with the people I work with, so I'm in no hurry to leave.

lsud00d

Sys admin to Senior Engineer (3 rungs in the ladder) in 2.5 years. You have to prove your worth and be a valuable asset (read: you are profitable) in order to advance internally.

kriscamaro68

I went from Systems Admin -> Systems Admin II -> to Systems Engineer in just over 2 years where I am at now. In that time span from when I started to becoming a Systems Engineer it has been a 50% increase in salary.

Most of the guys I work with have been with the company many years and started in helpdesk and are now Engineers in their respective tech and my boss who is the director of IT worked his way up as well.

kohr-ah

I worked at a MSP for 4 years and went from:
Customer Engineer > Associate System Support Engineer > System Support Engineer and then I left.
12% > 12% > 10% for raises.

When I worked at the hospital though (assigned there by the MSP) their Director started in help desk and worked his way up so I have seen it done. I think it took him about 7 years to do that.

N2IT

Several times. My review is coming up in 5 weeks hopefully I'll get additional responsibilities. I found keeping one foot in technology and the other in management has been huge for me. I can capture requirements, drive projects to completion and report on the budget / resources. I can also get into the database write SQL, VB, and come up with technical solutions. Knowing a little bit about Windows Server, SSRS, SharePoint and other technologies has really helped me move along.

jthunderbird

Wow I am really surprised at all of these replies. I just read so many posts about people having to move to other jobs in order to get a FAIR raise comparable to their positions and responsibilities. My first job I worked my butt off while more than proving my value and they promoted me with a whopping $2k raise.... had to leave, jumped immediately into a better title, role and paycheck.

Hopefully my current job is like yalls and I can move up once qualified and get match market value.

tier~

At my current place I went from Desktop Support to Support Team Lead to Sys Admin in roughly 5 years with ~12% increases with each title change. After about 18 months in the SA position I'm now moving into a new role elsewhere in the next couple weeks but growth within is certainly possible.

pevangel

My co-worker started at the NOC a few years ago and became a Network Engineer. He was promoted to a lead position last year and is moving towards a PM role now. I have no clue about his salary. I started in the NOC as well and moved up to Network Engineer. Got a 58% raise.

CodeBlox

I got a 25% raise when promoted from helpdesk to Systems Admin at my current gig.

citinerd

I tried to; however they kept hiring people with less knowledge and passing me over. I was desktop support for 4 years and could not get any recognition for my schooling or certifications. The company I work for now took a chance on me and hired me as a network engineer and gave me 90 days to prove myself. 13 months later I still work there. Meanwhile 3 of the 4 people that worked their way past me up the ladder at my old employer no longer work there due to their lack of motivation and knowledge.

Bundiman

Lets see

Started as a PC Analyst, Network Analyst, Network Engineer, to finally Sr. Network Engineer of twelve years at the same company. I've been a Sr Engineer for four years and just trying to finish up my degree so I can move up further. I have also has a little over a 40k increase in that time.

J.Tot

I went from helpdesk to Supervisor/Manager with the promise of sysadmin and vmware training.
They hired someone else for more money and offered him training instead.

I'm miserable and looking to get out. Went from 34k a year to 45k with my role change, now 2 years later I know I wont get another raise and I have no change for promotion.

Living in Vegas.

filkenjitsu

Customer Service in a call center, 6 positions later and 8 years later I was a Data Network Engineer. I work for a service provider.

blinkme323

Support Analyst 1 > Support Analyst 2 > Sys Admin 2 > Sys Admin 3. This has been over about a six year period with roughly 35% in increases.