Six figures accomplished... sort of

I switched jobs last year, and am currently doing my 2015 taxes. So when I added the two W2s together, I made over 100k. Barely, only like 300 dollars over it, but technically I made over a 100k last year.

It is not quite as sweet, since my old job had a lot of OT, callout pay, and bonuses and that had bumped me over the mark. So it is a little skewed. To me, I will only feel like a major accomplishment when I make a 100k for a standard 40 hour week.

But it is still pretty cool to say "I made a 100k in 2015"

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goatama

ratbuddy wrote: »

Mike-Mike, what kinda of comments do you get on the CEH? I've kept mind off my resume due to how little I think of the EC Council and the cert itself. Maybe I should rethink that...?

What sorts of jobs are you looking for? As much as I despise the cert and the company, I know that it opens doors for certain types of jobs. I have my CISSP, CEH, CHFI, and Master's and the CEH seems to be almost equally sought after as the CISSP when I look for jobs. I know it helped me get my current position as an AppSec Architect.

Grounder

I just hit the six figure numbers ($110k) coming out of the military.

I got a little lucky as mine is a mix of experience and security clearance along with location.

This is in the DC area (so it is not as impressive) and I do not have a college degree yet.

I just got my CISSP endorsed and I am finishing up my college with this current position and will be looking to advance from there.

I am currently 24.

NovaHax

ratbuddy wrote: »

Mike-Mike, what kinda of comments do you get on the CEH? I've kept mind off my resume due to how little I think of the EC Council and the cert itself. Maybe I should rethink that...?

I agree that CEH is ****. But still keep it on my resume, as HR folk and non-technical management tend to be quicker to recognize that than more impressive certs.

tmurphy3100

What position are you in now?

DatabaseHead

C|EH is one of the most popular security certification for HR to look for when seeking security candidates. You would be foolish to leave it off, I have data that backs my findings.

cyberguypr

I leave mine out because personally I don't want to work for anyone that values the stupidity that EC Council is. Those who shoot for positions that recommend or require the cert should certainly leave it.

goatama

cyberguypr wrote: »

I leave mine out because personally I don't want to work for anyone that values the stupidity that EC Council is. Those who shoot for positions that recommend or require the cert should certainly leave it.

That seems like a rather myopic view. Do you ask potential employers how they feel about the EC-Council when you're interviewing with them? There are some industries that are regulated that require certain certifications and skills, and the CEH still ticks off some of those boxes.

Grounder

cyberguypr wrote: »

I leave mine out because personally I don't want to work for anyone that values the stupidity that EC Council is. Those who shoot for positions that recommend or require the cert should certainly leave it.

I also find that view hard to swallow since I know a lot of places where HR has the final editing powers on job postings.

xxxkaliboyxxx

goatama wrote: »

That seems like a rather myopic view. Do you ask potential employers how they feel about the EC-Council when you're interviewing with them? There are some industries that are regulated that require certain certifications and skills, and the CEH still ticks off some of those boxes.

The only industry that I know that "requires" the C|EH is DoD and even then its only for certain IR and CND jobs

goatama

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

The only industry that I know that "requires" the C|EH is DoD and even then its only for certain IR and CND jobs

Well since you went ahead and did the bunny ears for me, I can tell you that the industry I'm currently in may not "require" it, but it's looked on very favorably by the various C-levels and executives at the top. All they know is that it's vetted by the DoD and therefore must be valuable.

Mike-Mike

ratbuddy wrote: »

Mike-Mike, what kinda of comments do you get on the CEH? I've kept mind off my resume due to how little I think of the EC Council and the cert itself. Maybe I should rethink that...?

ratbuddy is a funnyname...

it could be anything, it could be just saying it out loud, or i have people say "i see you have " and then chuckle and say it is crap and say they got it too, I had one guy defend it saying it was legit..

either way, it is enough for me to know people recognize it and it should be on my resume in case someone thinks it is cool

tmurphy3100 wrote: »

What position are you in now?

Still a Security Analyst, but more responsibilities

xxxkaliboyxxx

goatama wrote: »

Well since you went ahead and did the bunny ears for me, I can tell you that the industry I'm currently in may not "require" it, but it's looked on very favorably by the various C-levels and executives at the top. All they know is that it's vetted by the DoD and therefore must be valuable.

^^^^^^^ Makes sense, never thought about that.

Mike-Mike

Mike-Mike wrote: »

The more I make the more I'm surprised how high the ceiling cap goes. I think i do pretty good, but I have a boss.. he has a boss.. he has a boss.. and so on...

So the amount of money at the top must be staggering

i also think it is fascinating that some people have no idea what other people make... I was talking to a Service Desk guy, and i remember him saying he was "pretty sure" that my boss made 70k "maybe even 80k", when I was making 85k.

I said, "I dont know what he makes, but I can almost guarantee it is more than 70 or 80k"

DatabaseHead

goatama wrote: »

Well since you went ahead and did the bunny ears for me, I can tell you that the industry I'm currently in may not "require" it, but it's looked on very favorably by the various C-levels and executives at the top. All they know is that it's vetted by the DoD and therefore must be valuable.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/123431-security-job-requirements-degrees-certifications.html

Sorry if you seen this already, C|EH is a really good one from an HR perspective. I'm not sure of the requirements but overall it might be you best bang for your buck. Assuming you don't have the required 5 years for the CISSP.

9bits

ratbuddy wrote: »

Mike-Mike, what kinda of comments do you get on the CEH? I've kept mind off my resume due to how little I think of the EC Council and the cert itself. Maybe I should rethink that...?

Leave it on. Leave everything on. My degree seems to impress employers (math degree), even though I'm personally more impressed by people who have done something like a CCIE or OSCE. In any case, every person's perspective is different and you never know who's going to be looking.

DatabaseHead

9bits wrote: »

Leave it on. Leave everything on. My degree seems to impress employers (math degree), even though I'm personally more impressed by people who have done something like a CCIE or OSCE. In any case, every person's perspective is different and you never know who's going to be looking.

@ 9Bits I would be one of the managers who would be impressed by that.

powerfool

Mike-Mike wrote: »

i also think it is fascinating that some people have no idea what other people make... I was talking to a Service Desk guy, and i remember him saying he was "pretty sure" that my boss made 70k "maybe even 80k", when I was making 85k.

I said, "I dont know what he makes, but I can almost guarantee it is more than 70 or 80k"

Well, that likely comes from last of vision closer to their pay range. If they are off at the next level, it will just extrapolate out even further off down the line.

Of course, maybe it was based off of prior knowledge at another company. Maybe the Service Desk guy worked at a smaller company and knew the manager's pay there and figured it would be about the same at this place?

Honestly, I am at a weird spot where I don't know what the next level positions would pay. My boss has indicated that I already make the high end for my role (trying to reassure me a bit after I was disappointed with a 2% raise, no doubt). There is really only one more level higher for me in a technical role, but I could transition to a role like my boss's, and I just don't know what either would pay... But I would expect at least 10-20% more than I make.

Mike-Mike

powerfool wrote: »

Honestly, I am at a weird spot where I don't know what the next level positions would pay. My boss has indicated that I already make the high end for my role (trying to reassure me a bit after I was disappointed with a 2% raise, no doubt). There is really only one more level higher for me in a technical role, but I could transition to a role like my boss's, and I just don't know what either would pay... But I would expect at least 10-20% more than I make.

i dont know why, but I always assume a boss makes at least 10k more. And in my brain, if I get promoted to a manager, I assume I'm getting a 10k bump.

Keep in mind, I have never been a manager and there is almost no basis for this reasoning, but that is what my brain thinks all the time