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Cyberscum wrote: » 100k really is not that much anymore. Everyone I work with makes well over 100k in a very low cost area and no one is living a lavish lifestyle. It's a good goal, but most people I know making over 100k despise their jobs in reality ha ha.....me included
xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: » Good job OP, it's a great accomplishment, sorry for the derailment which I was a part of. I don't think anyone is singling you out by the way. Seems most of it is a healthy debate.
dave330i wrote: » When I graduated from college in the late 90's, 1 of my goal was earning $100k/year. It's interesting that people are still using $100k as a goal. During the ~20 years price of good have doubled, tripled and beyond, but salary haven't kept up.
hurricane1091 wrote: » I actually do believe the OP, there's no doubt some companies like to take care of their people. I just don't think this 20 bucks an hour to 140k in 2 and a half years success story should be the realistic goal for basically anyone. CCIEs get paid 140k a year in normal markets and that takes ages to become ready to pass that.
hurricane1091 wrote: » You're being generous. Guy maybe was a hard worker, sure. Didn't know his direction in life and suddenly was just given a 50k raise a month or two later? Then comes on and preaches to everyone about working hard and this is totally normal, when it was clearly a stroke of luck and right place/right time kind of thing (if it even happened). The first part of his story is suspect at best. Nearly 6 figures patching machines. The next part is just absurd. I love to be inspired, and this story isn't doing it for me. I refuse to be someone who blindly just praises folks. Opportunities are out there people, there is money to be made. 6 figures is possible even outside consulting/contracting. But this story wreaks - especially when you dig in a little deeper. The folks on here studying for CCIE and similar certs are inspirational. The pay these people end up with is well deserved, and it inspires me to do better. A guy who gets a 50k raise for seemingly just being there doesn't get me fired up and thinking it's happening for me next. Chalk it up whichever way you like, I tell it like it is. I make less than 150k, deserve less than 150k, but do believe if I applied myself in a certain direction that it would be possible to probably be making 130k today (specifically SDN/network automation). So the idea of moving up that quickly with certain skillset does not bother me, but this specific case just seems off.
srj wrote: » A little bit more background: - The help desk job was my first IT job and the list above is my total list of my IT experience. This was a switch to a new career at 25 years old. I benefited from work 2-3 years at particularly crappy jobs that really motivated me. I also benefited by having a few years of work experience. - All of these jobs are at the same company, so it helps to know a lot of people for a few years. At the very least, they'll know that you're a good person (goes back to being likable). - I have a BS, but it's in an unrelated field (health). I'm pursuing a MS in IT at night. - Those were my only certs and I completed the RHCSA about 3-4 months into the SysAdmin gig. I used Jang's book to study and did a lot of labbing. - I grew up working with computers and took the equivalent on an A+ cert class in high school. The switch from the health field to IT wasn't a big deal for me. I had also been using a Linux laptop for years, building websites on and off since 12-13 years old, etc. - I don't have a lot of certifications, but certs don't matter as much as gaining the knowledge. Some of the skills that pay the most (scripting/programming) don't really have strong certifications anyways. I do plan on getting the RHCE to bring my certification list up a bit. - I've had awesome managers who have allowed me to move on to opportunities that will benefit my career. How I went Help Desk --> System Administrator in 8 months: - I was in the right place at the right time - Our Sys Admin left and there were a number of duties that were unaccounted for. I took over the Windows imaging system without asking me to do it. - I told my boss that I wanted to be a System Administrator - Studied for MSCA for Server 2012 R2 and gained most of this knowledge (but never took the exam) - Taught myself Python and wrote scripts to fix common problems - Got involved in process improvements when I found that things were broken. One common pain point is new hire on-boarding. - I showed up 30-60 mins early and left an hour late for the first 5-6 months. - Identified a weakness on the team (Linux) and became the SME on the team in that area - If I ran into a difficult issue, then I would sometimes spend hours at home after work figuring out the solution. Overall, I think it comes down to the fact that I prepared myself really well and I lucked out with a number of opportunities. The key is being prepared. A number of my coworkers were overlooked for some of these promotions even though they have more experience than I do.
mgeoffriau wrote: » My takeaway from this this is not so much a formula for reaching $100k that fast -- obviously, the OP's story is something most of us would find difficult to replicate without such an advantageous set of circumstances -- but rather that you don't always know exactly when or in what form the next great opportunity will come, so if you are putting yourself in good position to take advantage when it does, then growth and advancement will come much sooner. So no, you can't copy what the OP did and get $100k in the same timeframe. It depended a lot on the company, the department, the supervisors, the specific business needs, the local marketplace, the cost of living adjustments for that area, and numerous other hidden factors. But the broader lesson of pushing yourself to learn, to excel in your current position, to seek out new areas of responsibility and engagement -- all of that applies to all of us. We might not all land a cherry deal like the OP did, but we can all be ready for whatever opportunities do come our way.
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