Network Administrator Salary

I am A+ Net+ MCSE 2003 and CCNA certified. I am working in a small privet company as a Network Administrator since last 5 year and 9 month. My yearly salary is 55k. I feel like I am underpaid. I would like to know from my fellow IT expert let me know what salary I should ask my employer. I checked in google it says I am in catagory "Network Administrator III" and the salary should be 72k.

Moreover, due to seasonal allergy problem I am planing to move non-allergy area either Florida or California.

Please share your idea and suggestion.

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dynamik

Where are you now? That's awesome for Iowa, but you might want to consider applying for welfare if you're in California*.

*Which you clearly aren't. That was just an illustration

sprkymrk

orissa wrote:

I am A+ Net+ MCSE 2003 and CCNA certified. I am working in a small privet company as a Network Administrator since last 5 year and 9 month. My yearly salary is 55k. I feel like I am underpaid. I would like to know from my fellow IT expert let me know what salary I should ask my employer. I checked in google it says I am in catagory "Network Administrator III" and the salary should be 72k.

Moreover, due to seasonal allergy problem I am planing to move non-allergy area either Florida or California.

Please share your idea and suggestion.

It really depends more on what you do and what size network you take care of than what certs you have. Also, every location has a different cost of living.

You can look through the posts here for some general ideas:
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18223

FYI - If you have allergy problems, Florida is going to be a bad choice. Pollen season runs from March to October.

BigTone

sprkymrk wrote:

orissa wrote:

FYI - If you have allergy problems, Florida is going to be a bad choice. Pollen season runs from March to October.

Yep,

My sister just went down to florida and had a horrible time with hers. Try arizona. Lots of desert.

Daniel333

You are running about what my buddy is making out in San francisco with an identical cert set. he's making about $55k. Down in sourthern california our network operations and desktop administration people are averaging... around $50k.

I was offered a server admin/citrix admin job a month or so back in San Jose, they were offering $48k, no benefits. They filled the spot in two days after I turned it down. So there is a lot of competition here. A LOT.

I had 16 applicants in less than a week for a spot working with me just doing application adminsitration for less than $40k a year, I had a few MCSEs, programmers etc. Two of them had masters' degrees. All of them that I interviewed had lost their jobs in the last couple months.

Megadeth4168

I agree with the above posts. Factors such as location and company size have variables to play in the overall pay.

Where I live, I currently make the average income, as for my place of employment, we have 2 Domain Controllers, 10 buildings, 200 PC's and several other pieces of equipment I work with...

Well, I recently sent management over a proposal for a Title/Pay change. I currently share a job title for someone who does record keeping (I'm not talking about database administration either).

During my research for writing the proposal I looked at several resources, one of them was a survey of neighboring Cities. This survey included the population size, and what each position is being paid in that City.

I found that with what my current classification is, I am currently underpaid, but I also have made great arguments that my job description has a lot less responsibility than what I really do. I proposed the Network Administrator title with a decent pay increase.

So what I found to be true in my area, is that the average Network Admin pay is between 55K and 60K. Cities of larger size made between 15 and 20K per year more on average. I'm just pointing out an example of research I've done...

It should be noted that my research is based on Local Government positions and that a private sector position in the same area is likely to pay higher.

orissa

I am taking care of

2 domain cont.
1 exchange server
1 web server
1 security server
1 ISA Server
1 Electronic Time Collection Server (Deltek)
1 Project Server
1 File and Print Server
1 BlackBerry Enterprise Server
7 BlackBerry Mobile Device

20 in house user with Windows XP Pro (All Dell Laptop)

Planing for my CCIE and PMP.

Slowhand

My recommendation would be to do a search on a local job site and see what's others with your level or experience and education are getting. If you're way under, then you might want to ask for a raise or start looking. If you're way over, then you're doing good.

jamesp1983

I just went for an interview in Philadelphia for a desktop engineer position and the pay range was 70-75k, before bonuses. They worked with really rich clients and it was a stressful position. The responsibilities were basically being a network admin, helpdesk analyst, and desktop tech., oh and riding the oh so safe philly subways where a teacher was beat to death for no reason last week.

remyforbes777

Come to Cincinnati. I don't know how allergies would be here but I know that it's a great place to live as far as cost of living. I just started as a Sys Admin. I don't have a degree and I currently have the certs listed on the left. I am working on my CCNA but I am making 51K with all bennies paid, paid parking downtown and a chance to work on everything from Linux, Cisco to Windows administration. Cincinnati is booming with IT jobs now.

sprkymrk

orissa wrote:

I am taking care of

2 domain cont.
1 exchange server
1 web server
1 security server
1 ISA Server
1 Electronic Time Collection Server (Deltek)
1 Project Server
1 File and Print Server
1 BlackBerry Enterprise Server
7 BlackBerry Mobile Device

20 in house user with Windows XP Pro (All Dell Laptop)

Planing for my CCIE and PMP.

10 servers (all MS basically) and a couple dozen clients?
Depending on your location, 55K might be about right. Have they been fair with pay increases over the 5 years? Can you disclose your location so I don't have to decipher your lat/long in your profile?

darkuser

orissa wrote:

I am A+ Net+ MCSE 2003 and CCNA certified. I am working in a small privet company as a Network Administrator since last 5 year and 9 month. My yearly salary is 55k. I feel like I am underpaid. I would like to know from my fellow IT expert let me know what salary I should ask my employer. I checked in google it says I am in catagory "Network Administrator III" and the salary should be 72k.

Moreover, due to seasonal allergy problem I am planing to move non-allergy area either Florida or California.

Please share your idea and suggestion.

your salary is what someone chooses to pay you for your services
if you dont like it go somewhere else

blargoe

On another thread he says he is in VA... but which part of VA? It's a very big diverse state.

orissa

blargoe wrote:

On another thread he says he is in VA... but which part of VA? It's a very big diverse state.

Its in Ashburn northern VA.

HeroPsycho

Yeah, you're getting screwed. I lived in DC for awhile, and that's no salary to speak of.

I was hired originally classified as a Network Administrator III for low security federal contracting in 2005 in the DC area for about 92K/yr to give you an idea. Granted, that is enterprise size complexity type work, but still. And that was years ago.

When was your last performance/salary review? What happened?

If it's been over a year, ask for a salary/performance review, but don't push your luck too far. Be polite but get a feel for if they're receptive at all to a salary increase. However, don't be surprised if they're thinking even if they give you a bump to put you in the 60's or something like that. Take what you can get, but don't lose your job or get adversarial with them. Remember, it's easier to get a job when you have a job.

At the same time, go look on job websites and target positions you'd like to do, and look at the qualifications necessary. Then gear up to get those.

If they're grossly underpaying you, chances are they're not gonna pay anyone, not you or anyone else, what they're worth, so don't take it personally. Just realize you may need to move on to get paid what you're worth.

larkspur

remyforbes777 wrote:

Come to Cincinnati. I don't know how allergies would be here but I know that it's a great place to live as far as cost of living. I just started as a Sys Admin. I don't have a degree and I currently have the certs listed on the left. I am working on my CCNA but I am making 51K with all bennies paid, paid parking downtown and a chance to work on everything from Linux, Cisco to Windows administration. Cincinnati is booming with IT jobs now.

lots of big banks in your area as well. I had a trianing class there two years ago. Nice downtown area dig the skating rink and teh huge TV displaying the rink, not to mention rock bottom brewery!!

snadam

BigTone wrote:

Yep,

My sister just went down to florida and had a horrible time with hers. Try arizona. Lots of desert.

I assure you they are here as well

But thats not to say the allergy season is as long as other places.

oh yea, and as for salary; It all depends on location, cost of living, demand, etc etc...

Case in point: NetAdmin in CA makes $70k, primarily because cost of living there drives up salaries. However, somewhere like AZ would equate to $50k or less. BTW These numbers are all generated in my head and reflect no real data or actual situations, so no need to nitpick my numbers. Its just an example.

cisco_trooper

orissa wrote:

I am taking care of

2 domain cont.
1 exchange server
1 web server
1 security server
1 ISA Server
1 Electronic Time Collection Server (Deltek)
1 Project Server
1 File and Print Server
1 BlackBerry Enterprise Server
7 BlackBerry Mobile Device

20 in house user with Windows XP Pro (All Dell Laptop)

Planing for my CCIE and PMP.

Not to burst your bubble, but 55K is more than enough for 20 clients. Your employers doesn't care what you CAN do, only what you DO do. If you want more money you better look for a larger network.

undomiel

snadam wrote:

However, somewhere like AZ would equate to $50k or less. BTW These numbers are all generated in my head and reflect no real data or actual situations, so no need to nitpick my numbers. Its just an example.

Yipes! I'm drastically underpaid then! Oh no wait, there's the out. "... or less."

HeroPsycho

cisco_trooper wrote:

Your employers doesn't care what you CAN do, only what you DO do. If you want more money you better look for a larger network.

*snicker* You said doo-doo!

P.S. Yes, I have the maturity of a five-year-old.

itdaddy

You are running about what my buddy is making out in San francisco with an identical cert set. he's making about $55k. Down in sourthern california our network operations and desktop administration people are averaging... around $50k.

I was offered a server admin/citrix admin job a month or so back in San Jose, they were offering $48k, no benefits. They filled the spot in two days after I turned it down. So there is a lot of competition here. A LOT.

I had 16 applicants in less than a week for a spot working with me just doing application adminsitration for less than $40k a year, I had a few MCSEs, programmers etc. Two of them had masters' degrees. All of them that I interviewed had lost their jobs in the last couple months.

holy crap is California cheap! crap with gas 4.00 plus a gallon and the high prices the pay peanuts out there for skilled IT gurus! I used to live in Californa and it use to be goood
but man is that crap for pay! sorry but tha tis what we make in Wisconsin here and I think that is crap guess not! haahah i would think and MCSE 2003 would make 55 k to start but range 60k and above...but maybe i am dreaming! i have seen CCNA from canada make more that all those certs combined IT seems like such a crap shoot! doesnt it?????haahhhaa

itdaddy

i have to vent what really sucks is this!!!!!!! you guys with 3 big certs MCSE 2003
CCNA or CCNP make as much as some CCNAs it doesnt seem fare? I mean even some of you who maybe are MCSE 2003 and CCNA make as much a IT person who has 20 certs

man it really depends on so many factors to get a good paid job doesnt it? man it dont seem fair
no wonder the market is flooded and all of us are working are butts off to get 20 certs only to
have a CCNA and Sec+ guy get paid as much as say an MCSE 2003/CCNA doesnt seem fare
someone Biatch slap me pplease!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Schluep

itdaddy wrote:

i have to vent what really sucks is this!!!!!!! you guys with 3 big certs MCSE 2003
CCNA or CCNP make as much as some CCNAs it doesnt seem fare? I mean even some of you who maybe are MCSE 2003 and CCNA make as much a IT person who has 20 certs

man it really depends on so many factors to get a good paid job doesnt it? man it dont seem fair
no wonder the market is flooded and all of us are working are butts off to get 20 certs only to
have a CCNA and Sec+ guy get paid as much as say an MCSE 2003/CCNA doesnt seem fare
someone Biatch slap me pplease!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

First off, life isn't fair and never will be. Who would judge what "fair" is even if someone wanted it to be fair? Fair to you and fair to me isn't the same thing. Personally I think fair is having the freedom to choose who I hire and who I don't hire as opposed to looking at it from the perspective that I deserve something more than someone else because I have more letters after my name.

You certainly can't judge a person only by their certifications. There are so many other factors involved in a person's worth to an organization including integrity, work ethic, accuracy, attention to detail, communication skills, leadership skills, and certainly their technological profiency. I know people with no certifications that are far more knowledgable than many who are certified. In fact we have two people in offices right across from each other with identical certifications and ability, but one seems to get far more accomplished on a daily basis because they work harder and get much more for that same level of ability.

On the opposite side, there could be two positions that pay $55k per year, but one could be a very positive work environment, generally nice people in the office, more flexibility regarding your schedule, more learning opportunities, in a better location (less time/money wasted in transit), and so on. The other may have tons of overtime required in a salary position you aren't paid for, a very rude and unfriendly person to work for, no chance to advance or learn anything, and annoying co-workers.

You can't judge situations like these by certifications or salary figures alone. Personally I am glad things aren't fair because it is gives me choices.

blargoe

55k seems within the bounds of fair compensation in this case.

cisco_trooper

Ok guys. Having a buttload of certs isn't going to get you a large paycheck. Having a bachelor's is not going to get you a large paycheck. Having experience WILL get you a large paycheck, but to make yourself marketable to the stupid HR departments, you may have to get certs or a degree or both to make it to an interview, depending on the company's policies. Certs don't help you out much if you've never had a job. I know that isn't the case in this thread...but it seems to me that people out of high school and college go cert dumping expecting to make a buttload of money and it never happens. It isn't 1999 anymore. You now have competition.

Quit working so hard on certs and find a job you can put on your resume. If that job isn't giving you the experience you need to move on later, then cut your losses and move on now.

Just my nickels worth.

EDIT:

Also having an MCSE or CCNA doesn't mean as much as it used to. You used to be able to look at guys with these certifications and KNOW they had a certain level of technical proficiency with certain technologies. With the proliferation of brain **** your cert won't be respected until you can prove it. The only certs I respect if I see them on someone's resume are those that require a lab. Everything else is a crap shoot until I interview them and decide for myself.

Just sayin'.

paintb4707

cisco_trooper wrote:

Ok guys. Having a buttload of certs isn't going to get you a large paycheck. Having a bachelor's is not going to get you a large paycheck. Having experience WILL get you a large paycheck, but to make yourself marketable to the stupid HR departments, you may have to get certs or a degree or both to make it to an interview, depending on the company's policies. Certs don't help you out much if you've never had a job. I know that isn't the case in this thread...but it seems to me that people out of high school and college go cert dumping expecting to make a buttload of money and it never happens. It isn't 1999 anymore. You now have competition.

Quit working so hard on certs and find a job you can put on your resume. If that job isn't giving you the experience you need to move on later, then cut your losses and move on now.

Just my nickels worth.

EDIT:

Also having an MCSE or CCNA doesn't mean as much as it used to. You used to be able to look at guys with these certifications and KNOW they had a certain level of technical proficiency with certain technologies. With the proliferation of brain **** your cert won't be respected until you can prove it. The only certs I respect if I see them on someone's resume are those that require a lab. Everything else is a crap shoot until I interview them and decide for myself.

Just sayin'.

paintb4707

orissa wrote:

I am taking care of

2 domain cont.
1 exchange server
1 web server
1 security server
1 ISA Server
1 Electronic Time Collection Server (Deltek)
1 Project Server
1 File and Print Server
1 BlackBerry Enterprise Server
7 BlackBerry Mobile Device

20 in house user with Windows XP Pro (All Dell Laptop)

Planing for my CCIE and PMP.

I noticed you said 20 in house users. Do you support any remote users?

Claymoore

cisco_trooper wrote:

Not to burst your bubble, but 55K is more than enough for 20 clients. Your employers doesn't care what you CAN do, only what you DO do. If you want more money you better look for a larger network.

I must agree with cisco_trooper here and say you need to move on to bigger opportunities if you want the bigger pay. Just to put things in perspective, I have about 25% of your entire network just in my cube between test workstations and servers being built / tested.

You work for a small shop which means you wear a lot of hats, but you are going to be paid based on what you are doing. If 75% of your time is spent doing helpdesk-type tasks, then 75% of your salary will be at a helpdesk rate. You can call yourself a network engineer, but if you are clearing out paper jams on someone else's printer then you shouldn't expect 75k.

The good news is you have 5.5 years of experience to go along with a couple of nice certs. 5.5 years on a 20 node network doesn't mean you're ready to manage any network out there, but you could expect to skip over any helpdesk positions in the future. Don't feel bad about leaving your employer either - there are plenty of people with just an A+ looking to start out in this field who would gladly take the position at a reduced rate. When that person gains enough experience and certs to move on, the cycle will start over.

remyforbes777

larkspur wrote:

remyforbes777 wrote:

Come to Cincinnati. I don't know how allergies would be here but I know that it's a great place to live as far as cost of living. I just started as a Sys Admin. I don't have a degree and I currently have the certs listed on the left. I am working on my CCNA but I am making 51K with all bennies paid, paid parking downtown and a chance to work on everything from Linux, Cisco to Windows administration. Cincinnati is booming with IT jobs now.

lots of big banks in your area as well. I had a trianing class there two years ago. Nice downtown area dig the skating rink and teh huge TV displaying the rink, not to mention rock bottom brewery!!

Yeah, a lot of banks. The skating rink is on Government Square. They just revamped it. That big screen was just put there a few years ago as well. Only thing about our downtown is that it closes very early as far as shops. We have great restaurants and bars down here though. Only bad thing about Cincy is the weather at times. You never know what you are going to get. It could be 70 degrees one day and then the next 25. We just recently had snow, rain, and sunshine in a day. LOL but the cost of living here is unbeatable.

c0d3_w0lf

LoL, you should be happy with 55k. I don't make anywhere close to that, and the NOC I work in monitors several thousand devices in multiple datacenters.

UnixGuy

cisco_trooper wrote:

Ok guys. Having a buttload of certs isn't going to get you a large paycheck. Having a bachelor's is not going to get you a large paycheck. Having experience WILL get you a large paycheck, but to make yourself marketable to the stupid HR departments, you may have to get certs or a degree or both to make it to an interview, depending on the company's policies. Certs don't help you out much if you've never had a job. I know that isn't the case in this thread...but it seems to me that people out of high school and college go cert dumping expecting to make a buttload of money and it never happens. It isn't 1999 anymore. You now have competition.

Quit working so hard on certs and find a job you can put on your resume. If that job isn't giving you the experience you need to move on later, then cut your losses and move on now.

Just my nickels worth.

EDIT:

Also having an MCSE or CCNA doesn't mean as much as it used to. You used to be able to look at guys with these certifications and KNOW they had a certain level of technical proficiency with certain technologies. With the proliferation of brain **** your cert won't be respected until you can prove it. The only certs I respect if I see them on someone's resume are those that require a lab. Everything else is a crap shoot until I interview them and decide for myself.

Just sayin'.

I couldn't agree more...