How much am I worth?

wargamer6wargamer6 Member Posts: 56 ■■□□□□□□□□
I'm currently working for a school district. Last week I was told that I was being moved to full time status.

Tuesday or Wednesday is when I found out what my salary package will be. As this is my first full time IT job, I don't know what to expect to be making. I looked at some of the salary calculators but they seem high.

Here's what I have for my background:

BA History
AAS in Computer Science
CompTIA A+, Network +, Security +
MCITP Windows 7

Thanks.
«1

Comments

  • daviddwsdaviddws Member Posts: 303 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Most of the time the calculations seem to be a bit higher that what you could expect, especially in this economy. You have some pretty good skills so I imagine they would have to pay decently for whatever the cost of living is in your area.
    ________________________________________
    M.I.S.M:
    Master of Information Systems Management
    M.B.A: Master of Business Administration
  • wargamer6wargamer6 Member Posts: 56 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I live in the Chicago suburbs.
  • snokerpokersnokerpoker Member Posts: 661 ■■■■□□□□□□
    I would say 40k. After a couple years of experience, maybe MCSA or MCITP you should break or at least be very close to 50k.
  • ptilsenptilsen Member Posts: 2,835 ■■■■■■■■■■
    I would also say 40K, maybe 45, if cost of living in the Chicago suburbs is what I think it is. You'd probably be worth more like 34-38K in the Twin Cities, based on what we know. Of course, your actual skill level and experience can impact this, and you could well be worth more or less dependent on that.

    Anything less than $35K would be too little.

    Edit: That said, I had a co-worker who lived in the Chicago area and made ~$55K. He moved here and took a ~$8K pay cut, but claimed that with cost of living differences between Minneapolis and Chicago, it was like a 30% raise to him.
    Working B.S., Computer Science
    Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
    In progress: CLEP US GOV,
    Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
  • NightShade1NightShade1 Member Posts: 433 ■■■□□□□□□□
    now i wonder how much im worth in the US

    AAS in Computer Science
    CCNA
    ACFE = Alcatel Certified Field Specialist
    FCNSA = Fortinet Certified Network Security Administrator
    FCNSP = Fortinet Certified Network Security Professional
    ACMA = Aruba Certified Mobility Associate
    ACMP = Aruba Certified Mobility Professional
    MCTS:Configuring Windows Vista
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Network Infraestructure
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Hyper V

    Got 4 years of Networking Experience.

    Anyone? :o
  • wargamer6wargamer6 Member Posts: 56 ■■□□□□□□□□
    ptilsen wrote: »
    I would also say 40K, maybe 45, if cost of living in the Chicago suburbs is what I think it is. You'd probably be worth more like 34-38K in the Twin Cities, based on what we know. Of course, your actual skill level and experience can impact this, and you could well be worth more or less dependent on that.

    I've got 3 months of paid experience and 2.5 years of volunteer "experience".
  • SteveLordSteveLord Member Posts: 1,717
    now i wonder how much im worth in the US

    AAS in Computer Science
    CCNA
    ACFE = Alcatel Certified Field Specialist
    FCNSA = Fortinet Certified Network Security Administrator
    FCNSP = Fortinet Certified Network Security Professional
    ACMA = Aruba Certified Mobility Associate
    ACMP = Aruba Certified Mobility Professional
    MCTS:Configuring Windows Vista
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Network Infraestructure
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Hyper V

    Got 4 years of Networking Experience.

    Anyone? :o
    It is largely dependant on location.
    WGU B.S.IT - 9/1/2015 >>> ???
  • NightShade1NightShade1 Member Posts: 433 ■■■□□□□□□□
    on your location ?
  • wargamer6wargamer6 Member Posts: 56 ■■□□□□□□□□
    on your location ?

    Where you plan on working. Pay is going to be different in NYC vs South Dakota.
  • jody7734jody7734 Member Posts: 5 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Depending on the job title I owuld guess you should be getting $40 to 45k. Here in Texas the school districts pay a little less then pirvate companies but have much better benefits which is the trade off. I have found that the salary calculators tend to give a total compensation number which inculded cost of benefits. The important thing is that you feel you are being fairly compensated for the job you are doing.
  • NightShade1NightShade1 Member Posts: 433 ■■■□□□□□□□
    That looks like a lil low i was expecting more ah well :P
    It is becasue my professional certs are not cisco certs? ;P
  • ptilsenptilsen Member Posts: 2,835 ■■■■■■■■■■
    That looks like a lil low i was expecting more ah well :P
    It is becasue my professional certs are not cisco certs? ;P

    Yes. $40-50K seems about right, depending on the region, your English skills, and the actual extent of your technical skills. No higher than $60K in an average metro such as my own, but potentially much higher in an expensive metro ($40K in NYC barely pays rent). Get your CCNP and a couple more years and you're taking $55-$85K, once again depending on many factors.

    Not to detract from OP. I stand by my assessment of mid-30s for OP in Twin Cities metro, high 30s to low 40s for Chicago metro, with anything less than $30 selling yourself short.
    Working B.S., Computer Science
    Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
    In progress: CLEP US GOV,
    Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
  • NightShade1NightShade1 Member Posts: 433 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Well i was just asking out of curiosity where i am i get paid pretty good(for my country standards)...
    For now i was thinking getting cwna cwnp, acmx and cwne (i starting to like aruba a lot)

    But well like i said it was just out of curiosity to see how was it if i decide to move to the US as my gf is north american, well we both live here but well who knows :) if there is a lot of money in there why not ?

    Anyways to tell you the truth i was actually expecting something around 55k 60k at least.... for what i know :) but well thats what i think which could be wrong.
  • ChooseLifeChooseLife Member Posts: 941 ■■■■■■■□□□
    I would say the pay depends to a large extent on the role one wants and his past experience. Certificates do not tell the whole story...
    “You don’t become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, and then doing it so hard that you become great in the process.” (c) xkcd #896

    GetCertified4Less
    - discounted vouchers for certs
  • mguymguy Member Posts: 167 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Wouldn't industry also play a factor into this?

    Like if you work for the financials..
  • RoguetadhgRoguetadhg Member Posts: 2,489 ■■■■■■■■□□
    ChooseLife wrote: »
    I would say the pay depends to a large extent on the role one wants and his past experience. Certificates do not tell the whole story...
    ^

    Certificates and experience. If you have the talk (Certs) and can do the walk (Experience), you're worth more than just talking up a big fish story.

    Not to mention where you lived, benefits, yadda yadda... There's a lot more to "Worth" than a resume.
    In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.
    TE Threads: How to study for the CCENT/CCNA, Introduction to Cisco Exams

  • wargamer6wargamer6 Member Posts: 56 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I'm going again through the salary calculators. My issue is that there are different job titles for what I do. Am I a PC Technician? Or maybe a Help Desk Analyst? What about a Tech Support Analyst? It's confusing.
  • PristonPriston Member Posts: 999 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Salary calculators can't effectively calculate experience
    A.A.S. in Networking Technologies
    A+, Network+, CCNA
  • TurgonTurgon Banned Posts: 6,308 ■■■■■■■■■□
    wargamer6 wrote: »
    I'm currently working for a school district. Last week I was told that I was being moved to full time status.

    Tuesday or Wednesday is when I found out what my salary package will be. As this is my first full time IT job, I don't know what to expect to be making. I looked at some of the salary calculators but they seem high.

    Here's what I have for my background:

    BA History
    AAS in Computer Science
    CompTIA A+, Network +, Security +
    MCITP Windows 7

    Thanks.

    What you can make largely depends on what you can do for a company. Your career is still young and for a while you will be a wrench turner. So you want to find out what they earn. But then you want to move away from that kind of work. IT support is increasingly industrialised now, at least in perception if not in reality. When that happens, the wages fall. Whatever you do in IT over the next five years, you want to be adding commercial value to the company you work for, as opposed to just being really good at closing tickets. That stuff is important too, but in the eyes of the people running IT these days, they can always find someone cheaper to do that.
  • afcyungafcyung Member Posts: 212
    I think something that IT lacks is that we as a profession don't do a great job of developing people. We don't try and get the help desk technician server experience time permitting. Its not unheard of but it is something that we need to improve on. The reason I bring it up is if we develop our people better that will in turn bring more value to the company and help take the wrench turners of today into the IT leaders of tomorrow.
  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    As much as you can talk someone into paying you. Thats all it comes down to really.
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
  • TurgonTurgon Banned Posts: 6,308 ■■■■■■■■■□
    afcyung wrote: »
    I think something that IT lacks is that we as a profession don't do a great job of developing people. We don't try and get the help desk technician server experience time permitting. Its not unheard of but it is something that we need to improve on. The reason I bring it up is if we develop our people better that will in turn bring more value to the company and help take the wrench turners of today into the IT leaders of tomorrow.

    Development of people in operations into something more than that has been atrophying for a while now. It will not get better and the trend will get worse. People in operations need to show initiative to get on, either within the organisation they work for, or without if the avenues are blocked. In many cases the IT leaders of tomorrow already know who they are. Be one of those people. A 5 year plan different from the rest can work. The command line is fine, but being able to run meetings, present arguments and be respected face to face is important too. My advice to anyone on TE is to work on your technical skills, but also the people skills and the charisma. Get it all right and you will be golden. Get it wrong and you will be wrench turning, until someone else does it.
  • chmodchmod Member Posts: 360 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Something that always helps me is to be proactive and not reactive and to always organize plans and ideas including ROI, financial suggestion and even providing business suggestions.
    Forecast the IT business needs and try to develop plans to save money or avoid risks or even prepare solution for the future that will save company time/money or both.

    If you can be more than a techie mean your worth more than an average techie.
  • ValsacarValsacar Member Posts: 336
    Now I'm curious... I'm originally from Upstate NY, you can see my list of certs, 10+ years experience (broad IT, but obviously more than 5 in security) and BS is completed (starting MS in April).
    WGU MS:ISA Progress:
    Required: NOTHING!!!!!
    Current Course: NONE

    Completed: COV2, LKT2, LOT2, FNV2, VUT2, JFT2, TFT2, JIT2, FYT2, FMV2, FXT2, FYV2, LQT2
    Started 01 May 2012, Degree awarded 29 Oct 2013
  • higherhohigherho Member Posts: 882
    To me this question depends on how good you are at Marketing. Get all the credentials you need and know what you're talking about . Then make your worth through marketing / networking skills.

    On a side note it seems that Business knowledge + techie skills are a premium in certain areas.
  • joshmadakorjoshmadakor Member Posts: 495 ■■■■□□□□□□
    To the OP I would say $40k-$50k. Good luck!
    WGU B.S. Information Technology (Completed January 2013)
  • ptilsenptilsen Member Posts: 2,835 ■■■■■■■■■■
    Valsacar wrote: »
    Now I'm curious... I'm originally from Upstate NY, you can see my list of certs, 10+ years experience (broad IT, but obviously more than 5 in security) and BS is completed (starting MS in April).
    $60-$100K, depending on region, actual skillset, what you make now, the job, and your experience. CISSP is a big deal, but I can't tell if you are particularly skilled in any given subset of security, so it's hard to make a judgement.

    Of course, networker050184's answer is the real one:
    As much as you can talk someone into paying you. Thats all it comes down to really.
    Working B.S., Computer Science
    Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
    In progress: CLEP US GOV,
    Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
  • ValsacarValsacar Member Posts: 336
    Heh, networker has it right. As for what ptilsen said, that's actually the range (I'm just above the base) that I'm making now. Network defense/pentesting is what I'm focusing on mainly.
    WGU MS:ISA Progress:
    Required: NOTHING!!!!!
    Current Course: NONE

    Completed: COV2, LKT2, LOT2, FNV2, VUT2, JFT2, TFT2, JIT2, FYT2, FMV2, FXT2, FYV2, LQT2
    Started 01 May 2012, Degree awarded 29 Oct 2013
  • networkjutsunetworkjutsu Member Posts: 275 ■■■□□□□□□□
    now i wonder how much im worth in the US

    AAS in Computer Science
    CCNA
    ACFE = Alcatel Certified Field Specialist
    FCNSA = Fortinet Certified Network Security Administrator
    FCNSP = Fortinet Certified Network Security Professional
    ACMA = Aruba Certified Mobility Associate
    ACMP = Aruba Certified Mobility Professional
    MCTS:Configuring Windows Vista
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Network Infraestructure
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory
    MCST: Windows Server 2008 Hyper V

    Got 4 years of Networking Experience.

    Anyone? :o

    Hey NightShade1, I am scheduled to take V-IAW class which has ACMA exam at the end of it. Was it hard to pass? How do you keep it current aside from taking ACMP? I noticed that there's a 3 year expiration but Aruba's website does not have any information on how to keep it current without passing ACMP. I don't think I'll ever get the training for ACMP since our WLAN implementation here at work is so small to even justify taking the ACMP class, I think? Any information would be appreciated!

    I apologize for hijacking the thread.
  • MAC_AddyMAC_Addy Member Posts: 1,740 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Since you're at a school district, I wouldn't say very much. You can look up the salary schedule for every district... They should list it on their website.
    2017 Certification Goals:
    CCNP R/S
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