3rd year in I.T

Hello Guys,

I was wondering in the 3rd years of your I.T career how many certs and what kind of a position were you on?

Also what were you doing and salary wise.

I have accepted a recent role which I love!

Find more posts tagged with

Save $250 on 2025 certification boot camps from Infosec!

Book now with code EOY2025

Button

Comments

jibbajabba

I started my career in IT 12+ years ago and started with MCSE NT4 - only got the rest of my exams only really over the last 5 years ... Never needed any of them before that ..

dave330i

I'm almost 2 years in IT (18th is 2 years, Yay!). I have 10 certs, but most are low level. I'm Planning on having 15-16 certs by 3rd year.

My current title is Virtualization Engineer (I think). I don't see it changing by 3rd year.

As for salary, if I'm not at ~150k, I'd be disappointed.

nosoup4u

Third year in IT I was working desktop support for Citibank making 14 an hour or so,I was 19 so wasn't the end of the world for sure! Just day to day ticket grinds and ghost swaps for new employees. I had no certifications until recently and regret waiting 6 years into my IT Career but it's never to late to start I hope

CiscoKidd

My 3rd year in IT, I was a Jr. Network Engineer for a government contractor. I had my A+, Network+, Security+, MCP, and the CCNA.

My salary at the time I believe was $52K.

RouteMyPacket

By my 3rd year, I had no certs and was blowing away people with their so called higher education and MS certs. The guy with so many MS certs that it covered his cubicle wall was fired and I ended up taking over the entire IT organization a few years later.

Certs are good if they supplement actual hands on knowledge and experience. The only reason I am going to sit any certifications now is simply because I've gone from a generalist role to a focused Cisco role and it interests me to now have the opportunity to focus on one role.

I have a pretty hard nosed opinion about IT certifications, specifically the MS ones.

What role did you land? Sounds like you are enjoying it, congrats!

the_Grinch

Third year in IT was a few months ago. Certs on the side, making about $48k with bonus. Desktop support and looking to get out of it....

ThePrimetimer

Third year for me was almost exactly a year ago. I was an Applications Analyst for a bank, moving to a Help Desk position in a new town. I was making $41K a year at the bank with my CCENT, Net+, Security+. The switch of jobs adding about $6K to my pocket and the Project+.

Now I have a new job as an IT Specialist that has had me move back to the city where family and friends are. The pay hasn't changed from the Help Desk side, but the experience will.

karamba

dave330i wrote: »

I'm almost 2 years in IT (18th is 2 years, Yay!). I have 10 certs, but most are low level. I'm Planning on having 15-16 certs by 3rd year.

My current title is Virtualization Engineer (I think). I don't see it changing by 3rd year.

As for salary, if I'm not at ~150k, I'd be disappointed.

wowowowo how you manage to get 150k in 2 years of experience.

Akaricloud

After 3 years I was just finishing a 4-year degree, got my first certification(MCITP Windows 7), and starting a Jr. Systems Administration position. Shortly after I transitioned to a full Systems Administration position with a different company making 55-60k salary.

I've been there about a year now and am looking for bigger and better things already!

dave330i

karamba wrote: »

wowowowo how you manage to get 150k in 2 years of experience.

I am not at 150k. I plan on being ~150k by my 3rd year.

networker050184

You also have to take location into consideration. In VA, and especially NOVA, a six figure salary is pretty standard for someone who knows what they are doing.

MAC_Addy

karamba wrote: »

Hello Guys,

I was wondering in the 3rd years of your I.T career how many certs and what kind of a position were you on?

Also what were you doing and salary wise.

I have accepted a recent role which I love!

I'm curious. You say that you just accepted a new position. Which, you posted this a 4:20am central time - and the fact that you sent me a PM at 5:02am central time saying that you have an interview makes me wonder... What was in that link? And do you really love your new role, because if you did, you wouldn't be looking for other jobs. So either you're lying about the whole thing, or you're just an idiot. You're lucky, because I never click on links that people send me.