Your career progression, Pay progression.

truckfittruckfit Banned Posts: 78 ■■□□□□□□□□
Hey,

I thought I would make this post as next month will be my 3rd year in I.T

I got into I.T cause I had a passion for it and couldn't do anything else when I decided to take it seriously back in 2008.

So here is my career progression so far.


In 2008 I started doing Microsoft certifications self paced for a little over a year.

In mid of 2009 I started looking for work and none picked me cause I had zero work experience even though I had the certifications and the knowledge and the skills...

So in November 2009 I contacted several I.T service companies and offered to work for free and a company took me in on a volunteer basis as a Junior Tech.

I was there for a couple of months (2 months)

Then I volunteered at another company as a systems engineer on a part time basis while looking for paid work but still could not get a paid job.

Then around March of last year I got a offer full time at a great large Firm as a Junior System Engineer and pay was $ 44,200 k.

Now I was offered a role as a Intermediate Technical Consultant with a pay of $ 55,000

So salary wise for first a year and couple of months i was on nothing, then for thé next year and 10 months i was on 44k a year but made 46.5k ish with on call and over time and next month im on newjob as a consultant on 55k.

So far I have learned alot and I have heck of a long way to go to achieve more of my dreams.

So was wondering how other members career and pay progressed so far.

And what you guys think of the way I progressed?

Comments

  • W StewartW Stewart Member Posts: 794 ■■■■□□□□□□
    It looks like you're on a pretty good path. I hope I'm making that much in 3 years. I have about a year and 4 months of IT experience. Back when I was working as a nurses assistant in a hospital, I was taking a cisco class and I applied for my first IT job at an ISP. They asked me some basic computer and networking questions that I was not able to answer like standard port numbers and windows based questions so I bombed the interview and didn't get the job.

    I decided to go back and focus on the basics by getting my A+. At the time I also quit working at the hospital because I couldn't stand it and I ended up working at Telemarketing jobs that I also couldn't stand. My girlfriend who was also working in telemarketing with me ended up talking to somebody who told her about a place that would hire me if I had my A+ to do tech support for Dell. It sounded like the coolest thing in the world at the time and by the time I got my A+ I ended up getting a job their on the same day. The pay was 12.50/hr. It was a call center so the hours weren't really stable if the call volume wasn't their.

    I got my Net+ and CCENT while working their and decided to learn about windows server and linux so I would be ready for whatever opportunity came along. I got a raise to 13.07 after 3 months and after working at Dell for 6 months, I left for a linux job supporting point of sales systems. I had to take a pay cut back to 12.50/hr but it was worth it for the stable hours and the opportunity. I planned to stay for a good two years but ended up leaving for personal reasons and took another work at home job for 14/hr. That job cancelled on me as soon as I left my current job leaving me in a bad situation so I took another work at home job for 8/hr. I was their for a week before I was able to get a job at a NOC paying 15/hr. That job consisted of sitting around all day and escalating issues to the real techs even though I was used to being able to figure out issues on my own and at times better than the senior techs so I decided to take up another opportunity that I turned down when I started that job. They initially offered me 16/hr but since I impressed them so much with my linux knowledge they decided to bring me on as a junior admin for 18/hr. With the overtime included I'll be making a little over 41000 a year with a company that actually has real opportunity for advancement.
  • paul78paul78 Member Posts: 3,016 ■■■■■■■■■■
    @truckfit - welcome to TE.

    Both of you sounds like you are doing great. Your careers sounds like they are on the right upwards trajectory. My only two cents is that since you are both 3 years in your career, just remember that there will be ups and downs. Not everyone goes on to become a C-level executive or founder of the next Microsoft or Google. Most pay growth tends to be logarithmic in nature as your career progresses.

    For myself, I am view myself at a little more than half-way through my career. I am hoping that I have not peaked yet.
  • truckfittruckfit Banned Posts: 78 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Yeah no doubt there is lots of downs to come as well as good ups. So far through out the time that I have being in I.T it has being mostly downs, lots of downs but I am still here and I survived, I am confident that I will keep standing strong with the with the future challenges that I may face ahead.
  • paul78paul78 Member Posts: 3,016 ■■■■■■■■■■
    That's great - as long as you are still in the game, you will continue to find the opportunities.

    The challenge today with the economic downturn and coming out of a recession, it will be tough for anyone starting out.

    But if you can weather this storm, it will absolutely make you stronger. In 10 or 20 years time, you will hopefully look back at this time fondly as a time that shaped your career.
  • HypntickHypntick Member Posts: 1,451 ■■■■■■□□□□
    I went from making about 29k per year, to starting a job that's going to be at 65 even, not counting OT or other bonuses. And the 29k job, while I did work there for 3 years, I accomplished almost nothing the first 2 years. Year 3 I kicked into overdrive, started to get my comptia certs, company sold our department so I found something else. So I would say my "real" IT career started October of 2010. Not bad considering some of the ups and downs.
    WGU BS:IT Completed June 30th 2012.
    WGU MS:ISA Completed October 30th 2013.
  • truckfittruckfit Banned Posts: 78 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Wow nice you were under paid on 29k and now you get more than double in your new place.
  • Dakinggamer87Dakinggamer87 Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
    You guys are on a good track. Keep it up!! icon_thumright.gif
    *Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
    *Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
    Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

    Certs/Business Licenses In Progress: AWS Solutions Architect, Series 6, Series 63
  • KaiiKaii Member Posts: 59 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Amazingly Great ,, thanks for the motivation sir
    I`m the Designer of my Own Catastrophy

    “The best way to predict the FUTURE is to CREATE it”
  • HypntickHypntick Member Posts: 1,451 ■■■■■■□□□□
    Well the 29 was at my first IT job ever, then where I am now is 41, where i'm moving on the 12th is 65. I think that's a fairly steady progression.
    WGU BS:IT Completed June 30th 2012.
    WGU MS:ISA Completed October 30th 2013.
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