Are PC Technician salaries good anymore?

I feel as if I was born 5 years too late. I'm 23 out of college, BBA with Computer and Network Administration major, a year internship as a PC Technician, A+ certified and yet it feels impossible to find any job in my field.

When I actually find a job that doesn't ask for 4 years of job experience, it's paying in the mid 20's.....! Are tech jobs so bad now they pay lower than a teacher or what?

Is anyone else finding this trend...of IT jobs disappearing and the only thing left is a help desk job at $12/hour, or am I going crazy??

Mike

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Comments

RussS

Yep - that seems to be the way things are going right now. Unfortunately we are paying the price for those who rode the Y2K bandwagon and cost companies tens of thousands of dollars (and a lot more in many cases) for absolutely no reason at all. That lead to distrust (probably warranted) of many IT departments and the end result was sourcing services offshore. That lead to lowering of salaries to match what is being paid elsewhere

Of course, for every dollar saved I would think 50c was paid to executives in bonuses. The corporate creed these days is it doesn't matter how a profit is made as long as the books look good

Ricka182

Even with a degree, internship, and A+, that may not be enough. If you have to take cheap helpdesk job to get experience, take it. You should also be trying for more certs, MCSA is a good start. Youalready have A+, if you get Network+, all you need is a few core exams for MCSA, then go for MCSE. Cisco is one of the best paying jobs now, but it's very comprehensive. You really need to know networks and the like to be good at that.

lazyart

Well, the consensus seems to be to take what you can to pay the bill until the field opens up again. There seem to be plenty of temp jobs if you want to be a hired gun-- maybe something that will go perm. It would at least keep your skills (and resume) current and the guy you work for today may hire you tomorrow...

nethersdenizen

I would be thrilled to make $20 an hour or more. My last job paid me only 9 an hour. I look at job listings and everything either needs 4+ years experiance and a 4 year degree. I have two years experiance and a two year degree with a few certs which doesn't cut it for some reason even if I know my stuff. Think the market might be saturated with people who know IT, or atleast around where I live. Only two choices, move to a place with more demand for us or to get more experiance and certifications to put yourself ahead of the rest. Nothing worth while is easy so hit those books some more and best of luck in the job hunt.

tigger

Experience, Experience, and more Experience is the biggest Key..Some employers will not even give you a chance without Degree, and Certs, and then pay isn't the best to start off.

I just retired from the U.S. Military back in Nov, and the first job after was a Contract job that paid 15+ and living expenses. I thought that Life was great. Job ended and then could not find anything for more than 10.

The Biggest thing is just to get in. Bite the bullet and take the low paying job (if you can afford to) just to gain experience. Doors will begin to open. Even when you get in, Don't just do what is in your job description, try and get involved with different projects that are going around. Most employers see when someone is trying to enhance themselves, and that might be that key to kick start things.

The more they hear your name come up about something being done, is more chance that they will remember your name at promotion time..

Good Luck.,

bellboy

keep looking, something should turn up. you seem to be better equipped than many, so you may not have to wait long at all!

mcornell5

nethersdenizen wrote:

I would be thrilled to make $20 an hour or more. My last job paid me only 9 an hour. I look at job listings and everything either needs 4+ years experiance and a 4 year degree. I have two years experiance and a two year degree with a few certs which doesn't cut it for some reason even if I know my stuff. Think the market might be saturated with people who know IT, or atleast around where I live. Only two choices, move to a place with more demand for us or to get more experiance and certifications to put yourself ahead of the rest. Nothing worth while is easy so hit those books some more and best of luck in the job hunt.

I'd be thrilled to make $20 an hour as well. I had mentioned 20 as in 20K, not per hour. i just feel so depressed when you see a technician job for 12 bucks an hour, thats like 24grand a year..my girlfriend can teach, subbing, and get months off in summer and make the same money...

i think i will tackle N+ next. I had thought about MCSE/MCSA as well. Is MCSA easier and a starting point for MCSA?

Ghent

20k a year may suck, but it's just paying your dues. I currently make $9 an hour doing entry level tech support for an e-banking firm, but after adding a few certs to my resume, I'll be moved up to network support staff. It's a fortune 500 company, so the possibilities for promotion are endless. The company currently has a listing on montster.com for a CCIE with a salary of 115K a year. So teachers may make more then us starting out, but salaries max out very nicely. Just stick with it, pay your dues, and reap the rewards.

mynameisboring

you can always use your techy skills to build profitable websites...I'm sure this one makes money for the webmasters or slap together a **** site and you'll make thousands of dollars if you can keep it up for a year or two or three.

Webmaster

Don't starting counting your money yet... I'm sure anyone with a job makes a lot more than I do from this site, the first 10 months it has only cost me money. I hope to be able to make a living of it some day though... but the main reason to start this site is to promote myself as a tech writer, my goal is to become a 'published author', although that is becoming less important since 50,000+ people read my writings every month

As for your other suggestion: please people, ignore that one, to many trash on the web already.

nethersdenizen

My bad, thought you meant 20 an hour for some reason. There is always work for PC techs for the most part but since a lot of people have the skills needed to do it places can get away with paying dirt. I might not even bother with A+ certification if it only pays 10 or 12 an hour or might get it and do that work until I get better training and certs to become an administrator. Keep getting better at your craft and looking for better work while I go learn how to read.

Best of luck looking for a job that pays the big bucks.

fredd13

I have 5 years experince, and a HND (same as 1/2 a degree)
I've just got a payrise.. £12,911
I work in a Six Form College in the UK

Freddie

Hexydes

Man, I feel like I'm at an AA meeting or something reading this forum.

Hi, my moniker is Hexydes and I have a problem.

"Hi Hexydes!"

Hello everyone.

Anyway, I just graduated from a 4-year college. I've been looking for a job for 4 months now. You'd think after getting a B.A. from a 4-year big-10 university I would be able to at least get an entry level somewhere. Oh well. Anyway, I'm thinking about going for certs now because everywhere I look wants a degree and 2-3+ years experience. I'm thinking about A+ and N+ right now. I have a B.A. in Telecommunications (emphasis in IT, minor in Business). I'm not sure if I want to do network stuff or PC Tech stuff, both are interesting to me.

Any suggestions?

learningIT

Webmaster, you've got some impressive certifications! You must be making a mint somewhere!

Hmm, it seems the whole IT industry is collapsed. A lot of the tech and programming jobs here from Microsoft and other companies have been sent off to Asia. Maybe just all over huh? It's corporate greed as someone already said, to get the bigger difference ($50 a month to pay an Indian vs. $5000 a month to pay one of you). In turn, we lose our jobs.

The IT field is a little saturated since the late 90's boom...everyone wanted to get into it, now we have all these surplus people. It's ok though, the economy will pick up in time. Don't feel down though, soon we'll be replacing the baby boom generation and there'll actually be a shortage of workers.