They Offered WHAT??

I know we have all seen, heard or had bad offers but this one caught me compltetly off guard.

Position: Security Analyst L1
Duration: Full Time

Job Description:-

Experience in a large enterprise networking environment.
Provide Tier-1 incident response analysis and support.
Escalate issues to Tier-2 and follow up as required.
Identify and remediate any threats and/or vulnerabilities.
Document incident results and report details through ticketing system.
Research, analyze and understand log sources from security and networking devices such as firewalls, routers, anti-virus products, and operating systems.
Assist with the review of ArcSight events to determine any true intrusions.
Experience working in a Security Response Center or CIRC helpful.

Qualifications:

Experience in the administration and/or advanced technical support of Windows ,UNIX, and Linux Servers/Desktops.
Possesses a strong understanding of the TCP/IP protocol suite, security architecture, and remote access security techniques/products. Strong IP orientation and trace routing.
Ensure the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of data sources.
Have a strong understanding of incident response methodologies and technologies and must be able to apply this knowledge to react quickly, decisively, and deliberately. Firewall, IDS/IPS, DLP, Log management and SIEM knowledge.
Research and analytical background and an analytical approach, especially with respect to event classification, event correlation, and root cause analysis. Troubleshooting skills a must.
Willingness to serve as a member of a Tier 1 Team and respond to emergency calls during non-business hours, as needed.
Strong verbal/written communication and interpersonal skills are required to document and communicate findings, escalate critical incidents, and interact with call in customers.
Highly motivated individual with the ability to self-start, prioritize, and multi-task.
Minimum 1- 2 years experience as a Security Analyst required
Experience within a 24x7 security operations environment a plus.

Now how much would you expect this to pay (This is in NJ)? On the low end I said $45k, they offered...$23,900/yr. I had to ask if he ment $23.90/hr. I told him no and he tells me of someone with 8yrs exp in security that they placed and what an oppurtunity it would be in the future.

Anyone else have a similar story? I have never been low balled this much. The kicker was that the 1st contact email asked for current and disired salary. I make twice what was offered.

I know the market isn't THAT bad!!

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Comments

darkerz

Perfect for a student or entry level, I suppose.

FloOz

That is definitely a low-ball. With your certs I think you should be able to find an entry level position that pays between 35-40.

ptilsen

Were I a student with no experience, I might accept that as a paid internship if it were converted to hourly, but the requirements would have to be commensurate for an internship, not someone with professional experience and a degree. No one actually qualified would do that job for that amount of money in NJ.

NetworkVeteran

Provide Tier-1 incident response analysis and support.

If you're looking for higher pay brackets, "Tier 1" is almost always going to be a no-go.

sratakhin

Next thing they will do will be bringing a clueless worker from India on an H-1b visa, claiming they couldn't find anybody for the position. Even 45k is too low, especially if it's in NJ.

SteveLord

darkerz wrote: »

Perfect for a student or entry level, I suppose.

You've obviously never been to Jersey. Illegal aliens make more than that selling flowers to cars sitting in traffic.

ptilsen

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

If you're looking for higher pay brackets, "Tier 1" is almost always going to be a no-go.

Even "Tier 1" IT jobs pay more than $24,000 in lower cost-of-living states. I wouldn't expect anything IT in NJ to pay under $30,000 other than paid internships, and even those would probably make a bit more than this hourly. OP was probably expecting too much to get his current salary, but $24,000? Non-starter for anyone with any credentials or experience in this field and that state.

tbhouston

Pretty cool title but it does seem to be basic entry level work, Like someone said Tier 1 is never good

I would expect it to be more but not much. I have no idea about NJ though, in Houston jobs like these can be filled with a decent worker for ~30k

also it sounds like an agency, personally i never really had much success that way

eansdad

My hope for this might have been a little high. Seeing Security Analyst 1 I thought it would be entry level security. They made it sound like it. Might be a fancy title for a help desk.

crow_hikari

Wow! I'm sorry to hear that! That really sounds like a fancy helpdesk spot. Sec analysts here in NC get a bit better than that.

ptilsen

tbhouston wrote: »

I would expect it to be more but not much. I have no idea about NJ though, in Houston jobs like these can be filled with a decent worker for ~30k

According to the Bankrate.com calculator, $30,000 in Houston is $43222.84 in the Newark, NJ area and $40,938.96 in the Philly area. Here in the Minneapolis area, it's $36,243.37. I would expect OP to be somewhere above Minneapolis, below Newark, being in south Jersey. And FWIW, I made over the hourly equivalent of over $30K as a paid intern in high school doing tech support in 2006. To think a security position that requires actual knowledge and experience would pay less in a much more expensive area is crazy to me.

For NJ, this salary is nowhere near the mark. The more I think about it, OP's minimum of $45K is actually pretty reasonable. I would say no less than $35K for this, and probably $40K to $50K for a well-qualified candidate.

SteveLord

My first job (in Newark no doubt) paid $33k. And that was from a failing business owned by wealthy cheapskates. (They maintained their wealth due to having real estate as well + employed many illegals.)

lsud00d

Man, that is pretty terrible!! My internship started at 10k more than that...

hoktauri

That's lower than the base pay for the basic help desk position I interviewed for today.

kurosaki00

Help Desk Here pay from 10-15 bucks
so thats a great offer here

goldenlight

that pretty low for New Jersey.

I better be making 6 figures If I come to Jersey.. Rent is just too freaking High

DoubleNNs

I'm in NJ and this thread makes me depressed about what I'm currently getting paid. lol
But, it's my 1st IT job - I'm only 4 months into my IT career. So I'm not too worried. Yet.

hoktauri

kurosaki00 wrote: »

Help Desk Here pay from 10-15 bucks
so thats a great offer here

This offer works out to be about 12/hr.

Master Of Puppets

You are definitely justified in feeling low-balled. Probably their terrible offers stems from the fact that everyone wants to get into infosec so they may fish someone who will suck it up just to get a start. Can't find a reasonable explanation other than something like that.

boobobobobob

They will not fill that opening paying that much

mengo17

Yeah. That salary for this job is ridiculous. I guess they are betting on finding someone who really wants to get into security. I mean betting on the fact that someone will take a pay cut because they dream about getting into info sec and we all know getting in the info sec world with no experience is very difficult.

Xyro

ptilsen wrote: »

According to the Bankrate.com calculator, $30,000 in Houston is $43222.84 in the Newark, NJ area and $40,938.96 in the Philly area. Here in the Minneapolis area, it's $36,243.37.

I would be interested in how you used that site to arrive to those equations.

ptilsen

Cost of Living comparison calculator

Select start and destination metro, enter number, hit the button.

Sounds Good

I'm sure someone fresh out of college will take up that offer for 6 months to a year and bounce the moment the next job comes along.

Just doing a quick search on NJ salaries for security analysts, average was 76k.

So rough it for a year, get some security certs, and make 60-80k the next year.

Depends entirely on your situation and if you can take the hit financially for a year.

widget101

Sounds Good wrote: »

I'm sure someone fresh out of college will take up that offer for 6 months to a year and bounce the moment the next job comes along.

Agreed. It definitely seems aimed at someone trying to get their foot in the door for Infosec, but at that pay level I can't imagine anyone staying there much longer than a year.

apr911

I made more than that in the Philadelphia region when I was on a paid co-op. Coverted to yearly, I made 35k & 33k for my 2 Co-ops with no certs and only desktop/geeksquad experience, that said I was only at my co-ops for 6 months and I was paid hourly (+overtime but no benefits) so I didnt actually make quite that much.

These low ball offers are insulting to someone with experience but they seem to be quite common place now. Even with the relative recovery in the job market (especially in IT), most employers still seem to think they can get top tier talent for next to nothing. Im told IT in the Northeast Corridor hasnt been fairing well though so maybe that's why? I guess its true, I have been trying to get back to the DC/Baltimore/Philadelphia/NYC/Boston megalopolis area for 3 years now but have yet to find a compelling offer.

I am paid about 10% below what my research indicated I should make and I recently went out and interviewed with 3 different companies. All of them were given my current salary and my expectations on what I wanted to be making (10-15% above where I am now + cost of living adjustment)... I received 3 different offers...

Company A I had to stop myself from laughing and I almost apologized for wasting their time because I didnt realize it was a part time role that I had applied for. Although cost of living was similar, they offered me 25% less than I currently make which was about 35-40% less than what I stated it would take to get me there. Their relo package also had some serious strings attached (100% repayment if I left within 1 year, 50% repayment if I left within 2)

Compay B offered me 10% below my current salary but was in the DC area so it was about 30% below what I said it would take to get me there. They at least had a pretty nice signing bonus, plus Restricted Stock Options (that brought the comp up to equal my current salary) and the relo package was pro-rated over a 1 year period

Company C gave me the best offer and the one that I struggled the most in declining. They offered me the 15% increase I wanted but wouldnt budge on the 5-10% cost of living increase so it would have been a lateral move... They had some really good benefits that may or may not have made it worth it but ultimately decided to stay where I was...

I guess companies are getting people accepting these positions though and until they exhaust the pool of people willing to be paid in peanuts, they'll be able to continue to low-ball offers. I just hope they get what they paid for and not some stellar admin who sold themselves well short of the bar.

YFZblu

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

If you're looking for higher pay brackets, "Tier 1" is almost always going to be a no-go.

Any way you slice it, an L1 network security job should be paying more than that.

Can you imagine the turnover they must see at that salary point? I'd imagine its a great opportunity for anyone living with Mom and Dad who would like to get into infosec. But we have infosec interns still in school that make much more than that.

Clearly they're just looking for a warm body to plod through events and check some box on a compliance sheet.