How to Respond to Low Paying Offer

I recently had an interview for a position titled Network Administrator.
In my opinion it is mostly and Server Admin job with very little networking.
Id be mostly dealing with Server/Exchange and Hyper-V etc.
Id say I did pretty well in the interview answering all the technical questions and making him laugh a bit.

They are asking for quite a bit of work and they initially only offered me 35k.
I responded by saying I would have to think about it. I didnt know what to say...
I was really surprised and I doubt I would have showed up to the interview had I known this in advance.

During the interview they told me they wanted someone with high level certs (which I dont have) like MCSE and CCNP/CCIE.
So they are asking for a phoenix and offering chicken feed as they say.

How should I handle this situation? I easily make more money than 35k now but I would like that title and experience.
I am not willing to take a pay cut that drastic.

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Comments

SephStorm

Thanks, its a GS position, so I assume its an administrative thing. Honestly I am just glad I'm being considered for the position. My biggest concern is cost of living. Once i'm certain that is not an issue, secondary is saving for the future.

2URGSE

Their offer is in fact very low. There are 2 ways to handle it, depending on how they communicated that to you.

If they sent you an email, you can reply and politely say that's not very attractive. I usually keep it short and sweet.

If they call you by phone and leave a voice-mail, you can ignore their voice-mail, although a lot of folks act that way, I usually take the time to call them back and politely explain that salary will not work for me.

Very important, always try to research the company you're interviewing with, especially if they are public or private, what was their revenue last year in comparison to this year. This will give you a good indication how they are doing financially. This sometimes can give some clues about what they are willing to pay.

I was making $33,000/year back in 2004 with an A+ and Network+ only..........so their offer is pretty ridicules.

Moon Child

They expect the job candidate to have a CCIE and yet only want to pay $35k a year? This is why I have been employed in other fields besides IT, other fields pay the same for a lot less experience or qualifications. Heck when I couldn't find an IT job right out of college I took a job as an Admin Assistance at a hospital for $17/hr. Too many people are going into IT and thus since their is more supply then demand employers can pay crappy wages. Funny thing is years later when I finally did land an entry level IT job it was for about the same salary minus the great benefits the hospital job gave me. Not only that it was 'at will' employment, they could fire you anytime for any reason; no job security! The hospital job also had a lot more security and it wasn't at will employment, if they wanted to get rid of anyone it was a lot harder to do and costly.

NetworkVeteran

They expect the job candidate to have a CCIE and yet only want to pay $35k a year? This is why I have been employed in other fields besides IT, other fields pay the same for a lot less experience or qualifications.

There's a stark difference between what employers want to pay vs. what they actually pay, just as there is between what employees want to be paid and what they are actually paid. Supply and demand at work!

The typical CCIE is actually paid $122,500, according to a 2013 survey.

Heck when I couldn't find an IT job right out of college I took a job as an Admin Assistance at a hospital for $17/hr.

Yikes! Seems like a counter-point to "other fields pay the same."

Too many people are going into IT and thus since their is more supply then demand employers can pay crappy wages.

Your average CCNA--i.e., with a bit of experience under their belt--earns significantly better than $17/hr. An employer can't get away with paying me (or them!) crappy wages, because we'd simply work for their competitor. There are a limited number of folks at our skill level, when compared to the pool of employers who want them. Again, supply and demand.

If you're starting out, don't give up! A little time paying your dues and you'll be doing well, too.

RockinRobin

MeatCatalogue wrote: »

If you have a CCNA you can get any NOC level 1 position (assuming you dont smell or have bad breath and can communicate!). Depends on the part of the country you are in but expect $18/hr min in a real position with no experience. Within a year of solid experience (working on routers 20+ hours a week) you'll be making about $30/hr. Typically.

Your estimates sound really good! I was figuring about $20/hr. w/2 years experience with a CCNA in the midwest/southeast region. Man, I was really lowballing it!

TheNewITGuy

Here in WNY its rough.. but my avg salary has been around $27-$32/hr for (roughly) CCNA level work working for MSP's - this includes (both cisco/hp) routers/switches/firewalls/wireless and voice, but may also include configuring networking for vmware/hyper-v/windows/linux

$23-$25 for corp roles

$35+ for contract

it_consultant

In response to OP's original question, I have seen this a lot and it took a few years before I was comfortable enough to actually say something to the potential employer. If you simply politely decline the offer and go on your merry way, that is fine. You CAN respond politely a couple of different ways. You could say that the market does not support the pay they are offering for the position they described. Some people don't know that what they are asking for is unrealistic because they have no idea what an exchange server is. Some people, and these are the people I am trying to smoke out when I confront them, know exactly what they are supposed to pay and are trying to find someone desperate enough to take that pay rate. I have been in the field long enough to see this regularly, I don't know real percentages because I haven't done a scientific survey, but it does not surprise me when I hear stories like this. Since IT is not unionized and our titles are not standardized, it is up to us as individuals to demand a salary floor for certain skills. If you call me a help desk guy but want me to work on routers and switches, I will take the title but demand the salary of a network guy.