screw what people says

Hey guys

a bit of a background on me

I have being working in IT for 4 and half years.

I make 65k at the moment as intermediate infrastructure consultant.

I being here 1.8 years and have done large acale projects where I led from the front and did good work.

I want a senior level role for 85k but everyone is saying like recruiters aim for 75k and say I am not senior cause I only have 4.5 years

I am confident and I can take on challeges and I went through so much in my current role but people are not letting me get to the next stage in interviews.

Has anyone faced this. I thought its what you done that matters not how long you being doing it for.

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RouteMyPacket

Why are you fixated on a title?

EVERYBODY wants to be a "Sr. Network Engineer" or "Sr. Systems Administrator". Yet, so few are actually "Sr." level resources. What is Sr. at one company is Help Desk at another.

You can be a solid Admin or Engineer and not be Senior level. IMO Senior level resources have 10+years of experience coupled with high level certifications in their given track.

regardless

I dont care about titles I just want a role where they pay for what I am worth I do alot of big high level complex stuff at work but I want a role where I can do that and get paid way more plus take on other roles like mentoring people and concentrate on a solutions architecture path rather than engineering all the time I do only some solutions architecture work.

also if you do 10 years of helpdesk or level 1 support I doubt it will qualify you as a senior so I dont think years matters if it does **** I should just do 9 - 5 instead of working close to 47 hours a week and weeeknds mind you I dont get paid or time in luei for over time which they cheated and lied to me about which makes me sick.

also I see some people work in IT for 3 yeara as sharepoint or crm developers and they get the title senior sharepoint or crm developer are they really that good? Also I see kids coming out with ccna with helpdesk experience that knows jack all and they have no skills as google is their bible and yet they get alot of pay.

sorry for the rant guys

YFZblu

RouteMyPacket wrote: »

IMO Senior level resources have 10+years of experience coupled with high level certifications in their given track.

Exactly this.

Iristheangel

It depends where you are located and what you've done so far. $65K might not be much in California but it's not chump change somewhere like Texas and you also might be located in a metro that doesn't have a strong IT market.

You're an infrastructure consultant now - What kind of infrastructure projects have you worked on? What would you consider some of the large scale projects that you lead or single-handedly completed? Did you design, configure and implement on your own or did you have more senior people on your team or a VAR doing it with you/for you?

Not busting your balls here. I'm genuinely curious. It also might be how it's listed on your resume. You might want to post your resume with your personal details redacted so we can review it for you.

W Stewart

regardless wrote: »

Hey guys

a bit of a background on me

I have being working in IT for 4 and half years.

I make 65k at the moment as intermediate infrastructure consultant.

I being here 1.8 years and have done large acale projects where I led from the front and did good work.

I want a senior level role for 85k but everyone is saying like recruiters aim for 75k and say I am not senior cause I only have 4.5 years

I am confident and I can take on challeges and I went through so much in my current role but people are not letting me get to the next stage in interviews.

Has anyone faced this. I thought its what you done that matters not how long you being doing it for.

75k is nothing to thumb your nose at if it's more than what you're making right now. Bottom line, if nobodies willing to pay you 85k for your skill set right now, then you can't get an 85k/yr job. Just find a job that you enjoy and put it some more time learning. The only other option I can think of is moving to a state like CA or contracting but CA is expensive and contracting won't come with benefits or vacation time. Just take what you can get for now and keep working at moving up.

SteveO86

It happens in due time. Patience can be virtue.

On side note of recruiters, they tied up in their agenda's and typically live of the principles of you should not expect 10k-15k+ jump every time you job. Some times it is also hard to find a recruiters that gets the concept of IT work and what is involved with it. However they are alot of good recruiters out there.

Also, be careful what you with for

, mentoring other team members is not always an easy thing. That comes with an entirely different set of challenges depending those team members. Design & Architecture also come with their own caveats depending on the project, sometimes a design flaw or oversight can cost a lot money after budgets are approved and PO's are issued. I miss the weeks when I only worked 50 hours week, being a Sr. Engineer may also mean you have to work even to make deadlines.

Sounds like you might have other issues with your current employer, if you are having trouble with the employer or feel they are telling you lies then you should find a new position elsewhere. Having a health relationship with your employer is very important to have a long and fruitful career with that company. Staying at position where you feel, you are being lied to may not lead you to a good place. *my 2 cents* *But I've also been there/done that*

Also, something to consider mind when you make that jump from a 70k to a 85-95k salary that may put in a completely tax bracket.

regardless

I designed and implemented and supported myself.

however I didnt do the sales of the work the manager did I was in charge of implementing it and I did good work. In some projects I joined the client as a contractor over seasing what they r doing with the stuff they implment and when clients have being googling for days they call me and I fix it quick and give a proper hand down of what happened.

the large scale work I did have to do with moving clients to google apps and integrating their infrastructure with adfs and identity management this involves working with clients who have 1k to 10k employees and I have done several of these projects where clients were happy. My manager trusts me alot with my ability but we r a small firm so cant move up.

I just hate it when recruiters say aim for 10k more than your salary if thats tge case then I should hop and hop and screw my career up and make it look like I am a job hopper but dont want to do that even if I will make 100k in the end.

I just hate the fact my current place lied to me abot contract and make me work 47 hours a week without over time or leave in advance.

regardless

YFZblu wrote: »

Exactly this.

If thats the case should I come to work and do jack all for 10 years learn nothing and get senior?

Lol ill kill my self with borem I have too much passion for IT and I like being busy

ccnpninja

RouteMyPacket wrote: »

You can be a solid Admin or Engineer and not be Senior level. IMO Senior level resources have 10+years of experience coupled with high level certifications in their given track.

True. My current title is "Network Administrator", but once I read about a senior position in another company and I said "hey, that's what I'm doing right now!"

regardless

Its just one of the large companies I worked for had a structure where if your a junior you need to woreship the seniors which is bs so I always wanted to have that senior title.

so you guys are saying that title senior means jack ? One senior at one firm could be a grad at another?

W Stewart

Yeah title can mean very little. The company I work in has data centers in different states and the titles didn't even really match up across our different data centers until we recently standardized things. Most employers are more concered with your roles and responsibilities than anything else and that's what's going to stand out on your resume.

paul78

regardless wrote: »

I thought its what you done that matters not how long you being doing it for.

I can't speak for other countries or government sectors but in the US, it not "what you have done"; it is "what you can convince that you can do for a prospective employer.". No one owes you a job based on past experience. While you past experience may be meaningful to a prospective employer, you must be able to clearly articulate the business value that you bring to the table.

As for the topic about titles - there is fairly large variation based on industry sector and size of company. I've noticed for example that smaller companies are more likely to throw around titles than established mature companies with formal job families and tiering.

cyberguypr

OP, I think you are looking at this the wrong way. Like others said, titles mean jack. There are "senior" engineers out there who I wouldn't trust with my laptop or tablet. Yet, there are the "support technicians" who can properly design and build infrastructure from the ground up, but they are stuck with a bad tittle.

My current company does what paul78 mentioned. They use titles as compensation/employee retention. We are a midsize shop and have more Directors than a Fortune 500 company. Doesn't affect IT much but I find it hilarious.

If remuneration and a better challenge are your goals, that's perfectly fine. Just don't focus on titles.

And don't forget one of the cardinal laws of IT: most recruiters suck!

BGraves

Working 40+ hours a week is pretty normal for salary employees, at least here in the US. Not sure how it works in New Zealand.

Are you in the habit of mentoring people now? Sounds like it's something you want...always places to do that...online, local community, current job, etc. No need to wait until you magically become "senior", lol.

*I think Iristheangel made a good point, post your resume if you're up for it. I'm sure a lot of the senior members could provide some good feedback or give you a reality check if needed.

Another thought....maybe it's not your resume that needs work. Maybe it's how you present yourself, communicate with others, and are perceived. There are things beyond "technical skill" that contribute to a more senior role within an organization.

And...you are posting on a "tech exams" forum after all...do you have any certifications?

kohr-ah

10k is still nothing to disregard. That is a lot extra per month and like the others said the word "Senior" is just a word. When I worked at the MSP I have met "Senior Level People" who have their CCIE. After I left there I met people that were CCNPs that can run circles around them easily. Heck, you can call me whatever you want as long as you just pay me for the work I do.

Let me put this in perspective on other way to. Money is awesome but being happy is much much better and I told my wife this last week. I make good money now and live in a high cost area which makes it a lot less. I would be perfectly happy with making this much the rest of my life. My goal now is just to find that place where I go to work every day and just enjoy it and want to be there for a long long time and have a good work life balance.

My recommendation. If you can go up 10k. Go up 10k and find a place that you get to do the work you get to do and have a chance to move up in time. You never know. You may go to Company "X" and love it there, get to do the work you want to do, get the 10k more and they will give you a raise or they may have a bonus system that will make you hit that extra few $1000s mark you are looking for.

mikeybikes

You are worth what companies are willing to pay you. Simple as that. If you want 85K and believe you are worth that, nothing wrong with trying to get that much, but a 30% increase in salary is difficult to achieve.

regardless

mikeybikes wrote: »

You are worth what companies are willing to pay you. Simple as that. If you want 85K and believe you are worth that, nothing wrong with trying to get that much, but a 30% increase in salary is difficult to achieve.

It may be difficult but its not impossible and I will certainly try and I know many has in this forum gotten huge increases even 50 percent in the next ship.

or I could job hop and in 6 months change two jobs and get 50 percent increase even though ill have the same skills but thats career suicide. I dont wanna look like a job hopper

Rosco2382

If you feel you are worth that much, then don't settle till you find a company willing to pay that or more. I had a few recruiters tell me I should only expect to make between x and y, but I found a FTE with a company willing to pay 2% more than what I thought was fair for me. If you have the experience and the resume, along with the right attitude you will get what you want. Recruiters are a business for money, they have an incentive to get you as cheap as possible. Others have had great success with, I personally avoid them now.

Iristheangel

Let me ask you this: What are you doing to stand out to employers? Are you educating yourself? What's your highest degree earned? What certs are you working on?

Another poster on these forums once said that the job field is war and he chooses to arm himself with all the "bullets" and "weapons" he can get: certs, degrees, experience, job training, etc

gbdavidx

65k is pretty good in California, I can verify b/c i am making 48k. i'd love to be in that bracket. Source: i live in sacramento

Iristheangel

$65K isn't much in Los Angeles or the Bay Area

BGraves

Curious if OP is from New Zealand (based on his other posts in the forum) and wondering if he is posting in NZD amounts or USD.