Salary for systems admin in NYC?

Hey guys, what's the market rate for a systems admin in NYC?

I think I might be getting low balled at 70k?

3 years exp. Certs on left.

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slinuxuzer

I'm not from the area, but from what I have seen I'd say that's probably low ball. Take a look at some of the cost of living calculators and compare Philly to NYC, I am sure NYC is considerably higher.

srabiee

I hear the cost of living in NYC is astronomical.

-hype

I live with my family right now. And estimated rent to be 15k yearly, so should I look to add like 20k more than what I'm making now?

srabiee

Did you perform salary research using Salary.com, Payscale.com, and Glassdoor.com?

anhtran35

DC/VA/MD area you would be around 75k and up.

Deathmage

-hype wrote: »

Hey guys, what's the market rate for a systems admin in NYC?

I think I might be getting low balled at 70k?

3 years exp. Certs on left.

Being from the NYC area, with your certfications and expereince 70k is low, ask for 85k and work from there....

One thing I've learned always aim higher than your minimum, if a interview goes well and they like you when you ask for a high salary they don't normally flinch...

BradleyHU

it depends on what industry the firm is in....

i'm in the mid 70s & i'm mostly desktop support right now, but i also handle some sys admin duties....

BradleyHU

srabiee wrote: »

I hear the cost of living in NYC is astronomical.

it can be expensive, but i think pplz tend to think of NYC as just being Manhattan, and now also Downtown BK, Park Slope & DUMBO....there's more to NYC than just that. Queens, other parts of BK, Staten Island(who really wants to live there tho?), and the Bronx...

you can do pretty well with rent if you find the right spot in the right neighborhood, especially if its from a homeowner(and not a management company)...only thing is, you might live in a 2 fare zone sometimes doing that, but thats the trade-off sometimes...

the_Grinch

A few years ago fresh out of school I was offered at least $45k to work in New York doing desktop support. So three years of experience, certs, and doing systems administration? You should get more then $70k

RHEL

Sounds low, but it all depends on the company, the infrastructure you're supporting, the rest of your compensation package (benefits), responsibilities, and what level THEY think they're hiring you in at.

You may have 3 years experience and for them, that's the first tier of sysadmin (keeping in mind that first tier syadmin != entry level). Or perhaps 3 years to them puts you in their 2nd tier.

I live in upstate NY, CoL is easily more than double in NYC. I was hired into essentially a mid-level sysadmin position with 4+ years experience starting at mid-70s with an excellent benefits package. That being said, the lowest we would ever pay a sysadmin is 55+. Based on that, I would say you're getting slightly low-balled for a first level sysadmin position and seriously low-balled for a mid-level.

Payscale isn't 100% accurate, but it's essentially saying that your $70K in NYC is equivalent to $30K in upstate NY. Mid-70s here = 165K in NYC. Eeek...

http://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator

Cyberscum

I wonder what kind of lifestyle you can live with 70k in NYC?

RHEL

Probably wouldn't be living in Manhattan... I don't see it being a very glamorous lifestyle, even with a dual income around the same amount and no kids. I think it would surely be enough to survive though.

-hype

Thanks for the info. I appreciate all the feedback.

Kreken

For some odd reason, even with a higher cost of living, the majority of IT jobs in NYC are not where they should be compared to other states like MD/DC. The salary also depends on the companies industry. In the hedge funds, you can have help desk making $150k but in the other companies, the help desk caps out around 50k.

$70K for a Windows Sys Admin with 3 years of IT exp is a decent start. You didn't specify what kind of experience you have, so I had to assume it is over all IT. You can try to get more but generally Windows sys admins are not of high value here.

As living for 70K in NYC, you can be fairly comfortable if alone. I wouldn't aim at the upper west side but somewhere 30-40 minutes on subway in Queens/Brooklyn in a good neighborhood is very doable.