This is my second post to this forum. To give you an idea of ranges in salaries, I started my career building PC's from home while in college back in Michigan. In the first 6 months of doind this I made about $15K (that was actually mine to keep). I then moved to arizona, took a job as a pc tech for about $15 an hour, then went to workl for Motorola in Scottsdale AZ. for $25.00 (PC Tech / Lan Admin). WIthin 4 months ar Motorola I was promoted to a MGMT position with the same pay, no complaints though since the benefits were pretty good.
I then moved to Omaha where my salary is just a bit higher than $30.00 an hour. What I have learned is the following:
A: Never take a job for less than your worth. CCNA: $20 to $25 an hour that would also qualify MCP's as well.
CNE and MCNE, MCSE - $25.00 to $30.+ an hour. (Or about $60 to $75K+ per year)
Throw in a Bachelors degree on top of any of these and salary should range between $60 and $70K (This is the area I fall into).
B. WHen looking for a new job, a rule I have learned is that if you want more money, you never tell an empoloyer what you really make. Example: If my current salary is $60K a year and I want to make $70K, I would tell employers that my salary is $65K plus benefits. Never negotiate a final salary agreement until you know the level of your responsibility. Wether it be 50 users plus servers or 6000 users plus servers, you need to factor all that in plus the benefits package. And always pay attention to the cost of living: What it costs to live in Arizona, or Omaha, will be greatly different from living in California or New York. <---- I almost got dinged on this when I was interviewing with 3Com... Especially since my current mortgage was 900.00 a month in AZ and to own an equivalent home in Ca would of cost me about $2200. a month.
For those of you who accept positions that are $10.00 an hour or less, shame on you unless you are entering retirement (only then would I ever consider this, but I would have to be hard pressed).
Another example, look at the cost of living, I would like to move to South Dakota, and based on my current salary and lifestyl, I would need to make about $7000.00 more a year to live there. I will more than likely inflate what I actually make enough so that I not only get the cola but an increase in overall pay/benefits. So there is a lot to keep in mind.
An earlier post has mentioned about small towns, you can work in a small town, if and only if you specifiy what you are worth to your employer, if I were to walk into a company to perform any type of network work as a consultant, minimum amount to get me in the door is $100 an hour for small business and $150.00 an hour for large corps. This is small considering a business that do this and charges a flat rate of $200.00 an hour. For work to be performed in a residence, $50.00 an hour. If I were to take a position there as an employee, minimum is $30.00 an hour, no ifs, ands, or butts about it. If they dont like it, they can higher someone out of college or just completing their tech cert. (Most graduates out of college expect about $50K a year to start).
So as you can see, there is a lot to look at in considering future positions etc.
Hope this helps out a bit more..and goodl uck with the job hunting. Oh and almost forgot, educational benefits are a major factor in accepting a new position, training = increase in resume = larger salary later in life. Make sure you dont lose sight of getting a Bachelors or Masters degree as well, this will only add to your credentials, plus in order to move up the corporate food chain you will need them. Technical certs alone will not get you into a CTO or CIO position (This will almost always require a Masters degree), lower level positions like IT manager or Director, you can get away with technical certs, but you best have the business skills to perform your job or it wont look pretty, especially when the CEO gets a wake up call.
And for those of you unemployed, relocation relocation relocation, key word here, there are a lot of open positions out there, just need to be willing to move away from home to get them. My motto, I will always go where the work is. South Dakota is booming right now and so is North Dakota...Hard to believe, but if you dont mind the cold dreadful winters, the salaries there are quite nice and the economy is strong as well.
Mark C. Greenwood, CNE
m_jgreenwood@yahoo.com
With more than 10 years experience to share.