Is it fair to compare my salary against salary surveys? UPDATE!

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randay

Lifer
May 30, 2006
11,018
216
106
Originally posted by: ScottFern
Yes everyone likes me and I know specifics about software no one else knows about because I am at a satellite location. I touch servers on a daily basis maintaining them, replacing broken hardware and configuring Server 2003 MMCs. I support roughly 60 users and maintain 72 workstations.

that would probably pull you out of helpdesk and into system admin. the big question is how much do you make and you seem to be avoiding that question. we cant really give you much advice on how much to ask for or if your expectation is realistic if we dont know how much you are currently making.
 

SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
17,458
83
86
Just do what I do, I don't complain about money or ask for a raise. This is a typical conversation to my boss:

Me: whine whine, bitch, bitch, whine, complains about nothing...
Boss: What do you want? More money, more girls? Options?
Me: Both.

:D
 

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
11,631
11
76
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Just do what I do, I don't complain about money or ask for a raise. This is a typical conversation to my boss:

Me: whine whine, bitch, bitch, whine, complains about nothing...
Boss: What do you want? More money, more girls? Options?
Me: Both.

:D

Does your boss then say, "I presented three options, what do you mean, 'both'? Maybe your real problem is that you can't communicate clearly!"
 

ScottFern

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
3,629
2
76
Originally posted by: randay
Originally posted by: ScottFern
Yes everyone likes me and I know specifics about software no one else knows about because I am at a satellite location. I touch servers on a daily basis maintaining them, replacing broken hardware and configuring Server 2003 MMCs. I support roughly 60 users and maintain 72 workstations.

that would probably pull you out of helpdesk and into system admin. the big question is how much do you make and you seem to be avoiding that question. we cant really give you much advice on how much to ask for or if your expectation is realistic if we dont know how much you are currently making.

27
 

SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
17,458
83
86
Originally posted by: torpid
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Just do what I do, I don't complain about money or ask for a raise. This is a typical conversation to my boss:

Me: whine whine, bitch, bitch, whine, complains about nothing...
Boss: What do you want? More money, more girls? Options?
Me: Both.

:D

Does your boss then say, "I presented three options, what do you mean, 'both'? Maybe your real problem is that you can't communicate clearly!"

Notice how there were only two questions ;)
 

KLin

Lifer
Feb 29, 2000
30,717
933
126
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Originally posted by: torpid
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Just do what I do, I don't complain about money or ask for a raise. This is a typical conversation to my boss:

Me: whine whine, bitch, bitch, whine, complains about nothing...
Boss: What do you want? More money, more girls? Options?
Me: Both.

:D

Does your boss then say, "I presented three options, what do you mean, 'both'? Maybe your real problem is that you can't communicate clearly!"

Notice how there were only two questions ;)

No, the correct answer is "Yes". :p
 

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
5,027
67
91
So you make about 12.98/hr assuming that you work 40 hour weeks and that the 27k is after taxes. Asking for 30% is not too much if you do the things you claim, that would only bump you to just under 17/hr.

If you make 27 before taxes, then...well I'm not sure how you survive in the burbs of Chicago.
 

ScottFern

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
3,629
2
76
Originally posted by: Modular
So you make about 12.98/hr assuming that you work 40 hour weeks and that the 27k is after taxes. Asking for 30% is not too much if you do the things you claim, that would only bump you to just under 17/hr.

If you make 27 before taxes, then...well I'm not sure how you survive in the burbs of Chicago.

Thats before taxes. I split rent with my gf. See I KNEW I wasn't crazy! Someone finally gets it! All I want is to go from 27 -> 35k.
 

pstylesss

Platinum Member
Mar 21, 2007
2,914
0
0
Originally posted by: thepd7
If you have money saved up and can afford to leave use that as a bargaining chip. It will cost a company a lot more to find a new person and train them than to give you a 20-25% raise.

That is the worst advice ever given to anyone asking for a raise.
 

ScottFern

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
3,629
2
76
Originally posted by: xochi
BLS Metro Area Wage Survey

try the link above for Federal wage surveys by major metro area. I would guess you are either in computer support or network administration.

I make 82 cents above the lowest 10% of wage earners in my bracket for my metro area according to the department of labor. I rest my case.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: ScottFern
Originally posted by: xochi
BLS Metro Area Wage Survey

try the link above for Federal wage surveys by major metro area. I would guess you are either in computer support or network administration.

I make 82 cents above the lowest 10% of wage earners in my bracket for my metro area according to the department of labor. I rest my case.

I took a look at that and didn't see anything about experience level (at least not in my field - software engineer). If they lump everyone together I would expect someone with 1 year of experience to be in or near the bottom 10% unless they have exceptional abilities.
 

rchiu

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2002
3,846
0
0
Originally posted by: ScottFern
Ok, so I have been scouring the web looking for different IT salary surveys and other facts, but I keep finding salaries that are way above and beyond mine for the same position. Now the obvious answer is I am a chump and getting underpaid, but ultimately I desperately want to find out if I am dreaming about the raise I want in comparison to what the averages are.


I tried payscale and salary but they jerk you around and after you fill out the profile they want you to pay for the results!

I have now worked 1 year in a Help Desk/Admin position and want a 30% raise next month.

Hmm....asking for 30% raise after one year, not sure if that's a good idea. In the job market, there is no such thing as fair or unfair. It's all about supply and demand, and if you are in demand, you will get the salary you expect.

Instead of looking at websites and IT salary survey, go out and interview to see if other companies are offering higher salary. If you don't have a lot of other options, I don't think it's a good idea to walk into your manager's door and ask for 30% raise. But if you know you can find jobs quickly with equivalent or better salary, go ahead and do it.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: ScottFern
Originally posted by: Modular
So you make about 12.98/hr assuming that you work 40 hour weeks and that the 27k is after taxes. Asking for 30% is not too much if you do the things you claim, that would only bump you to just under 17/hr.

If you make 27 before taxes, then...well I'm not sure how you survive in the burbs of Chicago.

Thats before taxes. I split rent with my gf. See I KNEW I wasn't crazy! Someone finally gets it! All I want is to go from 27 -> 35k.

Oh wow, it does sound like you're underpaid.
 

ScottFern

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
3,629
2
76
This has been an incredible year for me though. I came in not knowing what active directory or group policy is now I am creating new policies and making master images for our machines. I have mastered all our applications we currently use and am in charge of adding/removing employees from our systems. Keep in mind I am the only one in our IT department who knows the accounting software, travel software we use, and phone recording utilities. I have built over 10 servers in RAID1 and migrated our accounting server to a brand new platform.
 

randay

Lifer
May 30, 2006
11,018
216
106
Originally posted by: ScottFern
This has been an incredible year for me though. I came in not knowing what active directory or group policy is now I am creating new policies and making master images for our machines. I have mastered all our applications we currently use and am in charge of adding/removing employees from our systems. Keep in mind I am the only one in our IT department who knows the accounting software, travel software we use, and phone recording utilities. I have built over 10 servers in RAID1 and migrated our accounting server to a brand new platform.

27 is low, I say go for it, but dont burn any bridges. If you do end up leaving for another job you will want to use your time at the current place as reference. Its your "stepping stone". If they are any kind of decent, theyll do thier best to get you up to 32-36+, if they can only offer you something small, start looking for new work.
 

ddwbi0

Senior member
Jun 22, 2002
530
0
0
Don't ask for a 30% raise, ask to be paid fairly for your responsibilites and duties. This way you don't come off as greedy and you don't shock them with an arbitrary number.
 

soonerproud

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2007
1,874
0
0
Originally posted by: rchiu
Hmm....asking for 30% raise after one year, not sure if that's a good idea. In the job market, there is no such thing as fair or unfair. It's all about supply and demand, and if you are in demand, you will get the salary you expect.

Instead of looking at websites and IT salary survey, go out and interview to see if other companies are offering higher salary. If you don't have a lot of other options, I don't think it's a good idea to walk into your manager's door and ask for 30% raise. But if you know you can find jobs quickly with equivalent or better salary, go ahead and do it.

This is the best advice in this thread so far. You need to have a job offer from another company that is willing to pay you what you think you are worth. Walking into the boss's office and demanding a 30% raise without a competing offer will probably end badly for you.

 

TXHokie

Platinum Member
Nov 16, 1999
2,558
176
106
My experience unfortunately has been having to make a job change in order to get that type of raise increase. I have even left the company, came back a year later and got 50% over what I was paid originally knowing that if I had stayed there that year, that would've never happened. Oh yeah, and don't ever burn bridges as tempting as it may seems sometime.
 

jandrews

Golden Member
Aug 3, 2007
1,313
0
0
oh shoot I didnt realize you were making 27. I dont care where you are 27 is crap pay even for a helpdesk tech. You should be making around ~40 if not more then again if you are in a low income area/state that may vary. 30% doesnt seem unreasonable to me with that salary but you need to be prepared to walk. They will never find some lackey to do the work you are doing for that kind of pay.

I remember I interviewed a smart guy, good skills and I remember being amazed when he said his job was paying him 30k and wouldnt give him a raise and this guy was like friggin running the IT department at his job. I wont say what we offered him but it was quite a bit higher. Let us know the update and remember at the end of the day if you are in a crap area IT gnolls that do basic server/AD/imaging work are pretty easy to come by since a lot of that stuff is pretty easily self taught.
 

ScottFern

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
3,629
2
76
Originally posted by: jandrews
oh shoot I didnt realize you were making 27. I dont care where you are 27 is crap pay even for a helpdesk tech. You should be making around ~40 if not more then again if you are in a low income area/state that may vary. 30% doesnt seem unreasonable to me with that salary but you need to be prepared to walk. They will never find some lackey to do the work you are doing for that kind of pay.

I remember I interviewed a smart guy, good skills and I remember being amazed when he said his job was paying him 30k and wouldnt give him a raise and this guy was like friggin running the IT department at his job. I wont say what we offered him but it was quite a bit higher. Let us know the update and remember at the end of the day if you are in a crap area IT gnolls that do basic server/AD/imaging work are pretty easy to come by since a lot of that stuff is pretty easily self taught.

Right I fully understand how replaceable I am. They could put another body in my chair tomorrow, but to have someone as dedicated, willing to learn new programs, and someone who you can count on is another thing. My boss even admitted he looks for someone with integrity who can come to work each day and do their job well and professionally. My boss is even looking into MCSA boot camp for me right now also. I fully expect this role to develop into a Network admin role in 2 years.

Thank you for seeing where I was coming from about the salary. On paper 27 -> 35 is a crazy huge raise but when you factor in my job duties and average salaries in my area it makes perfect sense.
 

acole1

Golden Member
Sep 28, 2005
1,543
0
0
Have heart! I do pretty much the same things as you (far above my orig. job description, which was also much like yours), and I get $11.50/hr, no vacation, no benefits, and no time and 1\2 holidays. :p

Granted, I'm still in school (work 40hrs/wk summer, 25/wk school), and I'm one of 3 IT staff (my boss and our db admin are the others) covering 120 users in 5 locations.

Also, our db admin gets paid far to little (40-45k I think) for the work he does and the experience he has. (It's insane!) He commented to them at his last review that he would just like to get paid a fair rate for what he does, and even refered them to salary.com and the like, but they told him "well, we don't go by those standards." What a slap-in-the-face way to say, "sorry, we are just greedy and your a sucker to still be here!"
 

freegeeks

Diamond Member
May 7, 2001
5,460
1
81
you have to be prepared to walk. I was in the same position 8 months ago. I made good money but I was busting my balls almost 24/24 - 7/7 for the last 2 years to keep an IPTV service going
I asked for a raise, they promised me something in the "near future", I waved goodbye and never looked back
 

jandrews

Golden Member
Aug 3, 2007
1,313
0
0
Originally posted by: ScottFern
Originally posted by: jandrews
oh shoot I didnt realize you were making 27. I dont care where you are 27 is crap pay even for a helpdesk tech. You should be making around ~40 if not more then again if you are in a low income area/state that may vary. 30% doesnt seem unreasonable to me with that salary but you need to be prepared to walk. They will never find some lackey to do the work you are doing for that kind of pay.

I remember I interviewed a smart guy, good skills and I remember being amazed when he said his job was paying him 30k and wouldnt give him a raise and this guy was like friggin running the IT department at his job. I wont say what we offered him but it was quite a bit higher. Let us know the update and remember at the end of the day if you are in a crap area IT gnolls that do basic server/AD/imaging work are pretty easy to come by since a lot of that stuff is pretty easily self taught.

Right I fully understand how replaceable I am. They could put another body in my chair tomorrow, but to have someone as dedicated, willing to learn new programs, and someone who you can count on is another thing. My boss even admitted he looks for someone with integrity who can come to work each day and do their job well and professionally. My boss is even looking into MCSA boot camp for me right now also. I fully expect this role to develop into a Network admin role in 2 years.

Thank you for seeing where I was coming from about the salary. On paper 27 -> 35 is a crazy huge raise but when you factor in my job duties and average salaries in my area it makes perfect sense.
Well I actually manage a group of IT guys so hopefully my advice is worth something. Although every company differs in its culture and such and dont understand the value of quality employees, gl