Job title and pay question

[pstylesss]

My 6 month review is coming up with an employer I have been with going on almost 3 years (intern then contract then temp now FTE). I plan on asking my boss for a huge raise and title change.

My job title is "IS Technician" and my description is very broad. Basically my description is that of a help desk monkey. It does not mention anywhere in there that I would be doing anything with servers, T1s, fiber, routers, and switches. It does not mention my position doing any budget related work, budget amendments, proposals, auditing, and any and all budget prep. It does not mention me needing to know and understand E911 systems (for police) or any other emergency systems. Doesn't mention needing to know FEMA standards and emergency management as it relates to IT.

I admit I knew what I was getting into when I applied simply because I had been doing the job already for two years. Someone coming from the outside would have been shocked and more than likely not at all qualified. Basically the description makes it look like they were looking for someone who could install XP and Office, update and do some basic support and troubleshooting.

Here is what I've been doing. I create the IT department budget (as in I do all proposals for the City Manager then City Council to look over and approve/deny), I audit the budget throughout the year to make sure we are staying within budget, I do any IT related budget amendments. I create the IT policies we have, who pays for what, what steps we take to do something, etc.

I also do all of the cost/benefit analysis, for example, I've created a C/B analysis for moving to vista, exchange 07, office 07, moving from sprint service to verizon service, and switching from the microsoft Select Agreement with DIS to the Enterprise Agreement with DIS. I do most of the research for any major software changes or implementations. If I make a recommendation that is the direction we go. I have yet to hear them ask my coworker for a direct recommendation in anything and he has been there a little over 2 years longer than me.

I've created our "3 year plan" for IT. We have 6 remote buildings and 200 users, 2 domains and 13 servers, the place was a mess... I've created a plan, with documentation, costs/benefits, etc for how to fix it. It was accepted and that is the direction we are going.




Now... you've just read a sliver of what I do above and beyond all the help desk troubleshooting stuff I do. My question is... what the hell is my title? I will have no supervisory role over personnel and I'm not asking for it. But I essentially run the department. I do not have final say, but if I say it is what we need to do then it is done (I don't remember ever being denied and I don't make ridiculous recommendations). My boss is the assistant city manager, there is no IT director or manager. The only other IT person is the "Network Administrator".

I feel my pay is very subpar for what I do. I don't want to post what I make, but I would like to hear what you think I should be making. I get excellent benefits. I work for a local government.

Sorry about the long post.


Cliffs:
1) I do way more than my job title says (help desk monkey)
2) I essentially run the IT department, no say over personnel matters
3) I want a title and pay increase
4) recommendations on new title and pay
5) Sorry, You'll have to read the post to be able to give me a recommendation.

 

[Vehemence]

I was in the same exact position. Eventually got a title change and about $1.25/hr pay increase which wasn't much, but eh. Lookin for a new job anyway. I just brought it up to my boss, the network admin, a few weeks prior to the review. I wasn't a douchebag about it or demanding, just stated my case.

 

[pstylesss]

Thanks for the reply. Anyone else?

 

[magomago]

If you are that valuable to where they know they can't replace you without everything falling apart, you can probably dictate your pay and they don't have much to do. Pf course they will pretend as if you are not important to any degree but you have to be careful with that and not fall into that trap - so as long as you know your worth to a company, you know how much you can demand.

 

[SearchMaster]

Sounds like you're in city government - good luck getting anywhere with that.

 

[Bignate603]

If you run the AT department you should be IT manager or something like that.

 

[XZeroII]

depends on the size of your local government as to how much you get paid. If the budget is pretty big, then you'll get more. If it's pretty small, then you'll get hardly anything.

Also, quit whinning about your job title. At my company, if someone is hung up on titles, we think about replacing them. Job titles are just for individual egos unless you are top managment or need to impress people.

 

[Imdmn04]

You work for a city government? Then the chances of you getting a huge raise is slim-to-none. Government agencies have pay grades and a very conservative budget for raises. No matter how valuable you actually are, the bureaucratic structure will not allow you to get a huge raise.

If you want a big pay raise, you need to jump ship to a private enterprise.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
depends on the size of your local government as to how much you get paid. If the budget is pretty big, then you'll get more. If it's pretty small, then you'll get hardly anything.

Also, quit whinning about your job title. At my company, if someone is hung up on titles, we think about replacing them. Job titles are just for individual egos unless you are top managment or need to impress people.

To be fair, around here, your job title equates to your pay level. It's essentially the only way to get a significant raise (works for the state). So I can see why he's hung up on it.

 

[pstylesss]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: XZeroII
depends on the size of your local government as to how much you get paid. If the budget is pretty big, then you'll get more. If it's pretty small, then you'll get hardly anything.

Also, quit whinning about your job title. At my company, if someone is hung up on titles, we think about replacing them. Job titles are just for individual egos unless you are top managment or need to impress people.

To be fair, around here, your job title equates to your pay level. It's essentially the only way to get a significant raise (works for the state). So I can see why he's hung up on it.

That's exactly why I'm hung up on it. The most I can get with my current title is a step increase, which is really peanuts.

Our total budget is 17 million, if you count out bonds as revenue, which they do :roll: it's about 40 million.

I was thinking IT manager but I figured that also implied I managed the IT staff... which I wouldn't.

 

[jthg]

In my experience, in the private sector they have no qualms about handing out big titles. It costs them nothing unless your coworkers complain. That doesn't mean that they'll pay you what the title indicates.

If you want money though, don't stay with a government job. They have too little flexibility (and probably incentive) to pay you a lot.

Maybe they could call you a Senior IT Engineer or something.

 

[RandomFool]

Just stop doing any work, it's not really required for a government job anyway. You can spend more time on AT and looking for a better job that way.

I did an internship a local gov and by just showing up doing my job and going home at the end of the day I became the best tech they had. That includes the full time staff most of whom would leave at around 3pm after only resolving one ticket. A couple times I caught one of them sleeping at his desk. About two months before I left they hired 8 more interns and only had enough work for 3. That's when I started posting in ATOT because there was never anything else to do.

 

[kranky]

It's pretty likely they don't have a mechanism for creating an appropriate title (with the corresponding salary) for you because it's a government job. But you need to discuss this with your boss so you know exactly what the situation is.

If there is no way to accommodate you, you could get another job or you could start your own company and contract with your current employer for services. Ironically, they could probably find money for that. Remember you will need to charge a lot since you would be paying for all your own benefits along with self-employment taxes.

The reality is that if you quit, they'll just get by with what they have. Don't forget all these other duties you are handling will be valuable when you look for another job in the private sector. Take advantage of it while you are there. Join some user groups or professional organizations and attend meetings/conferences. That will help you get contacts for the time when you are ready to move on.