Why do most IT jobs top out at $400K - $500K?

[jman19]

Never heard of a guy called Gates? What about the guy that is always in a black turtleneck?

Seriously? 🙄

 

[allisolm]

Serious answer:

Once you make more than about $150-200k you aren't "doing IT" as much as you're managing the people that do IT.

Pretty much this.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Show me an IT job that nets you even 200k 😕

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Show me an IT job that nets you even 200k 😕

I think some of the Sr. CCIEs probably make close to that, right? PeopleSoft consultants were huge many, many years ago and were pulling in the low to mid 100s -- not sure if they are still up there or not.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I think some of the Sr. CCIEs probably make close to that, right? PeopleSoft consultants were huge many, many years ago and were pulling in the low to mid 100s -- not sure if they are still up there or not.

Oh, possibly. Didn't think of that.

It's saturday of a long weekend, my mind is shut down, so cut me a little slack 😛

 

[dwell]

Show me an IT job that nets you even 200k 😕

Software Development consultant in NYC makes that easy at $100/hr, 40 hour weeks. A lot make $125/hour.

 

[Ronstang]

I'm not really sure what IT salaries are because I am not IT but the reason some of the salaries might seem low is the simple fact that for most companies IT is a cost center. If it was a profit center then salaries would tend to be higher.

 

[alkemyst]

I think some of the Sr. CCIEs probably make close to that, right? PeopleSoft consultants were huge many, many years ago and were pulling in the low to mid 100s -- not sure if they are still up there or not.

CCIE's normally make $100-120k just starting in most metro areas. There are some foreigners that take lesser amounts but more often than not at this level you are a consulting engineer and closely tied to design and sales in a project. Proper communication skills become paramount.

While it gets hard to make someone 'billable' at much more than $125/hr (usually $200-250/hr on the invoice), it happens. Also some get tied to sales incentives and high level partner usually has very steep discounts across the board.

Still in any field moving past $125k-150k is a big achievement. For most 'doers' it's going to be the glass ceiling. Once you start managing others making $75-150k a year, your value gets bumped some. Start managing alliances and partnerships with other big business, even more so.

There is one CCIE out there that literally has told every recruiter not to call unless the job is seven figures.

It's very rare though.

 

[alkemyst]

I'm not really sure what IT salaries are because I am not IT but the reason some of the salaries might seem low is the simple fact that for most companies IT is a cost center. If it was a profit center then salaries would tend to be higher.

Most think of IT as support-only. Many jobs in IT are indeed profit centers.

Most of the problem is due to many of the IT personalities. They don't tend to push the boundaries nor make demands like a Type A salesperson would do for bringing in a whale.

Many don't focus on the golden ring, but on the toys and gadgets around their profession.

 

[Doppel]

Not sure if this is a serious thread.

Why do you say that? I know a ton of people in IT myself included and damn it if we didn't all hit $500k right out of school and then absolutely plateau. We just cannot get any higher!

 

[Doppel]

Show me an IT job that nets you even 200k 😕

Previous post aside I've known some SAP consultants who are billing $250 or more an hour from another company. Now, if that company is taking 2/3rd of that cash, with a little overtime they could just about get $200k. But that's a rare case. Most people in IT making more than that will have to be in a managerial position, which is then still in IT but on the manager track.

 

[alkemyst]

Why do you say that? I know a ton of people in IT myself included and damn it if we didn't all hit $500k right out of school and then absolutely plateau. We just cannot get any higher!

lolwut?

 

[Lifted]

I thought that, too, but 400K in rupees only equals around $9K U.S.D.

That's about right for an IT job in India, but it doesn't top out at that. We were paying developers (team leads and managers) up to $15k, but the OP might mean sysadmin type jobs.

 

[Mahaguru]

i am not being sure the the disconnection here is. it jobs paying good money now. i am only being curious as to the reason of why this is occuring. why are it job topping off when plenty of good jobs being available but people are of short supply. are you knowing?

 

[wiredspider]

i am not being sure the the disconnection here is. it jobs paying good money now. i am only being curious as to the reason of why this is occuring. why are it job topping off when plenty of good jobs being available but people are of short supply. are you knowing?

LOL, makes less sense that the original post...

 

[alkemyst]

i am not being sure the the disconnection here is. it jobs paying good money now. i am only being curious as to the reason of why this is occuring. why are it job topping off when plenty of good jobs being available but people are of short supply. are you knowing?

With any job, people available or not; there comes a limit to what that position can support salary-wise.

There may not be one janitor available in the world, but no one is going to offer $250k/yr to hire one to clean up a small office.

Much of IT is either support with no profits or consulting where that person is billed out.

Standard bill rates are usually $100-175/hr for a non-senior and $200-300/hr for a senior.

That generates $208 to $624k per year. Most seniors are not 100% utilized as seniors so they are billing out at $100-175/hr at times.

Those that are 100%+ utilized would probably be able to ask for higher salaries.

What "IT Jobs" are you talking about though?

 

[RichUK]

Show me an IT job that nets you even 200k 😕

We've got SAP consultants charging £1600+ a day at my place of work. These guys are working on a programme which currently has a burn rate of roughly 1.5-2M a week.

 

[manlymatt83]

Serious answer:


Once you make more than about $150-200k you aren't "doing IT" as much as you're managing the people that do IT.

Nah, not true. I know some engineers who make that much or more and it's a flat organization.

 

[brblx]

the real question is why are most IT people so terrible at their jobs.

 

[Mahaguru]

With any job, people available or not; there comes a limit to what that position can support salary-wise.

There may not be one janitor available in the world, but no one is going to offer $250k/yr to hire one to clean up a small office.

Much of IT is either support with no profits or consulting where that person is billed out.

Standard bill rates are usually $100-175/hr for a non-senior and $200-300/hr for a senior.

That generates $208 to $624k per year. Most seniors are not 100% utilized as seniors so they are billing out at $100-175/hr at times.

Those that are 100%+ utilized would probably be able to ask for higher salaries.

What "IT Jobs" are you talking about though?

Regardless of job skills, IT jobs are being paying good money. My reference to previous job was being to IT jobs which require analystical skills such as system administrating and JABA programming. Are you being sure?

 

[classy]

Maybe a IT director for a fortune 500 company. However, I believe you may just be on something.

LOL

Yeah that is classic......hehehehehehehehe

I think he means 40-50K

 

[zinfamous]

Not sure if this is a serious thread.

this.


How the fuck many IT people in any one organization need to be hitting that salary anyway? certainly not more than one.

ridiculous.

 

[alkemyst]

Regardless of job skills, IT jobs are being paying good money. My reference to previous job was being to IT jobs which require analystical skills such as system administrating and JABA programming. Are you being sure?

For most companies the value of just baby sitting the systems is probably $50-75k, if one is an engineer as well $70k-100k.

JAVA programming really depends on what you are doing. If you are just coding to spec, $40-50k is really pushing it today...if you are more of a developer / analyst then $50-75k can be realized in many larger companies.

If you are behind development pushing huge money than more.

We have a lot of engineers on staff where I work that are well into 6 figures. Our clients are the type where any downtime is measured in hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

 

[jupiter57]

Methinks this is OPs way of leading us to believe he makes $400-$500K and is frustrated he can't make more?

Not from your mommas basement, you won't!

 

[Kaido]

I think he means 40-50K

When I started going to college back in early the early 2000's, network admins were making $100k+. After the dot com bust and with computers getting popular for the general public, I saw the salaries drop significantly. Every kid now grows up with a computer and knows how to use it. Geek Squad pays $13/hour to people who are very well qualified (not getting into the discussion about those who aren't). In a lot of areas of the country, $50k is doing pretty well in IT. Oh, the good old days...if I had only been born a few years earlier 😀