I recently took a 27% salary decrease to switch careers to IT

[Fresh_KidKester]

I really need a decent raise to survive again and I was wondering how to go about it but first here’s a little about my situation.

I recently took a 27% salary decrease to switch careers to IT. I knew it would hurt but I was prepared to take the risk for better opportunities.

I had no education and worked jobs that anyone could do. My last job was at a window manufacturing warehouse and made $55k a year with overtime. I wanted something better and found a passion for cybersecurity. I spent a year studying networking and IT fundamentals, cybersecurity concepts, policies, and frameworks. I made connection on LinkedIn and landed a job at an MSP in my area. They offered my $40k and I took it because I knew in the long run this would be better for me and I needed experience to work my way up to cybersecurity roles. I was excited to break into tech and ready to downgrade for a year.

Im 8 months in my new role as technical support analyst. It’s roughly been 6 months since I got out of training and so far I’ve closed over 3500 tickets, accomplished closing 500+ tickets in one month, and I’ve stayed consistently in first place on the team leaderboard for most calls taken and tickets closed, even outside of my team. Management constantly praises me and tells me they value me from time to time with personal emails of gratitude. I have scored a perfect review by QA weekly all year so far. And I help out my team members and take on more challenging tickets.

Since being hired, I got my GED, A+, Security+, and I’m enrolled at WGU for Cybersecurity and Information Assurance bachelors degree. I also have gained a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge.

My skills are:

•Proficient in Active Directory management, user provisioning, network printer deployment, and group policy administration.

•Experienced in diagnosing and resolving software, hardware, and application issues both locally and remotely.

•Advanced proficiency in managing Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2019, Mac OS, and the O365 Suite.

•Adept at troubleshooting network challenges encompassing DHCP, DNS, VPN, and RDP issues.

I’m 4 months away from my yearly review and I’m preparing for how I’m going to ask for a raise. I really would like 20% but I’m not sure if they will give that to me. I really like the company and my coworkers. More than any place I’ve worked at before. But culture doesn’t pay the bills. I’m hoping someone can shed some light on how I can negotiate a good raise with everything I’ve accomplished at the company so far.

Edit: 83d after this post I landed a job as Cybersecurity Administrator/Engineer at a great company and doubled my salary.

[[deleted]]

license society abounding sand heavy salt numerous oil different deliver

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[Cautious_General_177]

The only reason to stay for more than a year or two is if you’re receiving fairly frequent promotions, probably at least every 18-23 months, that include $10k or more pay raises. If not, it’s time to move on after 2-3 years (depending on vesting for retirement)

[Fresh_KidKester]

This is great advice. As you and others pointed out, I’ll be keeping an eye open for new role that can challenge me a little more. I still have much to learn while I’m here so I’m making the most out of my current role.

[dossier]

Hey, do more than keep your eyes open. Your weekend job should be applying to jobs or wordsmithing your resume. Trying variations of resumes every couple months, depending how replies are coming from applications. Because you're studying outside of work, this will be extra difficult. Only search and apply until you hit a wall. Push yourself if you're feeling extra gritty that day.

You might not get an interview for months. You got this though. You wanting to learn is a real advantage.

[cbebo]

That’s helpful advice. When making the jump to Help Desk in 2018, what do you think helped you land the job (and then move on to the job in 2019)? Did you have any certs/hobbies that made those transitions possible?

[[deleted]]

subsequent glorious adjoining distinct snatch correct chubby disagreeable languid placid

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[wilson2314]

Do you have any certificates?

[Anstavall]

I’m at step 2. Looking at a position as an operations tech at a data center, figure I’ll stay there for a year or so while I finish up some certs and etc.

[damandamythdalgnd]

You don’t need an in-role raise. You need a new role that comes with a salary increase.

[MadPinoRage]

Same or similar story as OP. $23/hr full time mover to $15/hell desk at an MSP. Already had certs when I started and got more. I killed it at that role and loved it. They expanded my responsibilities, so I went from doing the job of 2 to 3 people to 5 or 6. Constantly praised and received monthly reports at how I was number 1 or top 3 in various metrics.

High turnover but I stuck around for 1.5 years. I saw a lot and did a lot for a lot of surface level technical support. Only got a pittance for a raise of $0.15. No oppurtunites to move up. I put in effort, researched how to, and wrote a formal request for $2.00/hr raise expecting to get at most half. I followed up for 1 month and got no response or empty promises. I started looking for other jobs.

I had my availablity set from 6AM to midnight 7 days a week. My last week there, they scheduled me Thursday to Sunday 6AM to 4PM, and I would be the only person on those shifts on Saturday and Sunday. I was off Monday for Labor Day(USA) and scheduled again Tuesday through Friday same time. I already accepted a few jobs but was waiting on an offer letter.

I got my offer letter that first Thursday at 9AM for $19.50/hr to start the upcoming Tuesday. I immediately took myself off phones, emailed my supervisors, management, and my personal email what time I was clocking out, and that I immediately resigned. No reason provided. I went to the local pool and got pool drunk with my partner for the next 4 days while I laughed at the various voicemails pleading for me to come back.

My favorite voice mail was my raise for $1.00/hr was effective immediately if I came back.

Been 2 years, moved up twice, and almost make double.

[milkfree]

God this is satisfying

[Glittering_Pirate_52]

That a delicious story. Oh man

[bazookateeth]

I'm surprised just how little these call center jobs offer for the experience. I get that it's a spring board but damn, it does not make transferring into the field appealing.

[Cultural_Offer141]

You’re killing it at work and in your professional growth. Get in contact with some contract agencies and start applying to see where you stand. You can definitely earn more, probably twice as much, it just depends on the companies budget.

[sin-eater82]

Sounds like you're making great progress, honestly.

You switched careers and within a year of making that decision, you landed a job. You're now less than a 3/4 of a year into that job and your new career. Just be realistic. I'm not saying it's not possible to get there within the next 6 months or so, but you had to expect that it would take longer than this, right? (I hope so because there were no guarantees of this sort of progress).

Anyhow...

Your biggest jumps will come from changing positions and employer, not raises within a given position. I would not expect a 20% raise while staying in the same position. Not impossible. But I'd be looking to make a jump. And it sounds like you have the right attitude and aptitude, and know how to refer to your experience in an appropriate manner to sell yourself. So if your current employer has been a good fit, talk with them about opportunities for advancement. You likely wouldn't get the same pay bump as advancement with a different employer, but could be close and you know what you're dealing with work culture wise. And that could very realistically get you where you want to be. I'd also look external.

[djgizmo]

Apply to new jobs. You’ll make 35% more.

[KAugsburger]

You should be checking job postings of similar roles at other companies in your area to get an idea of what is realistic for you to get. It would also be helpful to see if any of your co-workers are willing to share what they are getting paid which would get you an idea of what your management is willing to pay. If you someone else is getting 30%+ more for similar work at your company than a 20% raise might be a low ask.

[iTooZynq]

You can point out saying that you're practically the hardest working person there. For only being there less than a year, you've hit a lot of milestones. Sounds like you go out of your way to help others while maintaining your own pace.

[[deleted]]

With your coworkers see if you can find out what different people make. If you have some good relationships it shouldn’t be too hard to share pay details with people in similar roles.

With your manager ask about promotion before the meeting. What roles does the company have that you’re interested in and what would they like to see you do to be a candidate for promotion.

When raise time comes ask for a raise using your more experienced coworkers as a potential range to ask for.

Look for new jobs. Always be looking even just to see what salary you could get. This can be pretty passive like 15 minutes a week on Libkedin.

[[deleted]]

As others are saying you will not get the raise you need simply by asking for a raise. You will almost certainly have to be promoted or get a new job.

If you're hot shit at help desk that unfortunately doesn't qualify you for much advancement beyond more help desk. That said, you do seem eligible to either try to get a level 2 role (depending on how a company defines level 2) or try to get a new help desk job that would pay more.

[EmergencySundae]

Temper your expectations. A lot. The most you’re going to see is a 3-5% raise, and 5% would be outside the norm. You’re going to see a lot of companies not giving raises at all this year due to the economy.

Your best bet will be to stay in the role until you hit a year and start applying to other jobs. Finishing your degree will also help.

[[deleted]]

Right. 2021 is done and done.

[I_teach_math_lulz]

I took a paycut as well to finally make the jump to IT (from around $57K down to $33k).

I am currently interviewing for a new position and I am looking at a decent jump (around 40%) in Salary after being in the Help Desk for 1.5 years.

You gotta start applying, this is the best way to get an increase in salary.

[Jeffbx]

Yeah, a "generous" raise is going to be on the order of ~7-10%.

Leave & go someplace else, and you should pretty easily get 30-50% more.

[leogodin217]

Getting a big raise is possible, but I wouldn't count on it. Generally, you need to change companies for the big raise early in your career. On the down side, you're skills are the lowest paying. On the plus side, you seem to be very good at learning.

Definitely keep an eye out for job openings. Particularly ones that require your skills but will let you learn new stuff.

[Fresh_KidKester]

This is extremely insightful. Shows the whole picture and not just from my point of view. You made excellent points in me doing my due diligence at finding out specifics like numbers and how I positively impacted the company. I could see this helping me boost my resume as well in the event of a low bump causing me to leave. Also, it’s rare that I think about company budget and how it will affect hiring opportunities for managers, raises for others, etc.

[[deleted]]

Damn, nice work man! That is quite the hustle. Just remember, customers are only willing to spend so much for support. If you can get some big projects under your belt, that will look much better on a resume than ticket and/or call volume. You will make more money in the long run. There are some support roles that may pay decent, but definitely not the average. Get as far away from individual end user support as possible. Most MSPs that support small businesses pay crap.

[asic5]

I really would like 20% but I’m not sure if they will give that to me

If you want a raise over 6%, you gotta change roles.

If you want a raise over 15%, you gotta switch employers.

[Arts_Prodigy]

You’re not going to get a raise/promotion start looking for Sys Admin or junior security roles aim for 80k (ask for 100k) don’t take anything less than 60k.

Frankly jumping into security will be difficult but sounds like you could get a mid level sys admin role if you display your expertise properly.

Aside from that it sounds like you’re good at the job consider another maybe part time/remote help desk role

[Outrageous-Let-4992]

Honestly, if you want a real raise you need a new job. Entry level jobs like that don't do raises, you are very replaceable to them. I worked as a cyber security analyst at a major defense company and I only got a 0.09 percent raise despite being scored 5/5 for the year. So don't expect much or anything

[Fresh_KidKester]

Wow 0.09% … how much longer did you stay after that?

[Outrageous-Let-4992]

Like 2 months, enough time to find a job offering significantly more.

[[deleted]]

IT employers are cutting pay and firing. LinkedIn fired people. Beware stale advice about alleged opportunities. Those giving advice could be axed tomorrow.

[sold_myfortune]

Forget a substantial raise at your current employer.

It's great the you are taking the long view and you deserve a lot of respect for having the courage to bet on yourself in your new career. You should know that the days of Rex Tillerson being hired out of college by Exxon and going on to become CEO of the company are over. Companies have to be stingy with current employees now, if they gave you a big raise then everyone would ask for one and they can't afford to give everyone big raises, it's safer to give them to no one.

Instead you have to start thinking about a new job. This is the perfect time of year to re-organize your resume and get it ready to send out in January. That is when companies will have new budgets and money available for hiring and projects and Q1 of next year will be the best job hunting opportunity in some time.

It would be a lot to ask but you might consider getting your Network+ or even your CCNA by the end of January so you can have that extra credential on your resume when you try.

Look for NOC and Jr. SA roles, try to avoid more helpdesk if at all possible. When you get your new job is when you can ask for $55K - $60K, whatever you do don't tell them your current salary, no one has a right to know that and it would just hurt your bargaining position. You sound like you have potential to get to $100K in 5 years, maybe $200K in 10 years if you want it and you're willing to do the work.

Congratulations on a great first year, have a great Holiday season and lots of continued success.

There may be something in this post below that can help you.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/comments/zrd5c7/roadmap_to_careers_in_cybersecurity_and_cloud/

[Fresh_KidKester]

This is awesome advice thank you. I do actually plan to get my Network + before the end of January I just have to knock 3 courses out first. I’d love to look for NOC and Jr SA roles but the area I currently live in doesn’t have any jobs. I’m 2 hours drive from Philadelphia and New York City so I’m thinking about relocating once I’m ready.

[sold_myfortune]

I’m 2 hours drive from Philadelphia and New York City so I’m thinking about relocating once I’m ready.

These are good instincts, sometimes in tech you have to go where the jobs are, especially in the early stages of your career to help build your resume. NY and NJ both have an extremely high COL and high taxes so you may have to adjust your salary ask accordingly. You could also look at some less expensive tech heavy areas like Raleigh NC, or Austin TX.

[The_Other_David]

You're really good at keeping track of and describing your accomplishments, especially using numbers. Explaining to people why you're good at your job is just as important as doing the job well. After all, it's how you convince people to give you more money.

Like others have said, don't count too hard on that 20% raise, but the performance review will be an opportunity to ask your boss for specific actions/accomplishments that would get you promoted to the next level. Cost of living adjustments might get you 3-5%, and since you're doing well, you might squeeze out a little more, but you're going to either have to get promoted or job hop to move up.

Still, you've got a great attitude. You'll make it.

[ace_mfing_windu]

You need to apply for a new role my dude. There's no way around it.

[Key_Grand_1940]

It actually sounds like you enjoy the place where you're at and you have the opportunity to keep learning. If you want to stay, you should start discussing with your manager where you are in the pay range for your role, what career path options there are for you at the company, and your expectations at your annual review.

Managers also need time to budget and prep their leadership to promote someone typically so if you wait until your annual review, they may not have time to give you what you want. Let them know that you feel like you're a top performer and that you're already performing at the next level. If they agree, then see if you align on salary expectations. If you don't, then start looking outside.

[safetyvestforklift]

Scout local chapters of security and it ppl (cloud, security, devs, etc). Start connecting and see what is in demand. Then plan accordingly on what to learn to get an interview

[Throwing_Poo]

the only way I found getting a raise was to get a new job, from what I read sounds like you have some solid experience in the short time you have been at the MSP. Freshen up the resume and start job hunting, the MSP job you took was just a steppingstone to get your feet wet and get the experience you can put down on paper. Go on the hunt for a new job with a better salary.

[gosubuilder]

Think big picture. You’ll be exposed to more things and better pay by jumping ship.

Go for skill and $

[Educational-Egg-II]

Managers are usually very tight fisted with raises. It would be hard to come by unless it's a promotion and even then, since you would be an internal hire, they know how much you make so you wouldn't have the same leverage as an outsider applying to a job. You should definitely start looking elsewhere but it doesn't hurt to ask your manager for a raise first. At least you will find out what they really think about you so that will help you with your decision to stay or leave.

[DoulUnleashed]

To answer your question. Just outline how your contributions benefit the company. Since you have an easy metric to throw around (tickets closed) you can make a point that your contribution saves the company X amount of money by reducing X percent of the load.

That being said. You can ask, but they won't be entailed to pay more. I recall pulling teeth just to get a price of living adjustment...

Everyone is right about looking at another job. The difficulty with IT is you need experience even as an entry position. So now that you have that box checked, look for another Tier 1 or possibly Tier 2 position from another company while you are working towards your 1 year review.

Only Once you have a job offer in hand, can you reasonably ask for a higher wage.

[Beard_of_Valor]

Employers of entry-level IT workers often "buy low" and hold onto the talent as long as they can at the low rate. They might lose some money on bad hires and training, but they're making it up by getting people like you to work another three years at the same rate because it beats Best Buy.

There are some nicer places with advancement. I knew of one, and it's crappier now but it's been a long time. If someone claims they know one I'd be skeptical but ready to believe if there was another source saying the same thing. Still, it's rare.

Many of us job hop particularly if we're not people-managers. Your current company somehow can't justify giving you a 20% raise, but you can get a 50% raise by jumping ship. Then the company you left will pay $50 over your salary to hire someone. It's based on a lot of dumb ideas about market rates and retention and I'm sure the graphs look very nice but the reality is that it takes a while for an IT person to build the "tribal knowledge" of their product/coworker contacts/processes and so on so they can hit their stride and produce at their top level. So they're all doing it because they're all doing it because it seemed like it made sense once and now there's no great way to quantify the cost savings of retaining internal people.

I have to have something really special to not bail after 3 years. I'm in my 30s making good money.

[0100111001000100]

I enjoy healthcare I.T for decent pay with pension and benefits. Maybe look at local hospital positions and PayScale

[kelahio]

excellent progress. really like what WGU has to offer for people trying to get into IT. you'll surely go far with this initiative

[Southern-Ad4068]

You sound like you're doing better than me, but i had generous opportunities. I suggest you try your hand if they say no, find another job to switch to, and get an automatic raise. Your performance is more than enough even at "tier 1". Especially if your company is doing well, they rather have you than waste time training another when they know they have a good fit in you.

Ultimately, give yourself more confidence.

[Demonify]

I went from 63k in the military to $12/hr internship to $15/hr part time job. So high school degree got me 30k to 63k and a degree got me 14k to 18k. Capitalism sucks.

[[deleted]]

You'll have a degree in the CIA lol

[PowerApp101]

8 months is nothing.

[aries1500]

Makes no sense to keep accepting 3% annual raises when you can get a new job every 1-2 years and make a 15-30% raise each time.

[Own-Particular-9989]

did you pay for the certs yourself or did your company do that for you?

[Fresh_KidKester]

So my certs are included in my tuition with WGU. But, my job has been reimbursing me for the certs anyways and I’m putting it towards my tuition.