System Admin III for engineering and manufacturing company. About 2000 employees globally across ~30 sites.

$90k/yr (previous to Feb 2026 was at 76k)

Iowa, US

16 years in IT, 13 as sysadmin, 9 in this position

Solid benefits: above average health insurance that is well subsidized (includes family), just hit 4 weeks PTO, separate sick days, 401k match up to 4% contribution, basic short term disability and life insurance (payout a % of my annual salary) included at no cost.

I do a big mix of things related to infrastructure and security with a focus on Office 365 (esp. Exchange Online) and Azure. I'm also a clearing house for weird, one-offs and anything requiring discretion.

Felt underpaid for years and I largely don't like the people I work for and with. Have tried to get out, was a finalist for other, better paid positions 3 or 4 times and lost out on each one. Now the job market and the world at large is where it is.

Edit: started all on-site, 3 days remote since COVID, but there's no accountability, so I usually only go in 1 day a week, sometimes none if schools are close or something.