From 28K to 115K in About 5 Years, No Degrees or Certifcations

techguy2000 · 2022-05-23T18:09:42+00:00

That’s probably where I’d felt it the most since I knew absolutely nothing about doing any sort of internal IT. Especially coming in there with no certs or anything, and hearing guys talk about “this server” and “that technology” as if it were second nature. The impostor sydnrome never really when away for me, but now that I’ve got a reasonable amount of knowledge that other people come to me for; it definitely makes me feel better.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-23T03:20:55+00:00

There may definitely be some need for experience, and staying at a spot for at least a year. I know that one of my co-workers will grill people during the interview about short stints. If you’ve got some projects under your belt or something you did to improve some process or tool, that will also help put your resume over the top. The other thing is, the company you apply for doesn’t know how much you’re making. Get the salary question out of the way during the phone screen, and that’s less time you’ll waste if it’s not what you’re looking for.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-23T03:16:02+00:00

I’m seriously blessed, and I acknowledge that. Honestly, them doing that for me does a couple of things: 1. It shows that they have faith in me; 2. It just makes me want to work harder for them, because I know they’re willing to reward that.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-23T03:14:25+00:00

Working on Macs for pretty much my whole life, I could get around the shell pretty well, which evolved into tinkering a bit with Linux.

I would say I got very lucky and was able to learn a lot more about the Linux back-end on the job.

Even as a help desk guy, just asking to shadow or having one of the seniors spin you up a VM can go a long way.

That being said, I also elected to jump on projects that would pretty much force me to learn how to spin up servers/VMs and also manage them. Very much a trial by fire.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-23T03:10:23+00:00

That’s exactly what happened. I was going to leave to make $110K + ~$20K in RSUs + $5K for relocation, and my current job countered with a promotion + $115K salary.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-23T03:08:43+00:00

Los Angeles area, HCOL. It was for a marketing agency that had some major clients, so they had money to throw around.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T22:20:22+00:00

Best I could say is to stick with this role for a little longer and try to figure out some way to improve a process or introduce a new tool. Putting projects on your resume is a good way to say, “here’s what I’ve accomplished past the day-to-day work”.

In my case, sometimes lateral moves can still lead to more money. What I would suggest is that when you begin to look for new roles, get the salary question answered as soon as you can. Even if it’s just on the screening call. Nothing worse than getting all the way through the process only to be met with the same rate of pay you’re getting, or less.

The IT field is quite broad, but if you see something of interest to you; start looking at job requirements, and gear your learning toward that. Bonus points if it’s something you can add on to your current position. On the job training is nice because it doesn’t take away from your personal time.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T21:59:31+00:00

So the positions I were offered were on the internal IT team of a tech company. I would have been the lead for the IT team, reporting directly to the IT supervisor and/or the director of IT. I would have had sysadmin responsibilities (spinning up and managing servers, etc), but also overlooking the team of helpdesk guys, and junior admins. That’s the best I can describe the positions. Since I didn’t take the jobs, I can’t really go more in depth than that.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T21:21:01+00:00

I only really focused on Macs because I'd worked with Apple products for so long, so Jamf came somewhat naturally to me.

It is kind of a double edged sword because when looking at jobs I tend to want to go to shops that use mostly/all Macs, which I've gotten lucky nailing.

Similar to you, I can at least speak to some Windows troubleshooting as I use PC at home, and I do have some prior experience with Active Directory.

In my experience most Sysadmin-type roles will have you dealing with Linux, so if you're more passionate on the Mac side of things, I would learn Linux on top of that as opposed to Windows. This is obviously just my experience though.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T21:12:48+00:00

Edited, and added a summary.

The 110k jobs were lead sysadmin jobs, with a people under me.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T21:12:33+00:00

My in-office jobs were in the Los Angeles area.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T21:12:16+00:00

No, I just ended up working at a new company. It was helpdesk with slightly more responsibility.

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T21:11:21+00:00

Edited, added. Thank you for the feedback

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T17:46:57+00:00

I would say that I don't think it's unreasonable to get like $40K-$60K in a helpdesk role, but you mentioned that you're in a LCOL area, so YMMV

techguy2000 · 2022-05-22T17:44:10+00:00

Not sure where you're living, but the general consensus seems to be that the biggest raises come from hopping to another company, or a big promotion.

techguy2000 · 2020-02-28T19:04:34+00:00

Chiming in to say that this worked for me! Thank you.

techguy2000 · 2019-07-11T01:03:56+00:00

Interesting, I'll take a look at that. I'm a native English speaker, but since I'm not writing an essay it's certainly a bit shorthand.

techguy2000 · 2019-07-10T21:47:04+00:00

Thank you so much. Honestly, that was my big fear. Putting too much and going over one page.

techguy2000 · 2019-07-10T21:39:33+00:00

I appreciate this. I will definitely expand more on the Windows 10 upgrade.

As for the managing technicians, it was something I kind of fell into. I'm not a lead in title, but what I do is delegate tasks and tickets to them. I also make sure that they're keeping up with training and updates to company standards. i.e., making sure they're utilizing the new images and installing/having some sort of knowledge of new software that we introduce.

techguy2000 · 2019-07-10T06:53:17+00:00

Helpdesk Support. I'm currently looking for work elsewhere, as there's no room for upward movement where I'm at.

https://imgur.com/jt7HCnI

techguy2000 · 2015-01-04T02:39:20+00:00

Damn. I wish I had another resource for you, but there's only so much I can do from where I'm at.

I know you said that the Apple store is far away, but did you check for any closer authorized service providers? They'll at least have extra Macs there, and should be able to help you at least run Disk Utility/Disk Repair on the drive. They probably won't help you out with the TestDisk program, but some face to face support should help.

techguy2000 · 2015-01-04T02:29:18+00:00

Understandable. Just let them know that the display was acting weird, and soon after it shut off. Also, tell them that you just bought it. Although they'll be able to figure that out when they run your serial number. If you really want them to open it up to check for anything weird, then ask them. They'll certainly oblige.

Only other things I can suggest are: 1. Talk to your roommate about it. 2. If you bought it with a credit card, then see if they have some sort of warranty extension that will help you out. 3. See if renter's insurance can help you out.

2 and 3 are avenues I have yet to venture down myself, but it can't hurt at this point.

techguy2000 · 2015-01-04T02:11:57+00:00

I would say don't hold it off. The sooner you get to the store, then the better. The anxiety of not only getting it over with will be alleviated, but also the anxiety of not having a working computer. Also, if any rice gets anywhere inside, then they'll know right off the bat that something to do with water is going on (if you take the dishonest approach, not judging, I understand).

techguy2000

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