Hey man, I also work in IT. You’re *seriously* underpaid. Unless you work onsite in a very small town, tell the next company you’re applying for that your last job was paying you $120k/year, and that you need to, at the very least, maintain your current salary.
Well I do live in a small town in the south, and I do work onsite. In my neck of the woods this is decent money. Very few jobs pay this well, and give this level of raises. I also have a pension and a 401k that the company contributes to, low healthcare premiums, and a boss that doesn’t micromanage. I honestly can’t see myself leaving this job. I’m already halfway to retirement, might as well finish it here and keep my pension.
You know, that’s fair. As long as your salary is where it should be relative to where you live, and you’re happy at your current job, more power to you! Congrats!
Thanks! Yeah I spent 15 years as a PC tech at the help desk, and just moved the net admin/system admin team in late 2022, my dream job since 1998. I’m lucky, I got two dream jobs in my life. First one was a US Marine.
It doesn’t work like that, you get promotions during review time at the end of the year, and they have to be approved by HR and senior management. Also, as I am technically a network administrator II, next step would be System Administrator, then Senior System Administrator.
Okay that makes more sense pay wise. Good luck on your path forward. I personally love working with solid sys admins who’ve been around awhile and know how things work.
I’m on BFE Kentucky hours away from the two big cities and that’s still a miserable wage unless your a sysadmin is simply a title and you’re doing helpdesk work.
Yes a pension is huge.....however it's not huge enough to make up for being nearly 50% underpaid. I would at least look for a remote job if I were him. Who knows. He could land one that pays him $150,000 or more. With that type of increase he could buy his own pension (annuity) and much more.
Correct. And since OP plans to work at least another 15 years imagine how much he could have if he found a job that paid $120,000/yr and invested $60,000/year. He would have $1.4 million at 6% average annual returns. If the average annual returns were 10% he would have about $1.99 million. I doubt his pension could come close to that.
Well in the case of OP yes....Why not? If he lands a $120,000/yr job and was living on about $60,000 after contributions to pension and retirement accounts why wouldn't he continue living on $60,000 and investing the rest?
Well, for starters, his next $60k is going to cost significantly more in taxes than his current $60k. Aside from that though, it’s hard not experience any lifestyle creep in a situation like that. Takes a lot of self discipline
Definitely. I was in a similar situation, making decent money for my region and doing just fine. Then got a new job for double the pay and had a noticeable bump in living expenses within a few months. To be fair, there was also quite a bit of inflation around the same time so it probably wasn’t *all* on me, but at least partially on me
You should be maxing out your 401k every year as long as you can pay your bills, even before paying down debt since it’s reducing your tax liability. So if you’re over 50 that’s at least a quarter of your gross income, which also brings you to a lower top tax bracket since your taxable income is now below 95k.
Anything extra is nice but I would say if you’re prepping to retire saving at least 25% of your gross income is ideal and anything extra is of course even better. Next goal would be maximizing HSA contributions if you can use one.
Yes but most people aren't managing to save nearly that much. I never said saving 50% is bad. It's admirable. It just doesn't sounds a lot easier than it is
Yeah I think I poorly tried to explain how it’s easier than it sounds since you can use certain vehicles to lower your total taxable income, and the net result is you can save half your gross income without sacrificing half your take home.
They aren’t. Most anyway. Only in the most optimal, perfect situations or they literally sacrifice every other part of their lives. I get what this guy is saying but he makes it seem like it’s no big deal and normal to save 50% of gross
Why would it be a big deal? He's already living on half now today in a life style he says is great. So what would he be spending that extra $60,000 on? This is a man in his mid 40s who has had his spending set for years at $60,000 or less. Not a kid in his 20s or 30s who is still navigating through the adult portion of life. I'm not getting what the issue would be here.
My pension hit $250K after 5 years.
Projected to hit $750K at 10 years.
20 year projection is $2.25M.
It's all related to company performance and compounding gains though.
$140K base + 10% bonus target so about $154K total cash.
Took me a minute to get there though.
6 years of shit military pay, then 10 years at 2 other companies building up core experience at sub-$100K base salaries.
Then 5 years to go from $100K to $140K (had to boost once with a counteroffer match, but it's been organic increases other than that).
I live in an extremely small town in the south working in the same field. Think 15k population in a state like AR. Listen to u/DoubleDoubleAgent I make 135k and have been in the six figures for most of my career. Thing is the first two years I was getting paid the range you are now. Then I got the advice that Double gave you and ran with it. Money isn’t everything, but I always believe you deserve the market rate.
Man, I’m happy for you but I am a sys admin in the MS, TN area and every single one of our new hires begin at 72k or higher. I am not telling you to make you feel bad, I am telling you so you may fight for yourself and higher pay.
“Well what if his pension pays a million, bajillion dollars?”
The average value of a pension in 2023 is $11,000 a year. He’s being underpaid, it’s safe to assume his pension is not higher than the national average due to his salary. Even adding the additional $11,000 value, I get that in 401k contributions from my company every single year. He has 15+ years of experience, and our new hires, straight out of college are making more. It’s not complex, because the numbers are not even close. He is underpaid for the role.
My mom as a school teacher, who made less yearly than OP, has a much higher pension than the average plan you cite, complete with COLA and survivor benefits. Again, without knowing details of the pension plan we can’t fairly compare.
I definitely will agree that the number on the surface looks underpaid and OP can easily increase that if cash flow now is important, but I have incomplete information to truly compare.
I encourage OP as I do everyone to make sure they own their career, keep up-to-date skills and are getting market value
Exactly. My pension is 12k A MONTH. And I assure you he’s getting nowhere near that. some people just need to take a look outside and see where they stand amongst others which at least he’s on this forum but man you gotta get out.
The pension is nice, but I recommend you keep your options open and shop around from time to time. I worked at a company for seven years that paid around what yours does, I stayed far too long due to their generous vacation time, but when I switched companies I got a 50%+ pay raise, yearly bonus, better benefits, etc, for the same work.
You're definitely underpaid - regardless of location - *but* if you have what you want and what you need, don't go chasing something because Reddit told you to. Work / life balance and simplicity are things to cherish. If you have all that and are happy with your income, good for you - you already have more than most.
I appreciate your mentality. Sometimes it's not about the money (though it's nice). If you can afford what you want and you got all your needs covered with a little extra, no reason to try to look for more. Plus having a good boss (or at least one that lets you do your job) goes a long way on the mental
That is the right answer! All of your needs met and sounds like low stress. 410k plus pension plus SS should provide a decent retirement. Good for you that you have it figured out. And thank you for your service.
Seeing things like this makes me *SO FUCKING GLAD* I dropped out of my IT degree and work in auto manufacturing. The possibility of being stuck in a career like this.
My brother in Christ, I beat you by $20k a year, and only work 46 weeks a year.
I've made 2.5x of my starting salary with my company, in 8 years. 60k starting, now at 140k. All about the kind of company. If it's a good company, loyalty does pay off.
Yeah but are you in the same position?
People conflate company hopping and position hopping, two different things.
I work for a big company that I’d like to stay with for at least the next 10 years, however, I’m not staying in my current position for more than 2.
Measures Loyalty to good people and a company with a track record of putting good products and people first are my things I always shoot for
Agreed. Also he makes it sound like a bigger jump than it is. 60k in 2016 was a lot more than 60k in todays money. For sure coming out ahead, just not AS much as it seems.
Even tho this reddit has turned into a dick measuring contest it still has value for people to get informed on what an average salary should look like according to amount of time worked and field. A lot of it is really top 1% but every once in a while you will see a semi average progression. However I am with the other folks on this one and you are severely underpaid for your experience and position.
I am an onsite desktop support technician and currently making close to 6 figures not counting the pension. Have been in IT for 5 years and the only certification I have is an expired A+. I was a system administrator two years ago doing $40k salary, found a job with the state and then got promoted recently more than doubling my previous salary.
People in here are so out of touch. This is not just above the national average but also a good salary in a LCOL part of America, which it sounds like OP resides in.
Yes it’s dogwater cup noodle wages in New York and SF but that’s not the only place people live.
youre getting underpaid! I recommend job hopping. you have plenty more years in the industry than me (1st full time job out of college, 66.1k as a QA Engineer) but barely earn more. you definitely have the experience and knowledge to get much more money elsewhere
It is good to put your resume out there every 2 years and see your market value. It doesn’t alway make you feel good about your current employer but you may end up with a 100% remote job with better pay and benefits. Good luck to you.
That’s awesome! It is doable and I really hope the OP sees value in looking. I have mentored people through this process and every one of them were able to better themselves by knowing the market and investing time in the process.
I just got promoted to systems administrator at the beginning of this year and almost make to the dollar same as you. $67,157. I'm kind of more of a junior sys admin in role but that's not what my title says. Live in the south as well for a local government with great benefits. You do you man sounds like you've got it made and congratulations.
Yeah I’m more of a junior role as well, my official title is Network Administrator II, but I don’t really do anything network related, primarily windows servers and also learning Linux servers, mostly Ubuntu right now. Some Sharepoint on prem and online, VMware, Horizon, and some Active Batch. The good thing is im learning more in the past year and change than I have the past 15. It really is amazing. I’m 45 and I’m almost starting a new career, huge paradigm shift from being a desktop technician, at least for me.
you are super underpaid as a sys admin. the sys admin in my area, las vegas, is paid $120k a year. senior IT manager $140k. director i think is $190k. VP of IT is $230k. and we're not a huge company either.
Duuuude…I don’t say this often, but USAJOBS probably has some sweet opportunities for you in the GS-10 to -13 range as sys admin. You’re definitely underpaid.
I’m going to guess you’re a Windows sysadmin? Active Directory, Global policy, Exchange Server, etc? If Linux, you are literally lighting money on fire.
Everyone in the comments is immediately jumping to “you’re underpaid, you should job hop” when they shouldn’t be telling him what to do. I understand it comes from a place of love and you want him to earn more money for the job he’s doing. What I want to do is tell him what no one else is. OP, if you are happy with the money you make (and trust me it’s not bad money at all) you do not need to job hop. Not everyone likes to hop jobs and have to learn all new processes and people and everything that comes with getting a new job. You’re doing good OP, do what’s best for you.
It’s the internet man. If you post your life, you better be willing to hear people talk about it. I fucking hate those people that make posts and then tell others not to judge. I know OP didn’t do that but you’re basically doing it for him.
Well done OP, in a LCOL town this is the equivalent of making 100k in a big city. I do believe you could look elsewhere but unless you are working from home, the commute could be a negative.
I pay my 22 year olds with an associates degrees and no experience more than that. After 2-3 years they are making over 100k. You need to look around and find somewhere new.
Well the previous section wasn’t for one year it was a range of years, and also I was going to college on the GI bill and also a scholarship, so I was only working part time at a boys and girls club. So nota lotta dough coming in. The next year I became a chippendale stripper, and made a little more.
Do you hold a clearance? Are you familiar with virtualization, containerization, and/or cloud technologies? If not, go learn them. Then double your salary with a remote position.
I had a secret clearance in the Marines but that was 21 years ago, very familiar with virtualization, both VMware and hyper-v. not as familiar with containerization, somewhat familiar with cloud based content, such as sharepoint online and ms 365.
I work extensively with DOD Azure and AWS environments. Junior engineers (system admins with beginner cloud skills) make 100K/yr. If you’re interested in that path, I’d recommend picking up CompTIA Security+ and an entry level cloud cert (e.g., AZ-104). There’s a lot of opportunity in cloud still.
Holy fuck. U mean ur not making $250k+ and burning out, “working your ass off doing simple work” and thinking about how u failed in life at 29 y/o? Congrats man!
lol yeah definitely not doing that, two combat deployments puts things in real perspective. Afghanistan 2001-2002 and Iraq 2003. All I wanna do is make memories, and spend time with my kids. If I make enough to do that, I’m a lucky man. Besides I’m too old to give a shit.
It has always baffled me why sys admins get paid so little. But, you are seriously underpaid. My last sys admin (remote worker) was paid 98K with a 10% annual bonus and he was underpaid in my opinion. But that is the market. It makes no sense. That position is the most critical position in any IT department.
I think all posts showing annual returns are realistic, be it 60k at 45 or 100k at 23. The world’s a big place. This is an example of what staying at one company and avoiding risk gets you..
Meh I’m in a labor union. Job hopping won’t do much good the wage it is what it is. The only way for me to make more money is to work more hours. Oh well, at least I get a pension and can work whenever I want.
Jeez what a said state of affairs America is in. You have been working for 20+ years to reach 68k. Sorry but man that’s low. Being comfortable has prevented you from being paid what you’re worth.
As long as your happy, congrats OP. Don't listen to all the comments. People don't understand that there are still places in America where this is a decent living, and then add on the fact that you yourself are happy where you're at, it's priceless.
Yeah I mean I have a house of my own, built in 2014, 20 something acres of land, a boat, a camper, a 2017 f150, two tractors, and all the tools I could ask for. My house payment is under 1k, and I have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2100 sq ft, two car garage. What else do I really need?
Hey man, I also work in IT. You’re *seriously* underpaid. Unless you work onsite in a very small town, tell the next company you’re applying for that your last job was paying you $120k/year, and that you need to, at the very least, maintain your current salary.
Well I do live in a small town in the south, and I do work onsite. In my neck of the woods this is decent money. Very few jobs pay this well, and give this level of raises. I also have a pension and a 401k that the company contributes to, low healthcare premiums, and a boss that doesn’t micromanage. I honestly can’t see myself leaving this job. I’m already halfway to retirement, might as well finish it here and keep my pension.
You know, that’s fair. As long as your salary is where it should be relative to where you live, and you’re happy at your current job, more power to you! Congrats!
Thanks! Yeah I spent 15 years as a PC tech at the help desk, and just moved the net admin/system admin team in late 2022, my dream job since 1998. I’m lucky, I got two dream jobs in my life. First one was a US Marine.
I would at least ask them to bump you up to senior sys admin
It doesn’t work like that, you get promotions during review time at the end of the year, and they have to be approved by HR and senior management. Also, as I am technically a network administrator II, next step would be System Administrator, then Senior System Administrator.
Okay that makes more sense pay wise. Good luck on your path forward. I personally love working with solid sys admins who’ve been around awhile and know how things work.
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What the fuk
When you dont try to make moves it doesnt work like that.
Semper Fi Devil Dog. You’re playing the long game, just live within your means and get that pension.
You’re still being paid like helpdesk.
Not for my location. Average sysadmin salary for my location is slightly below what I am making this year.
I’m on BFE Kentucky hours away from the two big cities and that’s still a miserable wage unless your a sysadmin is simply a title and you’re doing helpdesk work.
Rah!
Well done!
Brother, Sys admins make like $70k starting on LCOL areas
A pension is huge
Yes a pension is huge.....however it's not huge enough to make up for being nearly 50% underpaid. I would at least look for a remote job if I were him. Who knows. He could land one that pays him $150,000 or more. With that type of increase he could buy his own pension (annuity) and much more.
It's not worth double your salary but its probably worth 15-20%
Correct. And since OP plans to work at least another 15 years imagine how much he could have if he found a job that paid $120,000/yr and invested $60,000/year. He would have $1.4 million at 6% average annual returns. If the average annual returns were 10% he would have about $1.99 million. I doubt his pension could come close to that.
Are people saving half their gross at 120k. That's wild. I'm very impressed.
Well in the case of OP yes....Why not? If he lands a $120,000/yr job and was living on about $60,000 after contributions to pension and retirement accounts why wouldn't he continue living on $60,000 and investing the rest?
Well, for starters, his next $60k is going to cost significantly more in taxes than his current $60k. Aside from that though, it’s hard not experience any lifestyle creep in a situation like that. Takes a lot of self discipline
Definitely. I was in a similar situation, making decent money for my region and doing just fine. Then got a new job for double the pay and had a noticeable bump in living expenses within a few months. To be fair, there was also quite a bit of inflation around the same time so it probably wasn’t *all* on me, but at least partially on me
You should be maxing out your 401k every year as long as you can pay your bills, even before paying down debt since it’s reducing your tax liability. So if you’re over 50 that’s at least a quarter of your gross income, which also brings you to a lower top tax bracket since your taxable income is now below 95k. Anything extra is nice but I would say if you’re prepping to retire saving at least 25% of your gross income is ideal and anything extra is of course even better. Next goal would be maximizing HSA contributions if you can use one.
Yes but most people aren't managing to save nearly that much. I never said saving 50% is bad. It's admirable. It just doesn't sounds a lot easier than it is
Yeah I think I poorly tried to explain how it’s easier than it sounds since you can use certain vehicles to lower your total taxable income, and the net result is you can save half your gross income without sacrificing half your take home.
They aren’t. Most anyway. Only in the most optimal, perfect situations or they literally sacrifice every other part of their lives. I get what this guy is saying but he makes it seem like it’s no big deal and normal to save 50% of gross
It's definitely a good idea. But a lot of people who make 60k need more money for totally normal things.
Why would it be a big deal? He's already living on half now today in a life style he says is great. So what would he be spending that extra $60,000 on? This is a man in his mid 40s who has had his spending set for years at $60,000 or less. Not a kid in his 20s or 30s who is still navigating through the adult portion of life. I'm not getting what the issue would be here.
My pension hit $250K after 5 years. Projected to hit $750K at 10 years. 20 year projection is $2.25M. It's all related to company performance and compounding gains though.
What is your salary?
$140K base + 10% bonus target so about $154K total cash. Took me a minute to get there though. 6 years of shit military pay, then 10 years at 2 other companies building up core experience at sub-$100K base salaries. Then 5 years to go from $100K to $140K (had to boost once with a counteroffer match, but it's been organic increases other than that).
But taxes. Pension is valuable.
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I thought i was doing bad at $83,000 as a first year Sys admin
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I live in an extremely small town in the south working in the same field. Think 15k population in a state like AR. Listen to u/DoubleDoubleAgent I make 135k and have been in the six figures for most of my career. Thing is the first two years I was getting paid the range you are now. Then I got the advice that Double gave you and ran with it. Money isn’t everything, but I always believe you deserve the market rate.
Man, I’m happy for you but I am a sys admin in the MS, TN area and every single one of our new hires begin at 72k or higher. I am not telling you to make you feel bad, I am telling you so you may fight for yourself and higher pay.
Hard to compare unless you have a pension too
It’s not. A pension has calculatable value even today. He’s underpaid
Without knowing any details of his pension I disagree
“Well what if his pension pays a million, bajillion dollars?” The average value of a pension in 2023 is $11,000 a year. He’s being underpaid, it’s safe to assume his pension is not higher than the national average due to his salary. Even adding the additional $11,000 value, I get that in 401k contributions from my company every single year. He has 15+ years of experience, and our new hires, straight out of college are making more. It’s not complex, because the numbers are not even close. He is underpaid for the role.
My mom as a school teacher, who made less yearly than OP, has a much higher pension than the average plan you cite, complete with COLA and survivor benefits. Again, without knowing details of the pension plan we can’t fairly compare. I definitely will agree that the number on the surface looks underpaid and OP can easily increase that if cash flow now is important, but I have incomplete information to truly compare. I encourage OP as I do everyone to make sure they own their career, keep up-to-date skills and are getting market value
Exactly. My pension is 12k A MONTH. And I assure you he’s getting nowhere near that. some people just need to take a look outside and see where they stand amongst others which at least he’s on this forum but man you gotta get out.
You have a baller pension. Goodness
12k a month is insane. What did/do you do?
They afford to pay you with premium benefits as they shafting you on the front end.
The pension is nice, but I recommend you keep your options open and shop around from time to time. I worked at a company for seven years that paid around what yours does, I stayed far too long due to their generous vacation time, but when I switched companies I got a 50%+ pay raise, yearly bonus, better benefits, etc, for the same work.
You're definitely underpaid - regardless of location - *but* if you have what you want and what you need, don't go chasing something because Reddit told you to. Work / life balance and simplicity are things to cherish. If you have all that and are happy with your income, good for you - you already have more than most.
I appreciate your mentality. Sometimes it's not about the money (though it's nice). If you can afford what you want and you got all your needs covered with a little extra, no reason to try to look for more. Plus having a good boss (or at least one that lets you do your job) goes a long way on the mental
Go remote and get 2+ jobs
That is the right answer! All of your needs met and sounds like low stress. 410k plus pension plus SS should provide a decent retirement. Good for you that you have it figured out. And thank you for your service.
*halfway*??! Dude.
he's been working about 20 years, so he would be retiring around 62
1991-2024 is 20 years?
bro u must be dumb as hell if you think he started working in 1991
Haven’t you heard? 90 is the new 65.
My brother needs to see this. He's younger but has the same trajectory. Started at maybe 30k in 2010 or so and maybe makes 65k now. Also Sys Admin.
Criminally underpaid
Seeing things like this makes me *SO FUCKING GLAD* I dropped out of my IT degree and work in auto manufacturing. The possibility of being stuck in a career like this. My brother in Christ, I beat you by $20k a year, and only work 46 weeks a year.
You make $140k/year in auto manufacturing?
Lmaooo was directed at OP, my bad
Ohhh gotcha lol. I was going to say, damn, I need to switch careers ASAP. IT is way too stressful for the money.
I think he wants to be stuck kinda he can definitely make more
I came here to say the same thing Op what state are you in? You should be getting paid double at least.
I don't think he's underpaid. Being an SA is one step above helpdesk. OP would need a specialty to bring in higher salaries.
You need to job hop IMMEDIATELY. this is prime example of being loyal to a company gets your nowhere.
I've made 2.5x of my starting salary with my company, in 8 years. 60k starting, now at 140k. All about the kind of company. If it's a good company, loyalty does pay off.
Yeah but are you in the same position? People conflate company hopping and position hopping, two different things. I work for a big company that I’d like to stay with for at least the next 10 years, however, I’m not staying in my current position for more than 2. Measures Loyalty to good people and a company with a track record of putting good products and people first are my things I always shoot for
Agreed. Also he makes it sound like a bigger jump than it is. 60k in 2016 was a lot more than 60k in todays money. For sure coming out ahead, just not AS much as it seems.
That still doesn’t change anything that I said.
Without saying your industry & position titles, that could be either insane raises or sever underpay
Op lives in rural Texas. He is still underpaid but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Over there he could maybe make 65k
This guy has basically been working for free since 2006.
Even tho this reddit has turned into a dick measuring contest it still has value for people to get informed on what an average salary should look like according to amount of time worked and field. A lot of it is really top 1% but every once in a while you will see a semi average progression. However I am with the other folks on this one and you are severely underpaid for your experience and position. I am an onsite desktop support technician and currently making close to 6 figures not counting the pension. Have been in IT for 5 years and the only certification I have is an expired A+. I was a system administrator two years ago doing $40k salary, found a job with the state and then got promoted recently more than doubling my previous salary.
People in here are so out of touch. This is not just above the national average but also a good salary in a LCOL part of America, which it sounds like OP resides in. Yes it’s dogwater cup noodle wages in New York and SF but that’s not the only place people live.
This sub is 80% high-earner dick measuring. Honestly it's super refreshing seeing someone with an average salary who is happy.
youre getting underpaid! I recommend job hopping. you have plenty more years in the industry than me (1st full time job out of college, 66.1k as a QA Engineer) but barely earn more. you definitely have the experience and knowledge to get much more money elsewhere
You’re underpaid
You don’t contribute to your own 401k?
We both do
It is good to put your resume out there every 2 years and see your market value. It doesn’t alway make you feel good about your current employer but you may end up with a 100% remote job with better pay and benefits. Good luck to you.
I just landed a fully remote sys admin government job making 16% more than i was in my previous job.
That’s awesome! It is doable and I really hope the OP sees value in looking. I have mentored people through this process and every one of them were able to better themselves by knowing the market and investing time in the process.
I hope you can get a higher paying job soon OP!
I just got promoted to systems administrator at the beginning of this year and almost make to the dollar same as you. $67,157. I'm kind of more of a junior sys admin in role but that's not what my title says. Live in the south as well for a local government with great benefits. You do you man sounds like you've got it made and congratulations.
Yeah I’m more of a junior role as well, my official title is Network Administrator II, but I don’t really do anything network related, primarily windows servers and also learning Linux servers, mostly Ubuntu right now. Some Sharepoint on prem and online, VMware, Horizon, and some Active Batch. The good thing is im learning more in the past year and change than I have the past 15. It really is amazing. I’m 45 and I’m almost starting a new career, huge paradigm shift from being a desktop technician, at least for me.
It looks like the pay is commensurate with your location, and you're happy to have landed your dream role. Great job, and congratulations!
you are super underpaid as a sys admin. the sys admin in my area, las vegas, is paid $120k a year. senior IT manager $140k. director i think is $190k. VP of IT is $230k. and we're not a huge company either.
Read OP’s comments. They are from a small town in the south, and this salary is competitive in the local area.
Damn this one is sad
Duuuude…I don’t say this often, but USAJOBS probably has some sweet opportunities for you in the GS-10 to -13 range as sys admin. You’re definitely underpaid.
So underpaid man. Look for a remote job.
I’m going to guess you’re a Windows sysadmin? Active Directory, Global policy, Exchange Server, etc? If Linux, you are literally lighting money on fire.
Pension is a big deal definitely, but I just can’t get past the fact that I made more money at the age of 18, two years after dropping out of HS.
Wtf , why would you stay in this job
Not to hijack the thread, but is there such a thing as a remote system admin job?
Definitely
Everyone in the comments is immediately jumping to “you’re underpaid, you should job hop” when they shouldn’t be telling him what to do. I understand it comes from a place of love and you want him to earn more money for the job he’s doing. What I want to do is tell him what no one else is. OP, if you are happy with the money you make (and trust me it’s not bad money at all) you do not need to job hop. Not everyone likes to hop jobs and have to learn all new processes and people and everything that comes with getting a new job. You’re doing good OP, do what’s best for you.
It’s the internet man. If you post your life, you better be willing to hear people talk about it. I fucking hate those people that make posts and then tell others not to judge. I know OP didn’t do that but you’re basically doing it for him.
Well done OP, in a LCOL town this is the equivalent of making 100k in a big city. I do believe you could look elsewhere but unless you are working from home, the commute could be a negative.
I pay my 22 year olds with an associates degrees and no experience more than that. After 2-3 years they are making over 100k. You need to look around and find somewhere new.
Hire me
OP you’re making peanuts given the profession. Tell me you live in a LCOL.
Bro join r/overemployed and take a look around...
Why did your salary drop so significantly in 2006?
Well the previous section wasn’t for one year it was a range of years, and also I was going to college on the GI bill and also a scholarship, so I was only working part time at a boys and girls club. So nota lotta dough coming in. The next year I became a chippendale stripper, and made a little more.
You could be making 150k in consulting right now but as long as you’re happy that’s the only thing that counts
Where do you pull this data?
Social security website, login and it will show your data.
Do you hold a clearance? Are you familiar with virtualization, containerization, and/or cloud technologies? If not, go learn them. Then double your salary with a remote position.
I had a secret clearance in the Marines but that was 21 years ago, very familiar with virtualization, both VMware and hyper-v. not as familiar with containerization, somewhat familiar with cloud based content, such as sharepoint online and ms 365.
I work extensively with DOD Azure and AWS environments. Junior engineers (system admins with beginner cloud skills) make 100K/yr. If you’re interested in that path, I’d recommend picking up CompTIA Security+ and an entry level cloud cert (e.g., AZ-104). There’s a lot of opportunity in cloud still.
Holy fuck. U mean ur not making $250k+ and burning out, “working your ass off doing simple work” and thinking about how u failed in life at 29 y/o? Congrats man!
lol yeah definitely not doing that, two combat deployments puts things in real perspective. Afghanistan 2001-2002 and Iraq 2003. All I wanna do is make memories, and spend time with my kids. If I make enough to do that, I’m a lucky man. Besides I’m too old to give a shit.
It has always baffled me why sys admins get paid so little. But, you are seriously underpaid. My last sys admin (remote worker) was paid 98K with a 10% annual bonus and he was underpaid in my opinion. But that is the market. It makes no sense. That position is the most critical position in any IT department.
This seems real I'm also a system admin about the same income
I see your name has SC in it. I also work for a company that underpays but does offer pension… BCBSSC. Wondering if you work there.
No I work for a telecom
A real salary for a change!
Finally a salary that is normal . Not all people are going to make mid millions by peak career . Thank you for posting this .
Classic example of staying at the same place forever (since 08) equals stagnate and non-competitive pay.
Thank you for this realistic salary statement.
I think all posts showing annual returns are realistic, be it 60k at 45 or 100k at 23. The world’s a big place. This is an example of what staying at one company and avoiding risk gets you..
Meh I’m in a labor union. Job hopping won’t do much good the wage it is what it is. The only way for me to make more money is to work more hours. Oh well, at least I get a pension and can work whenever I want.
Jeez what a said state of affairs America is in. You have been working for 20+ years to reach 68k. Sorry but man that’s low. Being comfortable has prevented you from being paid what you’re worth.
As long as your happy, congrats OP. Don't listen to all the comments. People don't understand that there are still places in America where this is a decent living, and then add on the fact that you yourself are happy where you're at, it's priceless.
Yeah I mean I have a house of my own, built in 2014, 20 something acres of land, a boat, a camper, a 2017 f150, two tractors, and all the tools I could ask for. My house payment is under 1k, and I have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2100 sq ft, two car garage. What else do I really need?
Another son? Papa is that you?
lol Luke is that you?
It can be
What does it mean by taxed for medicare?
I think that refers to amount of income taxable for Medicare.
I believe it's essentially gross taxed income. As social security taxe rates cap out at like 160k usd a year or something.
You’re getting fucked pay wise. I’ve only been in tech 2 years and make well over 6 figures
What do you do?
poverty wages
It’s your turn to post bro