At my work we have 6 'IT Technicians' and then the director of IT.... How do we go about getting more accurate job titles?
Posted by kellkellz@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 167 comments
We are basically all System Administrators - but one of us specializes in Networking, one in Web Development, One in Xerox printers,
We all get paid the exact same pay scale (only like 4-5 steps)
How can we go about convincing our HR to give us better job titles rather than just 'IT Technician' ?
Why would they call us all just 'IT Technicians'?
VandalGrimshot@reddit
Have a conversation in an intelligent way that shows that you are not looking to "get a pay raise from a new title" just that you want a job title that accurately reflects your position.
I did the same thing. I essentially said- "I really like this company and want to continue working here. I want to show that I have grown in my ability and responsibility. Would it be possible to change my title from "it tech" to jr. system admin? [they came back with, we would love to help but we do not have the ability to increase you pay right now....] reached back out and explained that I am not looking for more pay, just a title that accurately reflects my position... title was changed in less than 4 hours. This was all done with a blessing from my manager- and I work at a small company (both were relevant to the process)
saltyclam13345@reddit
Would you mind describing what all you do in your scope of work? I kinda feel like I’m in the same boat where I’m not quite just an IT Technician/Desktop Support but at the same time I’m not a full on sysadmin. I also work at a small-ish company and I’ve been considering taking a similar approach to yours
VandalGrimshot@reddit
sorry for the slow reply but wanted to make sure i had time to accurately answer.
When I started at the company i was essentially a help desk role.
-initial software install, software issues T/S, computer imaging /profile setup, hardware upgrade for users
After a couple months I got more responsibility within the company and start taking the lead on the following tasks (in addition to the tasks I was previously in charge of)
-Server maintenance/license updates, automated software upgrades for users, handled software/patch upgrades for servers, network troubleshooting/running new cables, tracing unknown lines into the server room, managing licenses (both job specific as well as general use licenses), managing the backup data (vetting old/new backup service for functionality and fixing issues as they arose), starting a DOC for log files and T/S steps for system wide errors, in-processing employees, out-processing employees, managing biometric access to building and keeping it up to date.
In all honestly the reason why Big Boss, and HR was so quick to listen to my demands was mostly because of the products I "created". We are not a IT department that is flush with cash so I have to work with the tools that were available to me and a lot of the record keeping stuff had to be built from scratch. T/S documentation in a department accessible OneNote, Update tracker for the TON of softwares my users use(engineering company), Power BI reports on software usage by user/by department.
Essentially the only reason that people knew I was "working hard" was because I had created public documents that the company used to increase effectiveness. If you can show you are doing tasks of a job title; AND show that you are increasing other departments effectiveness- I think that's the keys to the kingdom.
breid7718@reddit
And in 6 mos you come back with "my pay is not commensurate with my title...."
kellkellz@reddit (OP)
brilliant hah
VandalGrimshot@reddit
that would burn the bridge you just built..... for me I got a pay raise at my next performance review when they compare salaries with similar job titles in your area and realize the job they are paying me to do does in fact pay better.
3DPrintedVoter@reddit
why do you care about the job title?
ez_doge_lol@reddit
Probably because it goes on your resume and can make or break your career...
zakabog@reddit
So write whatever you want on your resume, if you did the work of a sysadmin then write sysadmin. If you have the knowledge of a sysadmin it doesn't matter that it wasn't your official title at your previous company, no one's keeping score.
breid7718@reddit
I do. Our HR makes a point of returning the title and dates of employment. If you're reporting something else, it's a red flag for me. If your experience is amazing I might go ahead with you and follow up on it during the interview. But if I've got tons of applicants, that move probably got you filtered out of the short list.
zakabog@reddit
Do you believe that HR understands the difference between a network engineer, a sysadmin, helpdesk technician, and an "IT Technician" well enough for that to be a "red flag" if they say IT Technician rather than Systems Administrator? If they have the relevant experience then I don't care what the title listed on the resume is.
breid7718@reddit
If you reported that your title is one thing and it's actually another, I wonder how many other things you aren't honestly representing. I wonder if maybe YOU think you're a sysadmin but your manager says you're not there yet.
If your resume was better than the others I got, I might give you a chance to explain yourself - but if there were 20 others just as qualified whose employers agreed with them about their title and duties, you're probably not getting in there. It's just not worth the effort and risk.
Unable-Entrance3110@reddit
If you are coming from a small shop, you may not have a formal title. In which case, you would put your title down on your resume based on what the industry standard says your title is based on your responsibilities.
There are also cases where your title never changes but your recognition level does within an org. For example, associate > sr. associate > principal > vice president, etc. In which case, if you put on your resume Senior Systems Administrator if you were a Systems Administrator | Senior Associate, I wouldn't think that would make a big difference.
Another case is just going generic, which has been my approach in a few roles. For example, I might have had a title of Systems Integration Specialist II while working as a contractor for an org, but on my resume, just put IT Contractor or Systems Administrator because nobody outside the company I came from would even know WTF the duties of a Systems Integration Specialist II are.
None of these things are lies.
zakabog@reddit
At the point where someone is checking your references you've already gone through the interview process. If you're hiring for a sysadmin, the person you're talking to says they're a sysadmin, they passed the sysadmin interview, but HR says their last company reported they're an "IT Technician", I would still hire that person because they fit the role were hiring for and they meet all of my criteria.
breid7718@reddit
At my company, we check references prior to interview.
zakabog@reddit
Wow, that's quite an excessive waste of time and resources. I take back everything I said, please continue on with your current process as it sounds like an unbearable company to work for, the less people they bring on the better off the sysadmin community as a whole will be.
breid7718@reddit
Not at all. A frontline HR rep's time is a lot less expensive than a manager's. If they can narrow down my shortlist, it's a huge cost savings. From your comments, I'm guessing you don't do any hiring, so it's understandable that you'd miss that.
zakabog@reddit
My first interviews have typically been with someone much more junior than a manager, at least at FAANG companies, smaller shops it might be HR, then a technical interview, manager would be the "we're ready to make an offer" interview.
breid7718@reddit
We're not a FAANG, but we employ a few thousand.
In our organization, HR validates qualifications as people apply. When we close the hiring period, a hiring manager reviews the list and flags the people suitable for an interview. HR validates employment and flags the record if something's amiss. Hiring manager selects final candidates and then the interview processes start.
zakabog@reddit
K.
VeggieMeatTM@reddit
Some actually do. I work public sector with a non-technical job title due to budget constraints. I applied to a federal job with my resume using a title reflecting what I actually do. I received a rejection that cited lack of technical experience and used the official title of my position (which was mentioned nowhere in my communication) from my current employer.
zakabog@reddit
Okay so in the instance that you're a government employee applying for another government position it could be an issue, in the private sector this isn't as big a deal.
TinderSubThrowAway@reddit
You can put any title you want on your resume.
H0LD_FAST@reddit
For real. Only people who are brand new to the work force think a title is set in stone (as we as title in leiu of raise, thats total bull shit). You could make my job title "intern" for all I care. I'll put whatever title most matches my job duties on my resume, and its up to me to prove competency during the interview process. I would rather risk not getting an interview in the off chance my title didnt line up with what a previous company's HR contact might say over the phone, than downplay my self with a non accurate title.
Unable-Entrance3110@reddit
This has always been my approach as well. Well said.
RCTID1975@reddit
I don't recommend this. Your title might be wrong, but when my HR department calls to confirm your work history, if your resume doesn't match your actual title, it'll get red flagged.
TinderSubThrowAway@reddit
Not really unless it's some sort of massive discrepancy.
If you are tier 1 Help Desk and put something like Senior System Admin, then yeah, it will be an issue.
but IT Technician vs "System Administrator" not really gonna do anything that flips a switch anywhere, especially if job duties listed are accurate.
RCTID1975@reddit
It always amazes me when I tell people how things work at my company and their reply is "nope, you're wrong!"
TinderSubThrowAway@reddit
It always amazes me that people think what happens at their company is what happens across all companies versus being an anecdotal minority.
RCTID1975@reddit
Well, I very clearly said my company.
3DPrintedVoter@reddit
in the US they can only confirm that you worked there or not ... anything else could get them in trouble
RCTID1975@reddit
That's not true, and is highly dependent on location.
Most places you can confirm at least:
1) Did they work there?
2) Dates they worked there
3) Title
Some locals you can ask a lot more including job description, why they left, are they rehirable, etc.
TopTax4897@reddit
Yes. Job titles are literally one of the only things companies always check for in employment verifications.
They are trying to catch people lying about job titles to embellish their resumes.
bitslammer@reddit
I kind of agree, but on the other hand if a potential hiring manager can't look past a title I probably wouldn't want to work for them. I'm in a larger sized gloabl org with about 8000 people in IT/infosec and we all have very generic non-descriptive titles similar to OPs.
snrub742@reddit
A hiring manager might look past it, the round of AI scoring prior won't
naitsirt89@reddit
Everyone lies on their resume, especially job titles.
But the cool part is its not a lie. A resume is you showcasing your skills, and your definition of your role is all that matters.
All of the IT Technicians at my company make six figures (they are each admins in charge of a local site), and after checking only 1 lists his title as such.
At a certain point in IT, unless your role is very defined, I see zero problems generating a title that you feel best matches your skills. If you are honest with yourself, it should never be an issue.
There is no written rule anywhere that a title on your resume match a job posting, and I have never heard of it challenged unless a person's competency came into question because they blatantly lied.
Stonewalled9999@reddit
are you hiring, I could move back to to technician job for 100K a year.
3DPrintedVoter@reddit
i write my own resume, and i dont restrict myself to the job title given to the position. if your employer had some generic titles, many do it, then put a more widely accepted title for the work you did.
Superb_Raccoon@reddit
IT Technician - UNIX Systems Administrator
dark-DOS@reddit
I'm not suggesting not telling the truth.
If the OP is truthfully doing SysAdmin work then they should just put that title on their resume. If someone calls for a reference asking for the duties they did as SysAdmin, someone else can correct them and exolain nuance. Or the OP can use it as a talking point. They can even attribute it as the reason for leaving. Most professionals won't think too much of it understanding the title means nothing.
223454@reddit
I'm not sure how to word this, but job titles can set context. Almost like a first impression. If someone is reviewing your resume and they read "Help Desk...", that's the context they start from. If you list job responsibilities of a sysadmin, the interviewer may think you're just embellishing. If your pay AND job title are low, it doesn't really matter what you list as your responsibilities for a lot of interviewers. They'll see the low pay and low job title and judge you based on that. Obviously it's not all interviewers, but it's enough that could negatively impact your career.
RCTID1975@reddit
Not really. Anyone that understands IT already knows that titles in this field are wildly out of line.
I don't even read titles anymore
Break2FixIT@reddit
The problem is that most people that are interviewing or doing first reads on resumes have NO IDEA that job titles mean nothing and have no clue that you are doing more than a help desk tech.
Majority of the people I have seen or dealt with that are doing first impressions or first set of interviews are probably thinking "hey this person did all this as a help desk job, maybe I should go tell the superiors that our help desk techs should be doing the same or have comparable knowledge"
Hence the entry level jobs of help desk requires 4 years sysadmin / devops
RCTID1975@reddit
I think this is wildly wrong.
First things are all automated, and it doesn't care about titles. It just looks for key words.
From there, it gets a ranking and then they're reviewed based on that ranking.
That initial review is nothing more than a once over to make sure something wasn't done to bypass the automation system.
Even in large companies, that first interview isn't some random non technical person. That doesn't even make sense and anything outside of HR calling to confirm a few items, and schedule an in-person interview, it would just be a waste of everyone's time.
Break2FixIT@reddit
I agree that they my scenario is wildly wrong, but I think we agree for different reasons. You bring up what should be done, and I'm bringing up what I have been through with 2 different job offers.
zakabog@reddit
Does it matter? Call yourself a sysadmin, no one cares, there's no official book of sysadmins you'll be entered into if HR changes your title and you can write whatever you'd like on linked in and your resume, so who cares?
wooties05@reddit
It goes on your resume.
asedlfkh20h38fhl2k3f@reddit
Don't put "IT Technician" on your resume. Just put Systems admin, and then when they ask about it explain your duties. You don't have to succumb to the stupid HR/corporatism bs.
wooties05@reddit
I feel like lying on your resume is a bad start. With that logic everyone could be a director
Unable-Entrance3110@reddit
I have always made up the titles on my resume when I didn't feel like they fit what I did. It has never been a problem for me.
_infiniteh_@reddit
It's not lying if you actually did the sysadmin things. One place I worked at had job titles for the roles they posted (mine at the time was Senior IT Engineer) but internally to HR my title was Member of Technical Staff.
wooties05@reddit
I understand your argument and I agree with you but who do you think HR will side with if they don't know you and confirm that wast your title?
Valdaraak@reddit
It's uncommon that they actually do though. It's nowhere near as common as it used to be. Typically reserved for cases where they have reason to think you're lying about even working at where you listed and/or inflating your title well past your skills.
Basically, if you claim you were a project lead at Microsoft, they're probably going to check. If you say you were a sysadmin at a local SMB and your experience seems to line up with that, they're not going to bother.
Maximum_Bandicoot_94@reddit
They can just look the data up from work number anyway no reason to call.
wooties05@reddit
What's work number? Honestly not familiar
Maximum_Bandicoot_94@reddit
Oh boy, you're about to probably get angry.
Basically when you were not paying attention Equifax made this thing where they aggregate compensation data from almost all the major payroll companies (ADP, Workday, etc). It's like a credit score but your employment/compensation data and you were likely opted-in before you even knew it. Most companies of any size will have an account because they feed data in - to get data out on potential hires.
You can opt-out but that requires forms, signatures, mail etc and of course knowing that it exists + that you were opted-in. I opted out, so did my wife which is essentially a lock on your report and no one can query it until you unlock it.
It's hard to take have the upper hand in negotiations when all your data was accessed by potential employers before you even knew.
https://theworknumber.com/
wooties05@reddit
wow mind blown. thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to educate. yeah I am going to opt out as well.
wooties05@reddit
Or you could be truthful and not have to worry about that.
Enslaved_By_Freedom@reddit
Your approach is very bad for business. Anyone that actually sells things and makes money would find your approach ridiculous. You need to be willing to pump yourself and your employer up.
wooties05@reddit
This isn't sales. This is hr looking over your application. Let's pretend you lie and HR does call your previous employer and they find out your resume says sr sys admin but your title was help desk technician. Who do you think the potential employer is going to listen to? If you can't understand that you haven't been working in the corporate environment very long. If you are good at selling yourself then sell yourself to your own company for a new title so you don't have to worry about any of those. Companies call other companies to verify title and employment you know I'm right.
asedlfkh20h38fhl2k3f@reddit
Who cares about HR - they are not essential for business operations contrary to what they'd like for you to believe. HR exists to protect companies from their own employees - that's it. Just because your HR lady values her position and I'm sure she's good at it, ultimately at the end of the day HR has absolutely nothing to do with IT.
lost_signal@reddit
As long as your former manager will validate what you did it's NORMALLY fine, just don't claim to be a VP when you are not.
asedlfkh20h38fhl2k3f@reddit
You're wrong, you have it exactly backwards - it's literally not lying. It's literally telling the truth. "systems admin" is more accurate than the lie of "IT Technician".
wooties05@reddit
Lol little embarrassed by how much you say literally? You edited the comment but we all know how annoying that is
wooties05@reddit
I wouldn't take advice from someone who says literally as much as you.
zakabog@reddit
As I wrote in the comment you replied to
If you feel you're doing the work of a sysadmin, and your daily tasks reflect that, and you've got the relevant knowledge, it doesn't matter that HR calls you a receptionist. You're a sysadmin, write that on your resume.
wooties05@reddit
And like I said in another reply, in my opinion, lying on your resume is a bad start. Employers are allowed to call other employees to confirm job title and dates of hire. That's a bad start. Id skip over someone who is lying on their resume.
zakabog@reddit
It's not lying if you're performing the tasks of the role you wrote on your resume. I've met too many people that have the wrong job title to hold it against anyone if they put the correct job title for the roles they performed on their resume.
Ragepower529@reddit
It matters with the work number, before I got Layed off (had 5 days notice) made a tweek in the Hr data base but propelled me at least half a decade in my career. Since that tweak I’ve increased my salary by an additional 37k on 6 months.
Virtual_Ordinary_119@reddit
I am in IT since 1998. I engineered systems, LAN, WAN, voip systems, kubernetes clusters...name one, I did it. I consider myself an IT technician. Titles means nothing
Sengfeng@reddit
The way our leadership here did it was to just append "engineer" to everything. Infrastructure engineer, Helpdesk engineer. Makes it super easy for them to place blame on your if you encounter something you didn't have training on - "Can't you figure it out? You're an engineer..." /s
inthe801@reddit
It's not HR. Start with the Director make your case with job titles that fit your duties.
windowswrangler@reddit
Who cares about job titles? We have people at work who are VERY particular about their jobs title and it just doesn't make sense.
I was an "IT technician" while being an architect. The job had the responsibility I was looking for and the pay was right, why does it matter that on paper or says I'm an "IT technician"?
I've been a part of several hiring committees and I've never looked at a person's job title. I've only been concerned with their responsibilities and if they were any good at it.
windowswrangler@reddit
What are the down votes for?
Stonewalled9999@reddit
Are you sure it's not HR? Where I work HR is f#cking useless. We are all "tech support analysts" (even my boss who is a manager). I have a CCNP, and I have the same title as the helpless desk guy because HR is "aligning job titles to industry guidelines" (and has been doing for for 27 years)
No_Carob5@reddit
Honestly HR title and actual titles Can differ... I "lie on my resume" because Engineer is an illegal title in my country and I was hired as a Network Admin... When they call your references they're going to ask if you were that title and not HR and they're going to agree "ya he was the network administrator" not "He was a LVL 2 communication technology technician"
Different-Hyena-8724@reddit
Yea but there is no such thing as a licensed network engineer in the USA so that's why the term is used so loosely. If academia could catch up and teach networking in real time, you might see this but most colleges are just offering CCNA classes and not any type of theory or stuff that makes you think about the electrical engineering portions or deal with RFC's. Computer Science Engineering is the closest you can get but pretty broad. So yea, I'm a Sr Network Engineer without a degree and no one has ever bat an eye or said anything outside of reddit.
SidMeiersCiv@reddit
In our org they just did a "career path modernization". How they proposed it was that everyone would get more granular job titles that more accurately depict their duties since before everyone was just an "Analyst". They literally just renamed all analysts to "technology specialists". HR just comes up with these little initiatives to give themselves something to do.
Stonewalled9999@reddit
I bet they paid 50K to "consultants" to "market research" ?
SidMeiersCiv@reddit
With how big our org is, I'm sure the contract for the "career path modernization" was in the millions. It was a 2 year initiative. My job title already changed because I pointed out that my new title and job description says I don't touch anything at a server level and refused to do so until they fixed it. So for 3 months I drank coffee and helped people fix the office printer when it jammed.
phatsuit2@reddit
Dammn
rotoddlescorr@reddit
Could be HR, but if a director does not have the clout to change titles, then he's a director in name only.
Stonewalled9999@reddit
you've never worked for a large org have you?
Different-Hyena-8724@reddit
I would just put engineer on my resume if I was doing engineer stuff.
DevinSysAdmin@reddit
Oh it's absolutely HR, if they get true job titles it will then be an issue of average pay for that job title.
hkusp45css@reddit
Titles and Job description accuracy is absolutely an HR issue. They use those for recruiting, for "light duty" alignment, for ADA accommodation requests, for pay scale comparison and on and on.
Titles/JDs aren't really a "management" concern. Management is concerned with the daily tasking. The broader the JD, the easier tasking becomes.
If the JDs are so broad that WebDev, NetOps and printer repair all have the same title, HR isn't doing their job.
TxJprs@reddit
This. Ur director sucks if they don’t go to bat for this. But know those positions can and often do have different pay scales.
Og-Morrow@reddit
I sleep my way to the top. Well I try anyway.
rory888@reddit
Those must've been some comfortable air balloons
Og-Morrow@reddit
My company is only made up of my wife and myself. I am trying.
ThrowbackDrinks@reddit
Then if you don't get your annual bonus, you really have to start wondering where exactly your performance was lacking.
Og-Morrow@reddit
I read that as “Anal” Bonus.
Ethan-Reno@reddit
I’m sure if you try harder you’ll get there ;)
rory888@reddit
I'm not sure if that's the best position for you in the company. Perhaps some side by side comparisons are in order. Maybe an excel spread sheet and a power point slide presentation
OutrageousPassion494@reddit
As a group, bring it up to your director. The director would need to bring it up with HR. HR will likely bring it to mgmt first. If they research titles and pay scale, mgmt would need to approve. TBH, the chances of this not going anywhere are higher than something actually changing. Especially with salary if the company budget process is near completion.
ntw2@reddit
What business problem are you trying to solve?
WickedHardflip@reddit
Talk to your director and if he thinks it makes sense, he can go to HR.
Job titles don't mean a whole lot, especially in a smaller place where you all help each other out... hopefully. You are all technically IT Technicians.
9jmp@reddit
Job titles mean a ton in terms of what you get paid and future employers.
jpnd123@reddit
Job titles mean something to HR when they review their market rates for salary. Also when you are applying for a Sr. Systems admin job from an IT technician...would not get reviewed well.
rosseloh@reddit
That second one will be my issue when I decide to move on, I just know it. I already get absolutely terrible recommendations from LinkedIn since my "real" title is what I put there.
"Why yes, with my 15 years in the industry I would love to answer your call for T1 helpdesk, thank you random recruiter paying for boosted visibility on your listing."
saturatie@reddit
Just update your title on LinkedIn/resume to what most accurately reflects your actual role in the company. As long as you're truthful about it, what's written on paper doesn't matter. HR can come up with some bizarre naming schemes that make 0 sense to anyone else outside of the said company.
bot403@reddit
This. But watch HR say - IT technicians are paid 40K/yr but Sys Admins make 80k. We cant change your guys' titles because we don't pay them enough. And watch them say it unironically with a straight face.
AmountAny8399@reddit
And then you change your title on your resume and apply to the correct roles, while highlighting your responsibilities or outright changing the title on your LinkedIn.
Beef410@reddit
100% this. This is also why every place I've been with bad titles never fixes it.
When HR looks at truing-up the team and it would go from 4 "systems engineers" to 1 systems engineer, senior network, senior systems, and sql db engineer, they'll run the payroll difference and quickly decide everyone being a systems engineer is OK
As for linkedin/resume tracking. Keep note of when your responsibilities shift and update your titles accordingly when its job hunting time.
unofficialtech@reddit
They mean more when you go to another employer or discussing salary with HR who uses titles to review compensation alignments (often outsourced in medium sized businesses)
424f42_424f42@reddit
They mean even less when moving, as titles are made up anyway. My official titles never wind up on a resume
QuantumRiff@reddit
Exactly this. Your HR is comparing your salary band to other "IT Technicians" in your area, and making changes based on that info. They are not comparing your salary bands to System Administrators or SRE, etc..
notHooptieJ@reddit
except there is no standardization-
whats "Information systems technician" at company A is going to be "tech T1" at company B, and at Company C they call you all techhivemembers.
Your title could be "Balloon man" - only your duties and compensation actually matter.
c00000291@reddit
Exactly, and many places use job title as a metric to calculate base compensation ranges against the industry. Therefore, your title can have a direct impact on your pay. Job titles also matter on a resume in terms of what jumps out to recruiters and automated systems
SoonerMedic72@reddit
The HR/Hiring software companies offer comparisons in your area based on title and description. Most of them have variations of the comparisons that will cast bigger nets for "similar" titles or descriptions.
It definitely sounds like a place that is trying to deflate wages by using a lower title.
notHooptieJ@reddit
except they're all made up everywhere.
you might be a T1 at company A, you might be Service tech at company B, and you might be "technician A level" at a third.
there's no legalized standardization, its all resume fluff.
the only real bar to measure is previous compensation.
unofficialtech@reddit
That’s because people don’t push for an industry standard title. If I was a network engineer i wouldn’t want “IT Specialist” for my title. It changes your pay band comps, and changes how vendors treat you.
There are industry norms. Just gotta push for it. It does help both you and the business professionally (you get appropriate salary consideration, if/when company needs to backfill their hiring effort is reduced because they bring in resumes with appropriate skill sets).
che-che-chester@reddit
I would look at other departments to find examples to present to your boss and/or HR. If your company tends to do the same thing in all departments, I’d say there is probably nothing you can do.
HR at some companies are really by the book and would say technician and administrator are technically different jobs and pay scales. IMHO a new title is free and can really improve morale.
lectos1977@reddit
I had IT director, EHR specialist, system administrator, systems analayst/developer, network administrator, help desk specialist last year but HR decided we are all IT technicians and a IT director....
Ok-Material-1961@reddit
Because IT Technician falls way low in any pay scale reports. Usually right around helpdesk technician.
RikiWardOG@reddit
Who cares? It's just a title. Change it on your resume
Daphoid@reddit
Titles are silly.
IMO, you're not a Director if there's only 6 people under you. You're a manager. Heck a supervisor first.
If you're not directing the overall vision, with managers underneath handling the people; then you're managing :).
I've seen "Senior Global blah blah" or "Global blah blah" for folks who work at companies that aren't even in two countries :)
Boricuacookie@reddit
Look for differences between engineer and administrator, one builds out, the others maintains.
A web developer ia a developer and should be treated as such. front end or back end or full stack developer?
Network administrator does this
I imagine the others specialize in windows or Linux
A guy that specializes in printers is the only IT technician I see lol
Superb_Raccoon@reddit
IT Technician - Web Development
IT Technician - Networking
snrub742@reddit
That's how we did it
Heck, my current position outside of tech is "generic occupation - specific title"
BiteMaJobby@reddit
Aim high try and get ...
AssistantToTheRegionalITManager
CheeksMcGillicuddy@reddit
I laugh every time something like this comes up. Titles are just made up bullshit that mean nothing. Go look at the number of “CEO’s” you can find running a company of 1 with $36 of annual revenue.
bughunter47@reddit
Have specializations, like mine is Depot Technician, I get all the hard repairs the other techs can't quickly fix.
Nik_Tesla@reddit
Pretty easy, you all just edit your email signatures and the Title field in AD/Entra to be the new title, and maybe if someone in the group has a 3d printer they can make you all name plates for your desks, and you're basically done.
Then when applying for a future job, just use this more accurate job title.
Sure, your paychecks won't show the title, but who the hell cares about that?
anonpf@reddit
Find a job with the title and pay that suits you.
MasterIntegrator@reddit
I disagree agree. Does it really make any difference to your work or pay to change title? If no that it…does not matter what you are title.
On the other hand if it does then yes. Title up just keep it not laughable. “Chief executive officer of front desks duties”
thortgot@reddit
Compensation can be dealt with irrespective of title, common wisdom is that it is coupled but I will tell you that in flat organizations that's generally untrue.
_Born_To_Be_Mild_@reddit
You're actually asking how do we get more money. The answer is be really good, document your responsibilities and performances, compare it to local rates. Create a case and take it through whatever governance your organisation has. Be prepared to be knocked back or negotiated down. Also, join a union.
Garble7@reddit
Do you have levels in your job? Like you are Level 3 now, and hoping to promote to a Level 4 position?
Sometimes this can help with focusing on where you should be
furious_cowbell@reddit
What the fuck did this guy do to the rest of you?
fwambo42@reddit
I mean, what kind of problem are you trying to solve? Just getting a more marketable title?
fourpuns@reddit
I mean you could be IT analysts? Just see if you can get the name changed.
redeuxx@reddit
Sounds like 5 IT Technicians work at your place and one Xerox Engineer.
NoradIV@reddit
I thought our titles were "shitshow magician" or something?
BadSausageFactory@reddit
My experience is that if you want a better job title, you get it at the next job.
holy_mojito@reddit
You can change your title all you want, customers still won't know what you do. They'll just be like, "You, IT, can you fix this?"
Otto-Korrect@reddit
Network and SOC admin: Can you help me with my printer?
Veldern@reddit
But it's a networked printer 🤣🤣🤣
holy_mojito@reddit
Can you tell me how to use this complicated, random app I downloaded on my phone?
STGItsMe@reddit
Titles matter?
ExpressDevelopment41@reddit
Don't worry about it, your next job will also give you some ridiculous title.
I worked at one place that didn't want to use Administrator for anyone not in leadership, because they thought it'd confuse people.
Personally, they can call me whatever they want, as long I'm being paid and treated fairly.
ExpressDevelopment41 | Tech Unicorn III
Otto-Korrect@reddit
Honestly, I just picked a more appropriate title and put in in my email signature. After nobody complained for a while, I put in on my business cards.
I noticed recently that it has made it onto my official job description.
Stealth is the way.
rory888@reddit
Damnit, I was hoping this would be shittysysadmins... That would've been a lot more 'fun' titles.
Aethernath@reddit
My company uses only one title for all it staff, since we’re all equally critical, irregardless of knowledge or expertise. I’ve grown to like this approach.
Tymanthius@reddit
Does it matter? Do you interface w/ people outslde your org? if not, the title doesn't make any difference.
ThatBCHGuy@reddit
Agreed. Titles matter very little in the real world.
Tymanthius@reddit
Well, they do matter when you interface w/ ppl outside.
A Snr SysAdmin will get more respect than an IT Tech even tho it's the same job.
ThatBCHGuy@reddit
Make up whatever title you want when interacting with folks outside of the organization. I don't think I've ever really shared my official title with vendors, just what I do and what role I play.
Happy_Kale888@reddit
Are you sure you all sys admins one of these seems "off" Xerox printers is a specialty.... All get paid the same?
chisav@reddit
Sounds like you're in public sector.
The main reasons are, they are lazy. They also do not want to give you titles that they will have to pay you more. They will probably have to do a market study as well.
savekevin@reddit
Yep. I work in the public sector. My title doesn't match my job but that was all they had open in the list of open positions they had at the time I was hired. If I want a new title it has to go through a few committees and union approval.
chisav@reddit
They do it on purpose so that they don't have to pay you more. If you go look up what an IT Technician makes vs a Systems Administrator/Web Developer/Network Engineer, the pay levels and ranges vary quite greatly but will be more than an IT generalist. It's legit how they keep your pay in line with what they want to pay. This exact same scenario played out years ago when I was working for a School District. They actually title changed all the IT staff into a lower paying title, IT Specialist to IT Technician.
CaptainObviousII@reddit
A Xerox printer specialist and a System administrator on a peer level? Seems a bit odd.
ExceptionEX@reddit
Does the job require those specialized positions or have just self organized into them?
What do you want the titles to be, and what do you hope to accomplish by getting these titles?
nelly2929@reddit
These are not really official titles …. They can call be anything they want as long as they pay me industry standard according to my day to day tasks
itdweeb@reddit
Expect there to be some sour feelings, depending on how this shakes out. Different titles often (hopefully) means different pay scales. And, there are probably going to be 1-2 people who are still "just" IT Technicians, then you'll have like a sysadmin/syseng, neteng, developer/devops or some spread of that nature. And then the power dynamics change.
Either that, or everyone gets a new title at the same pay scale, at which point it's just a hollow change, and a lot of paperwork for nothing. Unless you're explicitly looking for a new position, it generally doesn't matter unless there's some clear delineation between job duties. And, even then...
badaz06@reddit
I could care less if you call me a shoe-shine boy, as long as you paid me what I thought I deserved. I've seen a TON of "CISO's" that were useless, so IMHO a title means little.
If you want more money, that's between you and your boss/HR. If you think you deserve a certain salary and your company refuses to budge, vote with your feet and find a new gig.
I'm not trying to be callous, but there's no sense in being upset that you're worth more and not getting it. Go get it!
Capable_Tea_001@reddit
Biggest question is why is it important to you and how do you think a more accurate job title will improve your day to day?
A software developer is a software developer... We don't have c# developer and c++ developer because that detail is insignificant for grading purposes.
The company I work in (SME ~50 people) has very fluid roles. Technically I'm a PM, but I actually do release and test management and all the client interaction. I'll pick up release documentation tasks, testing tasks, dabble in the odd code change.
My job title doesn't define Mr or my role. It's just a title for admin/HR.
Reasonable_Ticket_84@reddit
Titles can affect your resume because moronic job application systems in the 2020s filter resumes for every single keyword possible before a human sees it. So "Network administrator" has a better chance of a hit than "IT Technician".
Broad_Canary4796@reddit
You tell your boss you want more specific titles. But you also need a reason for it. Do you all basically work the same tickets but one handles certain ones unless unavailable? Do you expect different pay scales with the different titles?
accidentalciso@reddit
Start by convincing your director. If they are on board with it, they should be the one to go to HR and make the pitch for job title changes. With the title change, there should also be new job descriptions drafted that highlight the unique skills, responsibilities, and expectations required for each role.
If I were the director, I would pitch it as a maturation of the program/team when discussing it with HR. Your director may need to present a business case for it to help justify the change. It will be helpful to understand the HR team’s goals and how they are measured. For example, HR may have some metrics around professional development within the team, employee retention rates, and time required to fill roles.
Some benefits that I see with maturing and formalizing IT job titles are clearer understanding of roles and responsibilities, which leads to more productive performance reviews. It will be easier to create and support professional development training for the IT team because required skills are better defined. Focused job titles will provide a more clear path for advancement within the organization and also allow HR to better understand market pay rates for each role. All of these things should lead to better employee retention. Additionally, when it does come time to hire, the focused titles and job descriptions will make easier to attract and screen qualified candidates, shortening the time required to fill roles.
I don’t recommend requesting raises (market corrections) for any of the roles with this initial pitch, as making the team more expensive will be a negative for the company that your director will have to overcome. I would try to push through the title changes first, and then follow that at performance review time with justifications for raises based on market rates.
desmond_koh@reddit
Web development is not a system administrator.
What about being called an “IT Technician” bothers you? Is it the pay? Then make the case that you are worth more. But don’t try arguing a side issue that isn’t really what you care about. That will be perceived as trying to smuggle something in the back door (i.e. arguing for a raise by arguing for a new job title). It’s disingenuous. If you want a raise, ask for a raise.
Because you are. A mechanic who specializes in drive train issues is still a mechanic. And a mechanic who specializes in suspension and steering is still a mechanic. The term “'IT Technician” is broad enough that it easily encompasses any granular distinction between your specialties.
coolbeaner12@reddit
We recently just did a time study to better understand what each person on our team spends our time on. It reminded me of my MSP days, but our director was able to give us very accurate job descriptions and titles to go along with it.
obviousboy@reddit
What’s the gain to the company for them to do this?
If you can’t come up with anything concrete other than what you listed above I would find other problems to solve.
RCTID1975@reddit
A lot of times, this happens when companies grow and there isn't much thought put into titles and structure.
It also sometimes happens as a means to obscure job functions. ie, if your title is sysadmin, are you going to have an issue if you're giving netadmin duties?
Other times, it happens for simplicity. If everyone has the same title and same pay, no one has to think about anything.
cybot904@reddit
Division of labor and responsibilities if you have a balanced team with each having skills in different areas.
ez_doge_lol@reddit
I would be weary of how you word the request. Like these guys said, why do you want a different title? You looking for a new job? Maybe something like "in the event we needed to expand, or backfill a position, we need accurate titles in order ensure we are looking for the appropriate skill set..."