Admins who run the whole shop, what is your location and how much do you get paid?

Posted by Areaman6@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 209 comments

I'm finding this hard to nail down, because job descriptions, salaries, and titles are all over the place. I was a one man show for a group of ~60, starting at $52k/yr ending at about $80k/yr. In downtown Chicago. I'm trying to gauge reality, since I thought that was low.

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209 Comments

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Less-Ad-1327@reddit

Canada, solo IT, ~130 users in a tech company, 65k

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progenyofeniac@reddit

Gonna be honest, my experience is that one-man-shows are often in smaller businesses, are under-appreciated, and are underpaid. I got a 40% raise moving from role where I was solo sysadmin, into a far more focused role.

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floswamp@reddit

I think in a small business we get grouped with the janitorial staff and they may get paid more!

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networkeng1@reddit

This is exactly it but don’t write small businesses off if you’re just starting out or trying to learn new technology they have implemented. I went from 40k to 100k in less than 3 yrs bc of that small business letting me break and fix stuff. Now I make a decent amount but I encourage people starting out to work at a small business first, let them use and abuse you in exchange for education/training and hands on work. Trust me it will be worth it.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

That was my plan. I'll get experience, you'll get a talented dork for a couple years....now I want mine. I passed the torches to another younger me and things are GREAT for them...now just to figure my next step out.

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obviouslybait@reddit

Depends where you live. Canada many mid level IT jobs pay in the 60K range.. you need like 10 years exp and know someone to make the 80+ (high pay)

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networkeng1@reddit

Yea but I wonder what your cost of living is. A decent townhouse around my area is like 500-700k minimum…food basically has doubled, etc..

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obviouslybait@reddit

the exact same as you

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networkeng1@reddit

Well damn that sucks. I guess I believe it. I checked how much people get paid for similar work in some EU countries and it was about half. I was thinking of moving for a few years abroad but my best bet is to get a traveling job with an American company.

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obviouslybait@reddit

For IT, America is the best place to work right now. Sysadmins get paid as much as senior directors of IT get paid in Canada. Managers make 80-100k, and directors make 90-120k.. you see the picture.

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networkeng1@reddit

Yea I been to Vancouver and the housing prices are insane so I know what you’re saying. I mean it might worth applying for a remote US Job if you live close enough to commute if needed (idk how work visas work for Canadians in the US or if one is even needed). Tbh I’d live in Canada over the US since my politics align well.

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223454@reddit

My first IT job was one step above janitor on the pay scale. The difference was minor though. For a job that requires certs, a degree, experience, etc, a lot of places just don't seem to value us.

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floswamp@reddit

We’re not a money making department.

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boanerges57@reddit

That's the perspective of people that haven't lost their whole network for a few days. That'll lose money quick.

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floswamp@reddit

I never said we don’t loose money, we just never make any.

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boanerges57@reddit

I mean that if a business relies on IT for any part of its work then the IT dept does make money by allowing all of that to function. It's like a truck company seeing the mechanics and maintenance as a drain on resources and not the way they keep the trucks rolling. That was the motivation behind me going back to school and getting a business degree. I wanted to translate IT to C suite people that couldn't tell you the difference between a server and a switch.

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-_G__-@reddit

Lose, but some of us can be loose with our money as well, I guess.... 😉

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floswamp@reddit

Lol. I always have issues with both. 🤣

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doubled112@reddit

I knew a janitor at a Costco making more than me in my first IT gig. It was a 15-20K difference.

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LonelyStonerGuy@reddit

So I need to head over to Costco, got it.

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floswamp@reddit

Good hot dogs.

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doubled112@reddit

I guess everything IS bigger at Costco.

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mmmmmmmmmmmmark@reddit

Let's not forget the toilet cleaners! Dirk, Banhead and Doodles!

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wwbubba0069@reddit

I was tempted to get my title on my last batch of business cards to be "Computer Janitor"

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MotionAction@reddit

Do you deal with physical and emotional shit?

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wwbubba0069@reddit

only when tempted to go office space on a printer.

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andrew_joy@reddit

I was just about to say that :D.

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datagoon@reddit

I’m fond of “electron plumber”

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TechFiend72@reddit

Network janitor

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cowprince@reddit

I have an OU named that.

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onecrookedeye@reddit

My coworker explains his job to others exactly as this.

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JaredSeth@reddit

Back when email administration was among my responsibilities, I would change my title frequently. At one point, it was "Chief Bottlewasher".

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floswamp@reddit

Digital Cleaner

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TechxNinja@reddit

CCleaner

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floswamp@reddit

Data Flusher

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1Sluttymcslutface@reddit

Hmm. Poppers are sometimes called VHS Head cleaner, and I have used them as a quick fix when I know my blood pressure is spiking. Maybe I can market them to overworked, underpaid sysadmins as floppy driver cleaner for computer janitors.

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Tech_Veggies@reddit

...but I didn't want to sound "trashy"

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AtarukA@reddit

I think you meant to say you are part of the janitor's team.

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floswamp@reddit

I report to the CIO! (Common Infrastructure Officer)

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tjn00179@reddit

Can you help me understand how this is possible? I was in the corporate space in a network engineering role. Got RIFed and took the very first job I was offered as a small business SysAdmin. I get a lot of attention from other small businesses and MSPs, but now that I've gone to the MSP space, the big corps won't touch me.

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etaylormcp@reddit

MSP are often just grinders (there is a reason the call it MSP Hell). They will often bring in the lowest paid least qualified people just so they can quote x number of bodies ensuring your continued success etc. And then they stick 30 phone monkeys under two mid-level guys. And 4 teams of that combo under one L3 resource. So big corps often have a view of people exiting the MSP space as not worth the paper to wipe. Healthcare, MSP, and Education where IT Careers go to DIE. Which is sad because the potential for excellence abounds in all of them. But it is like the small business question. IT is such a big chunk of their budget that they won't or can't accept that much of a line item for salaries.

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Bogus1989@reddit

Thanks I work in Healthcare. 🤣 I totally agree with you. Ive got it good i think though.

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etaylormcp@reddit

LOL sorry didn't mean to be insulting. I have been in this game forever and have often thought of wandering over to Healthcare or EDU IT just so I can put the stressball down. (been in finance/finance related IT since 96) Because I have buddies in MSPs or a couple that went to healthcare IT. etc. But with few exceptions all my friends that moved are unhappy in their roles and hate the money they are making and would come back to 24x7 hair on fire IT in a heartbeat but can't get anyone to talk to them because they have been in other types of IT long enough now that they just get looked over.

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Bogus1989@reddit

I work with a guy whos done IT long as you. Ive only done it bout 8 years now, always been my dream, but I spent a good 7-8 years in the army lol. Its great to have guys like you around. 😎

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etaylormcp@reddit

Thanks, and you too! Glad you made the hop to civvy life. And Thank you for your service. (Dad was a lifer) I am glad they are treating you well at least in healthcare, HIPAA IT is a nightmare. I did the conversion to HIPAA for my doctor who was also a close personal friend at the time it was mandated. Then she sold her practice to a bigger group and they had their own IT so they had it covered but from what I remember, yeah it wasn't the best time I have ever had that is for sure.

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Bogus1989@reddit

Yeah I had to go through all of that with my current org, was pretty crazy but after that its been smooth.

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progenyofeniac@reddit

It’s usually because the small company has a snak smaller budget and/or doesn’t understand what the sysadmin is even doing. And big corps assume a small company sysadmin isn’t expert at any one thing, which is what they want in their siloed environments.

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boanerges57@reddit

Too many "IT" people can't communicate effectively with the C people. They don't understand it, so they don't know what it is worth. It's like electricity, they just expect it to work. Learn to sell yourself, spend time learning about the business field your company is in and learn how to use that to translate what you do into terms they can understand.

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etaylormcp@reddit

Not to mention the Jack of all trades master of none scenario where you know enough of everything to be really dangerous but never get to go real deep on anything because you just never have any damn time.

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progenyofeniac@reddit

Yeah, I think my thoughts on solo guys didn’t come across in my comment. Solo guys are under appreciated, but if the environment is anything more than VERY tiny, it’s impossible to truly keep up. It’s impossible to be expert at everything and you’re just simply going to be letting some things slide. You might not even know what you’re letting slide.

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etaylormcp@reddit

No, you came across fine to me at least. I completely agree with you, and this is meant sincerely and not being flippant in any way! AMEN!! As for things that slide part of it is also the orgs don't/won't understand when you tell them things. I am not one of those that can't speak to people, I communicate very well with almost anyone. But when you look at the CTO and tell him if you don't renew x then y will die and he looks at you and says, 'so why do I care?' GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH And then in 3 weeks when y dies and he comes screaming in at you 'why didn't you tell me?!' and you fire back I have been telling you for two years.... Ok I think I need some PTSD therapy now. :)

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peterfromIT@reddit

You are totally right im a one man show, sysadmin/tech-support and earn less than 1000€ per month. Trying to get out fast. Only get MSPs with no work/life balance.

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progenyofeniac@reddit

You sysadmins in Europe are criminally underpaid. I hope you're getting all the vacation time you deserve, though, since most of us are getting shafted on that.

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unccvince@reddit

Oranges don't compare to apples. The cost to the employer of an employee in the US and in Europe is mostly the same. Take home pay is different because social benefits are managed differently.

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peterfromIT@reddit

Yeah, that is one thing i can count on. Had recently two weeks off and only had a single 5 min call, absolute bliss.

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FreeBeerUpgrade@reddit

Yeah, that's basically where I'm at right now. Been a junior sysadmin in solo env for 2 years now. Really sweet thung to have to learn to do everything and keep up the lights up. Very draining too and underpaid. I think it's a good position to have starting out if your a jack-of-all-trades like myself. But in 3 or years I want to go in another org, get a pay raise and just focus on one thing (linux sysadmin).

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223454@reddit

>one-man-shows are often in smaller businesses, are under-appreciated, and are underpaid This. And I've never understood why. Why is someone with a single skill worth more than someone who can do 10 things competently? Most of my jobs have been small places. I've even flown solo. And it pays a lot less than specializing. If they were to outsource my job they would need a whole team to do it all.

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khoabear@reddit

Simply because small businesses don’t want to pay more for IT. They want to spend more on expanding/growing the business instead.

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ExistentialDreadFrog@reddit

Honestly, this. Went from being "the IT guy" to joining a team focused on one set of systems when we got bought out. \-30% pay raise \-Can pretty much ignore my phone after working hours if I'm not on call (as opposed to being on call all the time) \-My day to day is a lot less busy/hectic and I feel like I can spend more time focusing on one "thing" as opposed to wearing 10 different hats It kind of sucks to be honest, you'd think being a critical piece with no backup for a $5-6 million dollar company would get you better benefits but it just doesn't.

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lakorai@reddit

Im looking at the same role idea. Running a one man show gets old and is way too stressful for too low of pay.

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MasterIntegrator@reddit

funny how that works and for the 3rd time I am starting to get it. For profit office just. do. not. care. about infra. but sure as well will say "damn we value you but not x, he can you step aside for this ops guy at triple your base? we are not saying we value you that more but the math is different you know?"

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Cannacrohn@reddit

Since I got that first sys admin position, every job move has equaled a 15-20k boost. I keep getting poached. I love it.

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WearsHisLastSweater@reddit

I recently interviewed at an HVAC company that operated in every major city within four hours of my city. They had one IT guy and I would be the second doing more dev/system integration work. I basically said to them Ive been in the exact situation your current IT person has been in and im certain theyre overworked and do much outside of their role description and that I was at a point in my career in which I flat out wouldnt unless the money was right. So much silence after those statements I thought about just hanging up. Never heard from them again.

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gwit_312@reddit

When I started with a small company, we had 25 people, I did everything IT and started at 75K, its now 8 years later and I'm at 125K. I started in Tampa FL, now live in VA, but have worked from home entire time. The company is now at 2k people but have been able to focus on IT Infrastructure in Cloud and On-premise, as don't have to mess with laptops anymore.

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SatsquatchTheHun@reddit

Northern KY, 65k/year, literally anything the higher ups want done. Left to my own devices every day though, which is nice.

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TheLightingGuy@reddit

Not a 1 man shop, (More of a 3 man shop) One guy is responsbile one location. I am responsible 2 other locations. Then there's our boss trying to help us keep our sanity and keep all of our projects and what not flowing. I make 66880 in Boulder, CO area. I definitely think I should be making more.

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ohyeahwell@reddit

One man show, SF Bay Area. $170K base, 100 employees, 70 endpoints, most things in the cloud but I still have a full VMWare stack until we finish cloud push. Full o365. My bonus is currently 2.5% of the net operating income. Previous few years I was at 1.5% and that was roughly $147K gross. We're underperforming this year, so bonus will likely be in the $200-300K range. I'm at 3 or 4 weeks vacation and will go up another week in a year. 401k is a weird sliding scale thing. I think employer contribution works out to 3% compensation + 2% match up to $X but don't quote me.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

OK. I will delete my post. What a cuck I was. This is it. 🤣. Going to do some therapy and want to get at it again. Didn't realize how down I got.

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ohyeahwell@reddit

Good luck on the job hunt! I've been in the game 30 years. Solo in-home fixit 1993-1996. First IT shop role was $4.25/hr in 1996, which went to $7.50/hr, then my first real corp sysadmin role was at $15/hr in 1999. Didn't happen overnight!

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theorfo@reddit

Inland Empire, CA. $96k/yr. Probably $20-30k less than I should be making tbh.

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chaos-chaos-chaos@reddit

Where in the IE?

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theorfo@reddit

Ontario. My prior gig was in Temecula for about $25k less, also as a solo admin for a small-ish business.

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philwatanabe@reddit

Seattle area, construction company. I am responsible for three locations between here and Portland. Approximately 200 users, 75 in office and the rest in the field. There are other IT employees at HQ in CA, so I’m not completely on my own, but everything up here is my responsibility and they do none of the day-to-day for my locations. $113k after working here five years. Started here at $73k. I handle mobile devices, user admin (AD/O365), backups, network, servers, and workstations. No on call but do occasional work outside normal hours (patching and maintenance). No active certs but finished my BAS in Network Admin and Security in 2020. More than 25 years experience as a generalist, heavy lean towards workstation and user support. Picked up server experience as a sysadmin in a previous job. Most of my networking knowledge came from school and recent on the job experience. Most of my mobile experience has been from my current role.

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ohyeahwell@reddit

Vista/Procore?

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philwatanabe@reddit

No experience with Vista. Very limited experience with Procore--it is used by some field employees for daily reports, as is Fulcrum. We're slowly replacing outside apps with internally-developed apps specific to our needs. We're a sub for the big GCs, so don't have quite as far-ranging requirements.

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probablyjustpaul@reddit

One man show handling on-prem (~15 VMs) to cloud migration, day-to-day support, network management, and replacing a do-nothing MSP. As well as the in-house security specialist for the core product and working on getting a security audit system setup. Boston MA, $150k base + performance dependent 15% annual bonus

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FaxMachineIsBroken@reddit

Just adding on to this comment because my setup is almost exactly similar. Slightly more users (70~). $160k base, SLC, UT

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Simply_GeekHat@reddit

>Boston (Cambridge) MA The cost of living is almost 50% higher in Boston (Cambridge) MA from where I am, and I am 99.9% remote. I was also a 1 man shop and unless that company is getting ready to IPO and you are going to get a TON of shares for nothing. That can be a dangerous game. Low pay because they are trying to get off the ground, good news is you could be promoted to IT director in a couple of years

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NumberMunncher@reddit

Here in Cambridge also. Making about 93k for 15 sites around the city. Not a one-man show though.

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DonJuanDoja@reddit

Nice.

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sleepyzombie007@reddit

What vertical are you in? I’m in Cambridge too and make about $100k total comp and support almost 400.

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probablyjustpaul@reddit

It's a biotech startup. Are you supporting 400 employees all on your own? If so that's absurd for any amount of money (imo)

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sleepyzombie007@reddit

Thankfully not by myself. I’m also at biotech, they were in clinical trials. My role has increased dramatically but not the pay. Looking for a big bump in pay or trying to find another biotech.

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lopahcreon@reddit

In a low cost of living area, $80k/yr would be acceptable. In downtown Chicago, that’s skirting poverty.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

I took it and did the impossible in hopes to do the same and get paid. Use the opportunity to do what no one wanted, so I could do the real one at the real pay. My little psyche turns itself into a black whole or some other dimension because it can't comprehend that it's not happening.

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lopahcreon@reddit

Don’t beat yourself up. You got experience. You got a decent salary if it weren’t in a HCOL area. Now, you have what it takes to move to the next paying job with a nice salary boost. Between skirting poverty and living in poverty, I’d choose to skirt too.

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1Sluttymcslutface@reddit

Yes. Moving up is what I'm trying to do without success and I won't be able to skirt poverty indefinitely. It has broken me.

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Joy2b@reddit

Sometimes you need to survive till you can get to a point where you can heal. Use an Eisenhower chart until you get your head above water. It may help to treat yourself like a rescue dog. The mammal needs food and water and regular walks and a little gentle socializing.

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Bogus1989@reddit

I like the rescue dog advice

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thortgot@reddit

Have you tried interviewing for new roles? You now have IT Management experience that hopefully should turn into a better offer in your next role.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

interviewed continuosly. Getting nowhere and kinda sad. :(.

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thortgot@reddit

The reality is, very few places will match what you can get by moving between roles. I generally have excellent luck with recruiters, I'd recommend looking for a good group in your area and going from there.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

Missed this comment reply., thanks for the tip

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feelingoodwednesday@reddit

Being generally good at everything doesn't pay all that well unfortunately. Being a star in a niche will get you paid. That's just how it be, feels like you get rewarded more for saying no and focusing on your own scoped workload rather than being Mr do it all

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thortgot@reddit

Being a generalist can get you paid quite well if you are willing to be a solo IT or move into management. Specialized admins (Cloud Architecture, Security, Storage etc.) can make good money as well but have a much more limited job opportunities outside of major cities.

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Bluetooth_Sandwich@reddit

LinkedIn all set to go? I know a lot of dudes in tech who don't have one, it's kind of a necessary evil if you want to move.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

Yes. I've landed lots of interviews. Haven't gotten anything. Oh, except for the one that will probably say "we're just waiting on an offer letter" forever. It's been a couple months.

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Cairse@reddit

The road to success is paved with the chumps who thought hard work would get them recognized.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

Yep. Hard work is for losers.

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223454@reddit

Chump here. How dare you call me out in front of everyone like that.

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Cairse@reddit

Former chump here, you're in good company.

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Joseph_Nguyen@reddit

Does sole internal count? IT Operations Manager in Washington D.C. 130k + 10% annual - 250 employees, 90 buildings. I am the only internal in my department and I hired an MSP to run everything else. My day to day is working on projects in our CRM, building projects, and being an escalation point for the MSP.

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MRdecepticon@reddit

South central PA. Two person team where I am sysadmin/it manager. Just got reluctantly bumped to $97.5k a week ago after being in this role for almost 3 years. Before that I was in my techs position for 10 years @$65k-ish for the last 3 of the 10. Honestly, I think I’m in the bottom of the range for this area. But it’s a SMB and I have tons of freedom to run this ship how I like.

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MikarlHans@reddit

Same duties as you, 65k, SoCal First year as a SysAdmin Supporting a global company of ~350.

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alakon99_@reddit

Detroit area. $120,000+ benefits (insurance 401k etc.) but its only 30 hours a week which gives me time to run a side business. 70ish employees manufacturing company.

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StonedHaker@reddit

NYC area.. Small private equity company (under 50 users) I get around $125K and another 50k-75k for managing our portfolio clients IT (VCIO stuff)

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chaos-chaos-chaos@reddit

damn, looks like you need some help. Hmu lol

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Dhaism@reddit

Sys Admin in DC supporting 70 or so people. 125k/yr base ~165k total comp (salary+comp time payout+bonuses)

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Fallofman2347@reddit

I’m desktop support currently, but my Sys Admin for the entire hospital of 584 gets paid 63k

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Infinite_Somewhere58@reddit

Man that sucks. Hopefully it’s a rural area

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Fallofman2347@reddit

Oh for sure, only hospital in town.

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Gaijin_530@reddit

How does this stack up to the cost of living in DC? I imagine it might feel like making 90-100 elsewhere.

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Dhaism@reddit

Anything above my base 125k pay goes straight to my brokerage account and doesn't get factored into any of our financial decisions. My wife makes about 85k and we live comfortably. I would say the 165k is about 85-110 elsewhere depending on the location.

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Gaijin_530@reddit

Smart! Currently my significant other is around 70 and we are comfortable, this is a good strategy. Bonuses are a great perk.

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Dhaism@reddit

it helps to avoid lifestyle creep. Real easy to justify dropping an extra 15k on a vacation or grab a more expensive car than you really need/want when you just say "i'll take it out of my bonus". We just pretend it doesn't even exist.

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Acrobatic-Thanks-332@reddit

65k quarterly bonuses of 1k, 10days PTO, and mostly remote, only have to go in once a month Small business They get what they pay for. I'm smoking weed and watching tv/playing video games all day long, I just also work sometimes within an eight hours window. I've been looking for a new job for 2+ years now, but haven't gotten a compelling offer yet. Everyone wants me in the office. I won't be going back for anything less than stupid money. I'm comfy, even if underpaid.

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matambanadzo@reddit

Perth, Australia. Solo. 650 users. $AUD100k

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Scadarn@reddit

Damn reading through these comments made me feel even worse about my role, one man show. 350 employees with an average turnover of 9000 students per year. £33K p/y. Been with the same company 12 years

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thedamnadmin@reddit

Bear in mind that North American salaries are significantly higher than the UK. Having said that, with 12 years of experience, you are being under paid.

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SysJP1337@reddit

I am an IT Ops Manger but am the only IT for a company of 130+ people. We’re completely remote and I live in Los Angeles. I get paid 160k and do some consultant work on the side for some past clients. I would heavily suggest in learning about how to make “yourself” scale. For example with the tooling I set up, I can basically do this role by myself until about 250 people. Then the logistical issues of “if I get hit by a bus” comes into effect, along with vacation time. A decent sys admin in my area can make 90-100k, get into cloud and automation you’re closer to 130-140. I’ve specialize specifically in start ups and smb as a one man show. Another thing people don’t like to admit is: the more people like you, the more they are willing to pay you. If you suck to work with, it won’t matter what skills you have. I get some consulting work and it’s mostly due to the fact past employers like me and I do what I say I’ll do. I’m not the smartest or most talented, I just can work with people.

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Ams197624@reddit

Located in the Netherlands, we're a 2 man IT team (me and a junior support desk/sysadmin-to-be) for a health care org with around 650 users, mostly on-premise. I get paid €47k/year before taxes. Not too bad for here. Used to work at (smaller) MSP's and got paid less than this.

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Ypnos666@reddit

UK here and £34,000. I do everything from design fibre/ethernet routes (in a factory), right down to resetting passwords.

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2c0@reddit

Snap but £35k

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Atillion@reddit

One man IT for a decade, family owned company $120k. I think I'm underpaid for what I do.

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etaylormcp@reddit

I was in Chicago for 35 years 1986 to 2021 and I wouldn't even answer the phone for 80k in that kind of scenario. A group of **60** where you are Admin, Engineer, Cyber and InfoSec, Compliance, after hours and on hours support, AND Architect. If you had even 5 years' experience before getting that role that is at least $120k ESPECIALLY in downtown Chicago. I did something similar for 5 years I started kind of lowball to get out of a toxic environment but after 5 years when my boss wouldn't discuss moving past $98k I walked and left him to run the whole shitshow himself. I would kill to be back in Chicago. I moved because my job told me I had to. But man, I miss it like I can't even tell you. There is no place in the US like it.

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Instinct121@reddit

One man army here. I run IT, Marketing, and some misc admin stuff for 3 companies. Total user count is under 60. Working in a mid-small sized city in Canada. $75,000.

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Infinite_Somewhere58@reddit

Helpdesk Manager for an MSP. 1 man show, $120k a year. Managing 25+ apps / vendors / and renewals on top of managing service tickets.

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Ruthlessrabbd@reddit

I work with ~50 users and we have an MSP that is responsible for server patching, backups, EDR... I manage AD, 365, VOIP, a little bit of the networking, budgeting and licensing acquisition, windows hardware and software. And LOTS of calls with vendors when their error codes are just a string of characters and there's no knowledge base articles on what to do to resolve it I started at 55k last year learning the ropes, currently at 63k. I get bonuses each year from $2-6k as well. My performance review is coming up and I'm going to try to push myself to $75k 😅 my day to day work isn't always busy but I'll be damned if I'm not dependable and keep things afloat

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Sasquatch-watcher76@reddit

One thing you don’t mention here is your years and level of experience and education. Either way doing all of that and in downtown Chicago your definitely underpaid. You couldn’t pay me less than 100k to do that job in downtown Chicago.

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saki79ttv@reddit

One man show for \~150. Migrated us over to M365, in the middle of a network restructure, all user support, rack equipment install/setup/config.... North Central Wisconsin, and I'm making $45k/yr. I have very little professional experience in the industry, though.

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MichiganMisc@reddit

One man show, metro Detroit, supporting about 700 empoyees with another few thousand students. About $110k.

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marinul@reddit

_entra_ There's the guy who actually uses that term. Since it was renamed I never heard anyone in the company mention it and not use a mocking tone.

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ImpossibleParfait@reddit

We refer to it as "Azure, or whatever the fuck it's called now:

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MichiganMisc@reddit

hah I had typed Azure AD then figured I should put the "correct" term.

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PC_3@reddit

700 : 1 IT? like no level 1 support?

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MichiganMisc@reddit

Sorry, solo as in the only sysadmin. We have techs that do the other work but I manage everything.

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pinkycatcher@reddit

Oh whew, that sounds way more reasonable, still tough though.

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fUnderdog@reddit

Was a solo show until a couple months ago. Around 300 users (only 100 of which were office-types). Indiana/Kentucky area. Started at $50k, at $64k when we hired a tech. Manage 365, Google Workspace, 15 locations with network racks, Fortinet gear, Point of Sale systems, a few servers, camera and security systems, around 120 endpoints including iOS. There’s more but that’s the meat of it.

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51Charlie@reddit

Yowza. That is way too low. You should be in the high '90s or even 6 figures. I make more than than that 20 years ago for the exact same thing. I swore I'd never do it again for under a real good 6 figure check.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

I did it as my "proving grounds." I did it for 3 years, hoping to make a solid background and opportunity for something else to come along with the real pay. As is, I got the education, did the work to get the experience and am quite sad it didn't work out for me. (Or hasn't yet or some other platitude) The stress and toll it took to accomplish that feels like for nothing. Like, Wtf to even do now?

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mcmellenhead@reddit

Not quite a "runs the whole shop" but pretty close. Essentially a 2 man team plus a "boss". I'm making just under 38k/yr in southwest MO. Managing 16-18vm's, 70 locations and with around 500 endpoints and 240 credit card terminals.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

Is rent/mortgage $20/mo?

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mcmellenhead@reddit

Lol $799. I do make 52k gross... So there's that.

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Brilliant-Award-2592@reddit

IT Manager here (one-man shop with limited help available from remote MSP) in mid-Florida. Roughly 120 users, 10 sites across 3 states, 10 cloud hosted servers. $90k which isn't terrible but IMO should be much higher given how much ground I cover for the company. I've been looking elsewhere for the past several months but haven't had any luck. Mid- to upper-management openings all seem to require managing at least a small team of direct reports. Senior sysadmin jobs are tough to find a good match given my limited exposure to different frameworks & tech stacks.

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MentalSewage@reddit

I've worked as one man shows to low man in a big multibillion corp and everthing between. One man shows are a scam. They want to pay you 80% what you would make elsewhere to do the job of 6 people. Good for your first job off helpdesk. If you want my real advice? Go Engineer. Admin is a dying role what with infrastructure that when there is an error you just... redeploy. Soon the only admin roles left will be the one man shows and the last thing you want is to get stuck in one of them where they have the upper hand in negotiation.

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Areaman6@reddit (OP)

This seems to be the route. I'm too hands of to sit back and "manage", so it leaves me with engineer type roles.

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Then-Particular-1997@reddit

130k

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Tenkoh@reddit

Santa Monica - 96k

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Mailstorm@reddit

When I was the one man shop, I supported around 45 people. Really there was only a handful of vms that were important and then o365. Made around 45k. Moved to an msp which was 58k. Then a few months after getting that job I moved again to a more specialized role and make 75k base.

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Garrettinb4kh3fm@reddit

Not there anymore, was only me managing 5 car dealerships and an admin building, was in charge of everything including cameras, ip phone system, all network equipment, firewalls, switches, APs, all helpdesk issues, implementing a ticketing system and managing it, and O365 admin. Was getting paid 50k in central AR. Moved to a dedicated heldesk role making 51k at a great company.

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DashSplatBang@reddit

Well, I can't say it's totally a one man show, but there are two IT people. One is the CIO, who has been running everything for 25 years, and the other is me, who was hired at the end of covid. I have my hand in everything though. Spinning up hyper-V servers, AD/GPO work, managing vlans, switches, the wifi, taking care of some 150 end users, 250ish endpoints, working with implementation people to install 3rd party equipment, on and on it goes. No help desk or techs. Just me and the boss. This is for a small rural hospital in Montana. I make $31/hr. 24 days PTO/yr. No paid holidays. A bonus from the board around Christmas. Totals about $67k/yr.

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Bunny_28_06_42_12@reddit

Not completely one manned, but there's only two of us. We are everything even though we also have external IT contracts with an MSP somehow. Wasn't supposed to be that way, was supposed to just be Tier 1 help desk. Kind of immediately took a turn from there. Here's where it gets real fun, I'm at 65k, he's at $18 an hour because hes young... We have 500+ users, even more devices, and we work for multiple stores around the Saint Louis area.

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joey0live@reddit

SysAdmin here, but also doing level 1 and 2 tech support for our department. Have about 100+ people. Usually more during summer to fall as international students come to learn for a few months. I make about 90k. But do everything. The previous SysAdmin who was there since the beginning of this department built everything and recently passed away, now I’m deciding if I should buy new servers… or move our server VM’s to Central IT for they can focus on hardware, and I still manage the server VM’s. My boss said whatever I want. They’re old servers that was back in 2013.

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ie-sudoroot@reddit

I was left running the show after the senior people left in a 400 user environment. I was given an extra €5k for the inconvenience of running the ship but left for another role with triple amount of users and another €20k increase.

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1337sysadmin@reddit

Work in the suburbs and worked for an MSP doing similar work to what you were doing and making 125/year. Sounds like you’ve got some years in this so should be able to find something easily enough.

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StarsandMaple@reddit

Small one man shows get dunked on. Last job I had I was general IT for a satellite office, part time as my main job was Project Management for Survey/SUE Setup computers, 365, AD, manage our decrepid NAS, set up appointments and stuff for ISP change over, account management on 4 different software suites, help desk etc... 63k/yr to do those 2 things and about 3 others. Requested 80k and told me they couldn't allow it as my department and office couldn't handle a 40k/year IT position and 40k/yr production salary. Now they have to send corporate IT to come over and install a PC at a station. 4 hours of drive time.

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mjh2901@reddit

You should be 100K minimum these days.

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Spiritual_Conflict18@reddit

Hungary, Budapest 1 yoe, medium multinational, ~$23k

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taxigrandpa@reddit

your low. I made 55k doing first level help desk in Barrington. in 2004

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Bluetooth_Sandwich@reddit

Solo library IT. Over see about 50 users, across 2 libraries... 52k/yr Local government technically, but the library controls the budget and my pay. I dictate my own hours (manager just says put in 40), budget handles nearly everything I need replaced or services purchased. I handle security (cameras, rfid door locks, security gates), AD on the public PC side, VMs, backup, disaster recovery (lol), workstations, websites, networking, etc

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Cannacrohn@reddit

Sounds about right to me. Average. I dont think you are on the low end. I am..similarly paid for similar work. But I dont live in downtown Chicago so I probably feel like Im paid more. I think you consider it low for the area. Solution is a get a job in the suburbs or rest of the city paying similarly. Then you will have more money cuz rent and food and everything will be cheaper.

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Pctechguy2003@reddit

This isn’t me now… but 10 years ago I was sole IT admin for a call center. We did have some off shore teams doing heavy lifting for projects - but everything local was on me. I was in rural Appalachia and got paid $35K a year base, but factoring in OT I normally made $38K to $40K. So $35K ($38K after OT) rural Appalachia 10 years ago. Yes I long since left that hell hole of an office. Took a position as a Data Center Administrator starting at $55K (topped out at $75K) and FAR less stress.

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repooc21@reddit

Potentially about to be solo, "the IT guy" ~$65k non profit 25-30 users. Regular office jazz 365, domain, VoIP, two conference rooms And a music venue I am requiring for a raise before I agree to become solo support.

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andytagonist@reddit

You made covid happen. I’m telling on you!!

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baitnnswitch@reddit

Was a mostly one person show (with a head of tech to escalate to) in Boston for 72k, about 120 staff. Now have two people on helpdesk and I'm their manager. Currently at 86k but in the process of getting bumped up to (?). I know I'm getting underpaid- we'll see what this raise ends up being. Benefits are exceptional though in terms of paid time off and health insurance.

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Interesting-Bet-2343@reddit

One man show: providing end user support locally (51 users) + sysadmin role that entails company branch in 2 different cities managing 22 VM, Network and Security. Pay: $98k +annual bonus ($2k to &$4k) + $200/mo for on-call support + 2-3% raise every year.

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Otherwise-Bad-7666@reddit

Training to be Sys Admin, 55k, South

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GhostFriends686@reddit

Columbia, MD 185 users 87k base

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Djblinx89@reddit

I'm not a one man show, but we have a skeleton crew. One help desk guy, one audit/IS guy and a manager. We have \~200 users. My manager is also a Sys Admin, but does more manager level things now. I'm at $80k/yr in Northeast Ohio. Normally we get a raise and/or bonus each year, but it's never guaranteed. Hope this helps.

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Drake_93@reddit

Heyo NEO fam!

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LondonCollector@reddit

London, Mayfair. Varies but never really less than £100k. If you factor in bonuses and benefits it probably £100k-£200k.

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InvisibleTextArea@reddit

UK. Fully remote. Currently in Irish Sea sailing. £64k.

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paqmann@reddit

Until a year ago, I was solo at a business with \~50 year-round staff that went up to 100 or so during the summer months due to the ebb and flow of business in our industry. Two locations, the main one in southeast Michigan and one in Alabama, and a bunch of home office support for remote sales people. I did everything - desktop support, network, phones, servers, printers (kill me), rolled out a new ERP, got us through COVID. Started at $48k, left at $67k to make slightly more in a much more focused SysAdmin role at a university.

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Gaijin_530@reddit

The rule of thumb should be one IT person to cover 40 people. If you are covering more than 40 you're probably doing a lot. I am an IT Manager in New England, and it took me a while to break into 6 figures in a company of 135 people with a single employee under me.

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Fiveohh11@reddit

This rule of thumb thing really stopped making sense to me after I worked in a few different industries. There are far too many factors that can swing this number much higher or lower. The technologies the company is using can require more or less support. Some businesses are very low tech. Some applications just always work and are easy for the end user, while some are the exact opposite and require a lot more support personnel.

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Gaijin_530@reddit

I would agree with this! Some places are a pretty well oiled machine and other are full of issues. It largely depends on their tech. It’s a very very general rule of thumb for hiring purposes mostly. You can start asking for help when a company grows using this guideline, etc.

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CelticDubstep@reddit

I'm Solo IT for the company I work for and have been in IT for nearly 20 years. I'm approaching 40. The company I work for is in a very niche industry, but it is engineering so lots of Revit & AutoCAD. Two office locations about 70 miles apart. 30 or so employees total which is relatively large for this area (aside from Wal-Mart for example). I am hourly at $26 ($54,080 yearly) which is the highest salary of my career. I'm in a rural/isolated area which is mostly retail (tourism) and a Navy Training Base, so my salary is well above average in this area: "The median income for a household in the MSA was $38,558, and the median income for a family was $44,319. Males had a median income of $32,966 versus $22,164 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $19,365."

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Proof_Potential3734@reddit

I make 100k in central Ohio, plus bonuses, and I am the senior sys admin out of 4 in a dept with 17 IT folks for a company in 25 states. We have ~2500 employees. My most junior sys admin started at $75k. Not a one man shop, but thought it might be useful information for comparison.

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joeyl5@reddit

Southwest, 400 users, sole sysadmin with 7-8 technicians on the helpdesk. 75k. It was really good until the new boss wanted everyone in the office 8-5, before his hiring, I made my own schedule and the techs who were doing phone support could work from home instead of coming in. Now doing the strict minimum looking for a new job.

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VectorTech_US@reddit

I run the IT department for a 30ish person company and make 110k in northern Rhode Island.

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secretraisinman@reddit

I do user support, some network and systems administration, and policy/project work at a 40 person nonprofit. I'm backed up by a pretty great MSP that can stand in for me when I'm out - they also manage patching and backups. I'm paid 75k in the Minnesota metro area.

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bobs143@reddit

Most one person IT departments are small companies that pay well below market for that area. Use the experience to jump to a better paying role

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Turdulator@reddit

If your company is small enough to have a one man IT department, then it probably just doesn’t have enough money to pay you. Go to a large company and be responsible for a fraction of the areas for double the money.

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Steve_Tech@reddit

Job Title: IT Manager Location: Buffalo, NY Salary: about $90K plus bonuses The company is a property management company with locations in the NE and SE US. I am the only IT employee but we have an MSP that does the day to day support stuff. MY job is to do the bigger picture stuff, working with the CEO/owner of the company. I have been here almost 2yr and been working in IT for over 26 years. Honestly there were other similar jobs in my area that paid more then what I am currently making, in some cases a lot more, but I ended up as 2nd choice in those positions.

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tankerkiller125real@reddit

About 30 minutes outside Cleveland to the east, $65K/year, but last year I also got another 10K in bonuses throughout the year as compensation for staying late to fix stuff and finishing large projects (since I'm OT exempt)

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ExcitingTabletop@reddit

Just moved to one man show. Manufacturing. Very low six figures, mostly or semi LCOL area but not boonies. Mandatory bonus minimum. And I'm part of senior management. Overhauling everything. Industrial/manufacturing automation, environmental sensing, cloud, user support (thankfully light), overhauling all IT infrastructure, business analyst, reporting, upgrading ERP, webdev, etc. Could I make more? Ayep. Would I be dead within 5 years from stress? Ayep. Last gig I worked at large corp, had way too many projects, burned out, too many hours, two relatives died and the entire house of cards fell apart. CIO flew across the world to yell at me and put me in PIP, while telling me no more people would be hired. 8 days later, got new job offer and put in notice. I like that I bring a lot of value to the table, and they recognize it. I have been told I've done more in 4 months than prev IT did in 10 years. And I think I'm slacking. I leave on time, have never gotten afterhours call, and virtually never check my email. CEO makes it clear to ignore afterhours emails, he just wants me to hit those emails the next business day and he doesn't want to forget in the meantime. Have years of work to do, but they understand it will take years.

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Gaijin_530@reddit

This is about where I'm at after 10 years of MSP/Consulting work, 2 years in Pharma, and a 2 year position with an audio book company, I ended up in custom manufacturing. It's a hard balance to strike but if you can land a position like this it's worth sticking with.

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ExcitingTabletop@reddit

We make stuff for aerospace, automotive and military. So mix of very interesting and ridiculously boring. SSRS has blown their mind. We've generated like 50 reports in those 4 months. Most low hanging fruit, but apparently making huge difference. Previous reports were Access DBs, and the output was probably wrong. I stopped reading the code and trying to port, now I just ask users what they want. If they can't articulate it, it's not important.

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wooly678@reddit

Was sole it for 4 schools and a head office. About 1600 users. 95k cdn

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pinkycatcher@reddit

"IT Director" - Totally overblown title Manufacturing ~75 employees/45 active computer users $105k/year salary, no 401(k) matching, ~$250/month generic healthcare (I opted out, my wife's benefits cover us both). 3 weeks/year vacation. I run everything, primarily my main demands are pulling data from our ERP system, input into other departments system needs (i.e. sales needs a new CRM, I help interview the companies with sales VP, we decide, I implement the technical side, he implements the people side). Other than that I do all IT stuff, new user deployment, new computers, troubleshoot software and hardware, design/scope and implement new projects. We do have one outside "MSP" (it's a sole shop as well, I'm not a super fan of such a small resource, but it's good enough for the moment) that assists as needed, but he only does a bit of random stuff like backups and every now and then assisting with a project.

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en-rob-deraj@reddit

Deep south. $80k + bonus depending on company success. 170ish users. I am basically helpdesk and compliance at this point.

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Pub1ius@reddit

I'm also deep south and $80k but half your users :D

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Historical_Space_865@reddit

Louisiana by chance I'm in lafayette with same setup

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en-rob-deraj@reddit

![gif](giphy|W5wopTDMkNugyRGNrj|downsized)

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SHANE523@reddit

In Chicago, you are underpaid. I am in WI, same duties and make your ending and IF I crossed the IL/WI border I would demand $90k starting minimum.

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caffeine-junkie@reddit

Used to be 'solo' with just me and an ERP guy for \~4000 across \~12 locations. This was a long time ago though. Got 45k in greater Toronto area, which even then was severely underpaid. Was constantly stressed out. Do not recommend.

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ntrlsur@reddit

In in the western burbs and you were severely underpaid.

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R64Real@reddit

Central Ohio, non-profit, I started out at $45k in 2020, but Left a few years later because of burnout. Came back after 6 months gap to $70k and hired a help desk person. Now that I'm back I still don't think I'm getting paid enough but the helpdesk person has helped me not have to deal with all of the bs.

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Fabulous-Doughnut-65@reddit

At my previous job, they had me doing everything for $20/hour after I was the last IT standing. I had major imposter syndrome and didn’t dare ask for more. I got burnt out and subsequently burned that bridge.

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MediumFIRE@reddit

Illinois (not Chicagoland), 130 staff, solo, 5 locations, nonprofit, $91k

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jims_wilson@reddit

London UK, £65k

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LordNoodles1@reddit

My first job in IT, one man shop, 3 locations, 38k, LCOL area. Bought a house and had a baby. Maybe even VLCOL, 2br apartment was $550. I moved in to teaching stuff with a super relaxed schedule. Not that the previous wasn’t relaxed being a radio station, but it was a very good starting point for me who didn’t know much of anything. I did figure a lot out quickly.

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StaffOfDoom@reddit

I live in the central time zone as well, but further south…I’m titled as network admin and make 72k/year and do a LOT less!

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d3adbor3d2@reddit

i'm in chicago too and make less than you. we're both severely underpaid.

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gsatmobile@reddit

Almost one man show here. Have IT manager who is sys admin but is doing It director stuff, have 1 network guy, everything else under the sun from help desk, exec support and server anything is me. Seattle WA, been in company for decade, just under $100k.

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Klop152@reddit

When I was a 1 man shop I got 110k in Washington DC area 95% remote supporting about 200 users.

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Reported-Kitty@reddit

East coast here, 115k, One man shop for all things IT related.

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mrbiggbrain@reddit

I was the sole IT guy for a transport company, pretty low cost of living area, and honestly the job was a cake walk most of the time. (In late, leave early, reddit most of the day). 55K, two weeks vacation.

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ExPorkie15@reddit

96k + around 15k max variable bonus. In what I would consider a upper medium cost of living area. Like it’s not a cheaper area but it’s not a NYC.

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