Am I worth 75k?

Posted by NoWindowsInTerminal@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 113 comments

Here's what I do these days: Configure conditional access policies in Entra. eDiscovery for mailboxes. Configure Security settings. Fix DNS records. Set up GPOs from scratch. Troubleshooting obscure issues in Windows Server. Data analysis in Power BI. Teams calling auditing and troubleshooting. Fix SharePoint access permissions. Fix AzureAD joined devices. Some Intune. Email delivery issues. VPN tunnel problems in firewalls and client VPN app. Firewall configuration. And more basic stuff like scan to email, imaging workstations, deploying 365 apps, migrating data, fixing backups, setting up user accounts and assigning permissions in AD & AAD. Providing vendor app support. Going onsite when things break or deploying something new. And I'm sure more things I just can't recall right now. And this doesn't account for all the documentation I put in and the help I give to beginner techs. Outside of work I manage my own websites and webservers I setup from scratch, using Proxmox and Docker. My Linux skills are also pretty good though I rarely have opportunities at work to use them, but I've maintained more personal Gentoo systems than I can count just to give a rough idea of where I'm at. At my previous job I made exactly 60k, fell on hard times and had to move for personal reasons, desperate for another IT job just to break even on living expenses I took the best of two offers and it was less still than 60k. Fast forward 1 year and I'm at that same job and I was given a very very small raise at the start of the year but still nowhere near what I was making. I'm a little upset that they haven't at least given me a significant raise to show they value me as much as my previous job did, and honestly feel like it'd be a insult if I only got back to 60k now. Given the amount of work I do currently it's like I'm working at a discounted rate for them. I'm at a point were I feel pretty confident in making 75k for the level of work I do regularly. Only problem I'm running into is that I have 0 certs currently. But I'm working on getting the 365 administrator expert one. Is there any reason why I shouldn't be at 75k?

Reply to Post

113 Comments

[-]

Particular_History54@reddit

It's simple mate, you are being low balled bcuz you have no cert. You'd make 75k easily if you had papers. Your skillset is amazing if you ask me but it boils downs to this; Experience gets you the job but experience AND certs determines your pay.

[-]

ImmediatePick1144@reddit

Seems low. 11 years ago when I moved from europe to USA I got 75k. Pretty much linux and network admin with a bit of devops (scripting deployments ) in a small company. I was 30 years old with just few years of experience. Sounds like yo do more than I back then. Few years later when I became the main guy i was at 90k I left that job for 6 digits offers in other places. I think if you play it right you should find a job for much more than you have it. Especially if you focus more on docker. Invest time in k8 since you already have the basics

[-]

EvenClock9@reddit

How did you get your visa?

[-]

ImmediatePick1144@reddit

the company that hired me was sponsoring my h1b

[-]

EvenClock9@reddit

Did they come to you themselves or were you looking to move

[-]

sibblles@reddit

You’re worth it if you can get an offer stating that’s what they will pay you. Otherwise you’re not valued that highly.

[-]

Lunatic-Cafe-529@reddit

This. I was in a similar situation a few years ago. My research showed that someone with my skills should be making 25%-50% more than I was. When recruiters called me, I said, "My research shows I should be making approximately $X. Can you make that happen for me?" Most didn't have anything in that range. But a few got me some quality prospects. In a few months, I landed a job at a 50% pay increase.

[-]

apothecar@reddit

Yes.

[-]

stesha83@reddit

In the UK I’d say 35-42k.

[-]

coolbeaNs92@reddit

Highly depends where you are. In London, hell no. Service desk folks are on £30-40k. Maybe up north £42k.

[-]

SnooCompliments8283@reddit

Setting up GPOs and configuring firewalls are more than your average service desk role.

[-]

coolbeaNs92@reddit

I didn't say service desk configure GPOs, I said for a service desk position in London, you should be looking at £30-40k.

[-]

SnooCompliments8283@reddit

Oh I see what you mean.

[-]

stesha83@reddit

I know, I’m a hiring manager. I said “UK” and gave the average wage for the UK. Otherwise I’d have said London. It goes without saying that wages differ within countries or states by geography.

[-]

AnyFall8607@reddit

> In the UK I’d say 35-42k. I'd have said around that mark too, but then I checked some job sites the other day and saw Service Desk roles going in some companies for as much as 37-43k.

[-]

stesha83@reddit

Yeah, I’ve just hired for a third line role and some of the salary expectations were higher than mine as the hiring manager. It depends heavily on whether it’s private sector or public sector and what the pension and perks are like. Plus time spent in the office and how remote the roles are, where they’re based etc. I could get a remote job somewhere based London for probably 10-15 grand more than I’m on now but I haven’t seen anything that tickles my pickle.

[-]

GrumpsMcYankee@reddit

Dude, if you got time in, sure! Salaries are so damn fungible, and spread so wide. Since your company will likely never tell you where you rate, if you're critical to operations, prod for a pay increase, or shop around for jobs with better pay.

[-]

HaMAwdo@reddit

Yes to this!

[-]

Kortok2012@reddit

Bro, are you me?

[-]

1hamcakes@reddit

I think you might be asking the wrong question. It's not whether you're worth that much as an employee. It's a matter of whether the things you do are worth it to your employer. If they can't sell a thing that makes 3x your salary based on what you're doing then they're not going to pay you very much. This is why you can make twice that amount in salary and do half as much work at a company that generates billions in annual revenue.

[-]

Educational_Duck3393@reddit

I think 75K would be market rate in Ohio.

[-]

Natirs@reddit

>Only problem I'm running into is that I have 0 certs currently. But I'm working on getting the 365 administrator expert one. Don't forget about the SC-900/400 and those kind of certs for the audit, compliance, etc related certs for O365.

[-]

SysAdminCareer@reddit

The completed projects are where the money is. Support unfortunately is losing value it seems. Focus on the completed projects when selling yourself.

[-]

The5thFlame@reddit

You're worth more than that, even in LCOL. Work on interview skills and your resume. Keep applying for jobs, you wait for the right one and you could land a 50% raise for sure.

[-]

CrudProgrammer@reddit

75k total comp sounds about right to me. Maybe more maybe less depending on where you live.

[-]

jmhalder@reddit

Yeah... and used the word "fix" a lot. Like "fix DNS records", like you don't fix those unless your "normal" process breaks them. If you're talking about manually setting A records in private/public, it's not really much of a brag, lol.

[-]

JordanLoveQB1@reddit

lol tell me you’ve never worked anywhere without telling me you’ve never worked anywhere

[-]

Sgt_Dashing@reddit

Here we see the wild corporate sysadmin who doesn't know that the majority of us are supporting msbs and smbs outside of corporate.

[-]

Hotshot55@reddit

I don't know man, this line sure makes it seem like he works somewhere: >I have coworkers that "fix" stuff, that wouldn't otherwise be broken if our processes didn't fuck stuff up.

[-]

JordanLoveQB1@reddit

It was clearly a tongue in cheek comment meant to point out how ridiculous it sounds to think that you shouldn’t have to ever fix anything

[-]

CrudProgrammer@reddit

In a lot of environments sloppy and quick gets the job done well enough and in less time than something more sophisticated. There is a bit of a salary ceiling you hit though because you can only be so efficient when all your productivity is throttled by the requirement to always be over your keyboard tapping away at what is in computer terms a glacial pace to make things happen. Like you say, you end up doing manual fixes all the time when your manual processes mean your environment is rife with human error.

[-]

donCZMX@reddit

I thought sys admin made 90k on average

[-]

CrudProgrammer@reddit

You live where they make more

[-]

NecessaryMaximum2033@reddit

0 certs as well. I make over 140k remote and live in Las Vegas. This stuff is what I teach the junior admins at my company. I see zero scripting. No PS, bash, perl etc. you need to be able to script. Then come up with solutions, sell it to mgmt, make a PoC, confirm it works and then deploy to production. This is how you make the big bucks. Good luck.

[-]

Kahless_2K@reddit

You have a heck of a point with scripting. I just sorta take that for granted and forget not all windows admins do it.

[-]

NecessaryMaximum2033@reddit

With GPT, Claude, and Gemini, there is NO excuse now. Forgot to mention. I’m self taught. No college degree or cert. I work at a global cyber security software company Interviews are merely only a demonstration on your ability to articulate what you can do. A lot of admins can’t do this well and get shafted on the pay. Learn to sell yourself and explain in a cohesive statement on your skills and how they build onto better skills and how they apply to the job you’re applying to. Good luck all

[-]

RikiWardOG@reddit

I don't understand how you can get away with not scripting at least a little at least powershell for windows admins. At this point there's a lot that you can't really easily do through gui like bulk changes or reporting. And more and more MS is pushing people that way.

[-]

Rawme9@reddit

This - even if it's just basic Powershell stuff for 365 admin I think that's a skill worth a lot. There is SO much basic functionality for 365 that has no GUI equivalent. It's the reason I started learning Powershell!

[-]

Hotshot55@reddit

> and forget not all windows admins do it It really pains me when you meet one who flat out refuses to do anything scripting related.

[-]

DrDan21@reddit

Do more than I do and I make 100k in the suburbs

[-]

DayFinancial8206@reddit

All I can say is I've seen people get paid more for less

[-]

0RGASMIK@reddit

Yeah. I worked with a guy making 100k who didn’t know how to do anything without reaching out to support. I was there on contract to help him replace some equipment and all we had to do was install an access point. I remember he called meraki support to help him do it but got stuck on hold. I walked him through getting it online and he still wanted to wait for support to make sure we did everything right…

[-]

davidt128@reddit

Thai is way too common with older techs that never learned past days of plug and play.

[-]

0RGASMIK@reddit

Yeah this guy was older I worked with him for a year getting all their facilities standardized and he still called support everytime we set something up. Added hours to my visits which probably could have been under an hour otherwise. Fortunately for me his company saw the bill he was racking up with us and told him to keep it internal. He wasn’t dumb either just lazy. Surprised me a few times with some genius fixes for some issues i would usually just wipe a machine and move on for.

[-]

MOTHMAN666@reddit

That person is me. I live in CA

[-]

DontGetMadOnTheWeb@reddit

Go apply and see! Only way you will know

[-]

Pump_9@reddit

If you're in Cinci you're getting hosed. I am an "Application Support Analyst" for a large F50 financial firm just north of you and I get $150K plus $15K bonus although I started in 2010 at 65K doing access administration and transferred roles in 2015. You do 50x The work I do and you're getting paid 50% less. Wtf people?

[-]

WeekendNew7276@reddit

You're worth what someone's willing to pay. I never understood why so many people want to be w2 employees in the tech world. Be a contractor. The world is yours. Take it.

[-]

Bw1zzle@reddit

I would say with what you are doing. It’s 100-130k

[-]

definitelyusername@reddit

That's a lot of responsibilities and skills but it also depends where you live. If you're in Rockford, IL? That seems pretty fair. San Francisco? You're being taken for a ride my friend.

[-]

belgarion90@reddit

> Rockford, IL I'd want a lot more than that to live north of I-80

[-]

DToX_@reddit

As someone who is currently working in Rockford I believe he's worth 75-85k and if he's managing others I'd push that up.

[-]

burnte@reddit

Not just SF, but a lot of CA. I love my California guys but the pay is a lot higher than commensurate jobs in GA. Cost of living makes it all even, so I absolutely do not mind paying more so they get the same level as my other people. It just feels wrong to have those differences.

[-]

djgleebs@reddit

Yes, you are. Give yourself a promotion by finding a new position that pays you more.

[-]

OldLondon@reddit

I’d say why the hell aren’t you contracting and doubling your money?

[-]

ohfucknotthisagain@reddit

Most employers are happy to watch you skill up while offering nothing in return. But here's the big question that determines your market rate: **Do you do these tasks strictly as assigned/requested, or are you also designing the infrastructure and processes around these tasks?** It's expertise, discretion, and ownership that really push your salary up. If you're matching up the needs of the business with technical solutions on a regular basis, you're underpaid. If you're mostly pushing the buttons that need to be pressed in response to tasking/requests, then you're roughly on par for an average cost-of-living area.

[-]

WWGHIAFTC@reddit

My issue that I see, is you are describing simple single tasks and not talking about ownership, planning, and lifecycle management of items. Most of this sounds like tech work, or jr admin / entry level supervised work to me. If you are good at it, and efficient, I see no reason not to get 75k for it.

[-]

tectail@reddit

I ditto this. I do most if not all of this on my entry level help desk job. Part of it is that I seek out these things, but it is definitely the expectation where I work. I make $18/hr btw.

[-]

skorpiolt@reddit

Just reading the first few lines, 75k easily, and as a lot people noted depending on location that figure can jump up massively. I’m not in a city but am in between a few medium sized state cities so 75k would be just about minimum pay.

[-]

Unable-Entrance3110@reddit

I think that 75k for that sounds pretty reasonable. I have definitely seen people make more for less work as well as people who make less and do way more work. I don't make much more than this and your list is about 1/8 of my responsibilities.

[-]

love2code20@reddit

Yes. 75k is a more appropriate salary for your skill set. Good luck OP!

[-]

bong_crits@reddit

Base pay is almost meaningless - what is the Total Compensation Package? You need to include the value of Health Insurance, 401k matching, vacation, bonuses, etc - this is can be a +0-50% modifier to base pay.

[-]

rms141@reddit

>Am I worth 75k? You're worth whatever you can get.

[-]

ultratensai@reddit

You will need to share examples on how you troubleshoot things. Discovering the root cause is harder part.

[-]

Footmana5@reddit

You gotta look at inflation... $61,000 in 2019 is worth $75,000 today. And $75,000 in 2019 is equivelent to $92,024 today. Money doesnt go as far as it used to, in just 5 years inflation is up 21%. When I was making $75k I had several roommates.

[-]

Subnetwork@reddit

Cincinnati is a cheap COL area. I’m in Lexington. If it wasn’t for remote work I wouldn’t live here. Salaries are too low.

[-]

hideinplainsight@reddit

Its impossible to value you given the data you described. Creating a GPO can take 5 minutes, or 5 hours or 5 days depending on the complexity, environment size etc. Same with Email delivery issues? Are you talking about an email stuck in your spam filter? Or was the message dropped because of a rule? Test the waters of the job market and you will get your answer.

[-]

Anonymous1Ninja@reddit

All the stuff you mentioned doesn't translate to actual value since an MSP could do the same thing. You understand this, right?

[-]

mammaryglands@reddit

Stop talking about what you do, start talking about what problems you'll solve, and you'll be worth 120

[-]

AudiACar@reddit

Happy cake day

[-]

gokarrt@reddit

yeah and highlight project work. the "notable projects" section of my resume did a lot more heavy lifting than my checklist of daily tasks.

[-]

0126500551@reddit

Can you give me an example please? i have the same problem he has

[-]

WolfetoneRebel@reddit

See if there are proactive thins you can implement rather than everything just being reactive. For example with DNS - go for DMARC, DNSSEC, MTA-STS, BIMI to improve your estate overall. Looks at what gaps you have and what could be necessary and valuable for your company.

[-]

pipisicle@reddit

"Automated the infrastructure deployment for applications. This reduced the overall number of DNS related incidents by 30%, increased the application availability sla by X% and eliminated application outages caused by DNS and .... to 0 over the past year."

[-]

iizakore@reddit

Sorry did you submit a ticket for these “problems” you speak of?

[-]

deltashmelta@reddit

"No. I'm am very important, and jumping the queue and standard process with impunity...again!1" #sendhelp

[-]

stebswahili@reddit

This reply made me chuckle

[-]

stebswahili@reddit

I work on the sales side of IT, not the admin side, but this comment hits it on the head. What is a salary negotiation other than an opportunity to sell yourself? The best way to sell yourself is to display problem solving ability. Fixing problems as they come is far less valuable than identifying the source of those problems and preventing them from happening again. Preventing problems from occurring is far more valuable than fixing problems quickly. You can land that higher paying job! You just need to shift the focus of your story a bit. If you only focus on the labor you provide you’ll be seen as a replaceable commodity, and your pay will reflect that. If you focus on the value you provide, you’ll be recognized and compensated accordingly.

[-]

nichetcher@reddit

Unless you’re in a leadership role in IT in the Midwest, you’ll be under $75K. Tell your company you’d like to deploy a team of 2-4 techs to accomplish several tasks, and then proceed to lead said team for 6 months or so and then go back to your company and show them how you’ve led the team to success and saved them money. A raise is determined by what they understand you do, no how much you think you’ve done. You’re probably worth more than $75K easily, but not as a pee-on tier employee. Make them understand that you’re willing to take responsibility and some pressure off of them subsequently.

[-]

Bitter-Inflation5843@reddit

I tell you one thing, they sure know how to compensate IT guys in America. In my country a guy ay a 1000+ company who is the CTO, CISO and senior systems administrator can make 50k.

[-]

Six_O_Sick@reddit

That's what I was thinking... Doing all the things OP stated and I get 35k in Germany...

[-]

Bitter-Inflation5843@reddit

Same in Sweden.

[-]

jekksy@reddit

“It’s not how much you deserved. It’s how much you bargained for”

[-]

sdb81@reddit

Yes. I would say so. If your current employer disagrees, then it’s time to find a new job.

[-]

reviewmynotes@reddit

Perhaps this can help. https://www.bls.gov/bls/wages.htm

[-]

Missy1726@reddit

I do a decent amount of that and my total comp is around 120k in GA, I would ask for more imo

[-]

AV1978@reddit

100% depends on your location. You don't indicate how long you've been in the field or give us any relevant information to give you a more accurate determination.

[-]

spermcell@reddit

Youre probably worth at least 100k at the right company.

[-]

ElevenNotes@reddit

Your worth comes from within, not from external validation or your salary. It’s how you treat people around you and how you make your microcosmos a better world. Not your salary.

[-]

No_Difference_8660@reddit

Shame the microcosmos don’t pay the bills

[-]

ElevenNotes@reddit

It’s just money.

[-]

iamamisicmaker473737@reddit

if i job hired you for 75 you'll know then you can look higher 😀

[-]

malikto44@reddit

The Windows admins I see doing that are making 100-140k, in Austin, if that helps any, with stock bonuses (RSUs, grants, etc.) I'd get the certs, just because in the Windows ecosystem right now, certs are everything and everything. Perhaps make the company, if they have a training budget, send you to boot camp so you can spend a week learning that stuff, testing and getting those. Also, don't forget the job market is the worst it has been in 24 years, even worse than 2008 levels, so expect to be lowballed at least until 2024 is over.

[-]

DeerEnvironmental544@reddit

Look around bro ur worth alot more I do 100% remote similar shit I make 120k plus benefits etc I dknt do long hrs I have a great team we just go around gutting companies for private equity it's good fun

[-]

phrackk@reddit

I live in the Midwest and make 120K as a Sysadmin at a law firm, and pretty much just COL increases the past 5 years. Underpaid is what I’d say.

[-]

Gintox@reddit

I personally feel like you low balling yourself and I would personally pay you more.

[-]

lemungan@reddit

Shits expensive as fuck. You're worth it.

[-]

libertyprivate@reddit

Give him an offer!

[-]

Areaman6@reddit

Nope! You can give it to me

[-]

Kendro_Boudrizmo@reddit

Im in Seattle and this looks like 6 figures to me. Undervaluing yourself a bit in my opinion.

[-]

I-Like-IT-Stuff@reddit

You're worth 40k.

[-]

PurpleAd3935@reddit

Bro I make like 85k and I do way less than you ,that is a 95-125k responsibilities job at least

[-]

Sandfish0783@reddit

Wages depend so much on the org and their IT budget. I made 60k at my first administrator role (2nd IT job), in a fairly low cost of living area. By year 5 that was 80k with no certs and an AAS degree, similar responsibility to what you list. Time and experience seems to be a big part of it too, as I was able to pivot into 120k with less responsibilities just advising clients on the same techs.

[-]

AndyPandyFoFandy@reddit

*looks up average Cincinnati house price* I think you’re killing it at $75k bud. Don’t compare with sysadmins on the west coast or huge cities. A typical house in California is 4x what it costs in Cincy. I think you’re doing just fine.

[-]

pertexted@reddit

You're worth what you're willing to work for without conning yourself out of what you want to work for.

[-]

baldiesrt@reddit

With those skills, you’re easily worth $160k before bonus in nyc.

[-]

LumpyNefariousness2@reddit

You have a lot of skill in different areas. Is the company on the smaller side? If you’re working and touching so many different technologies, I’d assume something small. I’d look at other companies and sell yourself on the interviews.

[-]

anevilpotatoe@reddit

Pretty much me...Though I bargained at 95k for my position. You have wiggle room my dude.

[-]

Kahless_2K@reddit

75k easily. The right company will get you to 100 within a few years.

[-]

mickeys_stepdad@reddit

You’re worth 120k minimum.

[-]

Distinct_Spite8089@reddit

YES really more tbh depending on market but i make that and have less responsibilities as a support analyst.

[-]

evantom34@reddit

All depends on COL. Your skills are more than mine and I’m at 100K in the Bay.

[-]

Essex626@reddit

Your current job will not get you from 60k to 75k, or at least not in a span of time shorter than 3 years or so. If you think you’re worth that, you likely need to find a different job. My current job I’ve gone from about 65 to 80, but that’s over the course of almost 4 years, and I’m not very ambitious so I’m happy with that. If you want to make more money, you will not do so waiting for your employer to realize that you deserve it. You will have to go make it happen. Skill up, learn to automate the tasks you’re doing, track measurable accomplishments for your resume, and find a job that will pay what you want.