sooo..IT worker bees...

[Journer]

obviously there are a lot of factors...but lets be general...for the most part

after i graduate I will look like:

22 yr old
bachelors in MIS
operated my own small business to pay for college (4yrs)
2yrs of internship with Computer Sciences Corp (high school)
studied abroad (would any employer care?)
good grades
CCNA, A+
previous geek squad agent


there?s more but basically i've got a good amount of exp. already and i'm still a sophomore (so more internships to come, hopefully)

realistically speaking...what would a person of my qualifications be making in the IT industry...i'm not aiming for any specific job...just something entry level to get the ball rolling..

my dad thinks i could start around 40k? true? less? more?

i know i'm being broad...my apologies


edit: sp

 

[Aimster]

My friend makes $15/hour

He has an MIS from GMU

& then I know people with no college education making $100k+ with certifications and experience

 

[Journer]

Originally posted by: Aimster
My friend makes $15/hour

He has an MIS from GMU

& then I know people with no college education making $100k+ with certifications and experience

yikes! i was making $15 in high school O_O

 

[Aimster]

Originally posted by: Journer

Originally posted by: Aimster
My friend makes $15/hour

He has an MIS from GMU

& then I know people with no college education making $100k+ with certifications and experience

yikes! i was making $15 in high school O_O

well I think a college degree in MIS is only helpful for promotions and not getting a job.

You have your CCNA and that alone could bring you 40-60k. The degree in MIS will help you if you are ever up for promotion.

 

[Journer]

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Journer

Originally posted by: Aimster
My friend makes $15/hour

He has an MIS from GMU

& then I know people with no college education making $100k+ with certifications and experience

yikes! i was making $15 in high school O_O

well I think a college degree in MIS is only helpful for promotions and not getting a job.

You have your CCNA and that alone could bring you 40-60k. The degree in MIS will help you if you are ever up for promotion.

mmmm doublefull of 40k with ccna...maybe ccnp + exp...
agreed...i'm really hoping our program is as good as people say...supposedly we have 100% job placement...so maybe i will get lucky and land a good one @_@

 

[petejk]

where do you plan to work at?

bay area? so cal? BFE?

 

[Journer]

hell no, hell no, and BFE?

ide rather not work in CA if possible...40k here (southeast) is a good amount....there it's next to nothing...not to mention i would want more money for having to live in a state with so many regulations...it would drain the life out of me

 

[Injury]

In a place like Alabama, the hard part is getting the job... which means it's easier than negotiating a reasonable salary.

 

[Journer]

meh...theres lots of big headquarters here...healthsouth, amsouth, regions, mercedes has a plant here, so does honda and hyundai...
i'm willing to go where the money is at...i just dont wana go to CA...CO is cool, WA seems nice, NV, TX, VA, ...all cool...FL sucks, lol

 

[probzy]

40k a year

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: probzy
40k a year

I agree. from the sounds of it, I think you can hit the roof top without getting too much sun burn on your pretty face.

But if you're hardcore, you will not settle for a typical IT job after your few years after college. You will get sick of it, anyway.

Keep your options open though, depending on if you want to move up the food chain in the corporate ladder, going back to school, or if you become so depressed with your career you want to study something else and become good at it.

Don't forget about what that other guy said, a college degree makes you smarter, but it doesn't always guarantee a bigger pay check alone. Welcome to the real world.

 

[BHeemsoth]

The average salary at my school for CIS majors (more technical than MIS, less thechnical than CS) was $55k last year.

 

[DaiShan]

You haven't even told us what you want to do. Entry level Programmers, Systems administrators, and tech support all have very different salaries. In the southeast you can expect ~30-35k for entry level programming. Just remember, making $70k/year doing tech support in Manhattan probably won't even pay the bills, so higher salary != higher standard of living.

 

[sao123]

In PA, Entry level salary is about 36-43k...

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: sao123
In PA, Entry level salary is about 36-43k...

 

[Mellman]

do you have or can you get a security clearance? You can start double that doing gov't contracting with a clearance...but if you've smoked pot a bunch nevermind, done more than pot nevermind!

And dont work geek squad ever again...if i saw that on a resume I'd run, as a whole (and this is how most managers will judge) They're the biggest bunch of morons!

 

[ngvepforever2]

Originally posted by: Aimster
My friend makes $15/hour

He has an MIS from GMU

& then I know people with no college education making $100k+ with certifications and experience

It's very likely your friend graduated with no experience (even then, 15 bucks/hr in VA is pretty low unless he is an intern or something). Two of my buddies who use to intern where I do also with MIS from GMU ( I am a CS Major though) and make around 60K/year. My other friend who graduated last year with a CS Major and also two years of experience working for a govmt contractor now makes around 80K/year. I believe it's a combination of the experience you have, how smart you are and how good at networking you are that will give you better chances at making more money.

Regards

ng

 

[lokiju]

Considering more and more places are trying to pay less and less for IT, I'd say it all depends on where you live and just luck and timing.

Disgust me to see how little some positions are trying to pay these days for skills that are valued well above it.

Companies will pay as little as they can for a position and with sooo many IT people in need of jobs, a lot of them will be filled at a very low rate.

 

[Descartes]

With experience I think you could see $60k on the high end, but only if you're competitive; that is, if you exhibit some qualities that help you stand out. Some companies, especially smaller companies, look for people with a solid foundation that they can build. Some larger companies will often invest in you as well if they think you have promise. I know of a few financial companies and accounting firms that pay very, very well if you're good. If you take a very low-responsibility position in a larger company, then I think you'll probably see $40-$50k.

As others have said, networking is what will increase your pay. It's very much who you know, the quality of experience you get and how well you perform. The better people in IT easily make $100k; in fact, I don't know of any quality IT person that makes less than $100k, and everywhere from Oklahoma to New York.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: lokiju
Considering more and more places are trying to pay less and less for IT, I'd say it all depends on where you live and just luck and timing.

Disgust me to see how little some positions are trying to pay these days for skills that are valued well above it.

Companies will pay as little as they can for a position and with sooo many IT people in need of jobs, a lot of them will be filled at a very low rate.

What makes you say this? I run an IT business in multiple states, and all of my clients express the same problem we have: You can't find quality people. Pay has increased over the past year, and I can confirm this through a variety of resources: Large-scale staffing firms, firms that represent the bottom of the market, have started increasing their bottom pay rates to find anyone to fill these positions.

I interviewed over 250 people in the past year for multiple projects, and out of that we found 50, many of which were on H1B; out of that, only about 10 are actually talented. That's not an exaggeration. It's an industry problem, and pay is increasing to meet it.

 

[FoBoT]

depends on where you work and what you do

if you get a phone center job doing phone support, it'll be less than if you get an entry level project management or analyst job

 

[XxPrOdiGyxX]

Originally posted by: Journer
obviously there are a lot of factors...but lets be general...for the most part

after i graduate I will look like:

22 yr old
bachelors in MIS
operated my own small business to pay for college (4yrs)
2yrs of internship with Computer Sciences Corp (high school)
studied abroad (would any employer care?)
good grades
CCNA, A+
previous geek squad agent


there?s more but basically i've got a good amount of exp. already and i'm still a sophomore (so more internships to come, hopefully)

realistically speaking...what would a person of my qualifications be making in the IT industry...i'm not aiming for any specific job...just something entry level to get the ball rolling..

my dad thinks i could start around 40k? true? less? more?

i know i'm being broad...my apologies


edit: sp

$40K is more than possible. I make 50K with no college degree as a software engineer (Second IT Job).

 

[Tommouse]

I have done some job hunting and careerbuilder says the low end of System Admin or Net Admin in Boston is 55 or 60k respectively. I?m graduating in the spring with a Network and Systems Administration BS ? hence the job searching

Descartes - I hope you're right as I believe I fall into the quality category, albeit inexperienced.