IT people -- am I paid fairly?

jtr8178

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
266
Am I crazy to ask for a raise? Here is my situation:

- Currently titled IT Manager
- 230-ish employee's in the company, 150 PCs/laptops
- I'm responsible for everything from new employee setup (email, AD, Cisco Call Manager, vendor websites, etc...) to desktop support to networking.
- We will be hiring someone to help me do desktop support in the next 60 days, which will work under me
- I manage our document archiving system, all servers including Kaspersky anti-virus, domain (and back-up) controllers, Exchange server, internal business system, all wireless routers, all switches/routers/ASA's, etc... Basically if it is anything to do with a computer, networking, printing, faxing, or anything mobile, I'm the guy.

I currently make $70,000 salary, work around 50 hours per week, all normal hours. I'm obviously "on call" at nights and weekends if an emergency comes up. I get another $10,000 per year in bonus, so $80k total.

To top it off, I'm also in charge of marketing for the entire company, plus I started an online/eBay store about 2 years ago that is still under my control. We generate around $800,000 per year off of that.

I do most things myself, but have vendors to help with CallManager and networking that gets beyond the basics. I setup all the new phones, change ring patterns, etc... When there is some issue that arises, I call in the "experts" and let them have at it.

So what do you think? Should i ask for a raise?
 
Salary is highly dependent on location.

For NYC, you're underpaid. For the middle of Iowa, you're probably doing quite well.

But, you're doing too much for one person. Get someone to handle desktop, helpdesk and the basic end user issues and scale back your hours to normal 40 hour weeks.

IT and marketing is an odd combination. The two personality types don't often meet. That should also probably be done by others, though it depends on what type of marketing you're doing.
 
I wouldn't say you are actually an IT manager I would say lead tech. I have had roles with very similar spec to yours just on a larger scale with 3 subordinates but we still had an IT manager above me.

I looked after 1000 users in every time zone

MCP, CCNA, CCA, ITIL v3 and I was paid about $46000. I think you are doing quite well.

I am now in a team of 9 who look after 2000 servers and 8,000 users and still don't get near your pay grade, I earn about $58,000
 
Last edited:
As said... answer will vary base on your location.

70k for a town where house cost nothing: Great!
70k close or in any big city: You are getting your butt rape

But at the same time there always a moron somewhere that will do the job for less.
 
As already stated it depends on your location, but *generally* speaking you're under paid.

If I was offered 70K I'd reply "Well I'm actually looking for a full-time position" :)
 
I wouldn't say you are actually an IT manager I would say lead tech. I have had roles with very similar spec to yours just on a larger scale with 3 subordinates but we still had an IT manager above me.

I looked after 1000 users in every time zone

MCP, CCNA, CCA, ITIL v3 and I was paid about $46000. I think you are doing quite well.

I am now in a team of 9 who look after 2000 servers and 8,000 users and still don't get near your pay grade, I earn about $58,000

You are way underpaid sir! ^^

To the OP, you're only going to get paid as much as what you're willing to ask for. There is always a risk in asking for a raise, but you need to be willing to have a little risk to pursue more pay. Could someone walk right in a fill in your position with no gaps in service quality? While you're marketing that eBay store, don't forget to market yourself as well :) Best of luck
 
I wouldn't say you are actually an IT manager I would say lead tech. I have had roles with very similar spec to yours just on a larger scale with 3 subordinates but we still had an IT manager above me.

I looked after 1000 users in every time zone

MCP, CCNA, CCA, ITIL v3 and I was paid about $46000. I think you are doing quite well.

I am now in a team of 9 who look after 2000 servers and 8,000 users and still don't get near your pay grade, I earn about $58,000

Do you work for the government or something? I'd say your underpaid for all that you do depending on location of course. I know people in that type of environment making nearly twice that or more with great benefits and overtime.
 
all depends on location, as everyone else said. In NYC or SF, I'd say do you get to sleep in the same cot at the shelter each night, or is it first come first serve. Here in IA, I'd say that's pretty fair.
 
See this:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1677321

I make around the same before overtime. 70 users, 100 internal systems, 200+ external. I too am hiring a Jr. Admin/Helpdesk. I definitely feel underpaid some days, but I make more then my last job and I get to work for an amazing company/amazing hardware. Overall I trust my company to reward my hard work, but I have not been here long enough to know if I get a bonus/raise.
 
I don't make anything near that and i cover 16 different sites, i handle all networking, servers, asa's, software deployment, and imaging. One of my sites alone has over 1k computers and they have 7 different buildings around town....

It all depends on where you live as stated, my 55k/year is decent for where i live so i can't really complain. The trick is if you are happy with what you do every day, be happy with the pay. A crap job that pays more is shit compared to a great job and alright pay.
 
You should be getting a raise for taking on an underling alone. Yes, you're highly underpaid. The others in this thread talking about how much less they get paid either work in the boonies, or just have no idea how much to ask for.
 
I don't make anything near that and i cover 16 different sites, i handle all networking, servers, asa's, software deployment, and imaging. One of my sites alone has over 1k computers and they have 7 different buildings around town....

It all depends on where you live as stated, my 55k/year is decent for where i live so i can't really complain. The trick is if you are happy with what you do every day, be happy with the pay. A crap job that pays more is shit compared to a great job and alright pay.

This.


Another thing to consider, when was the last time you had a review/raise? Is it an annual thing or random? Also, having someone below you to handle basic support will really help lighten your load, once hes up to speed. That should lower you hours per week, which obviously makes your actual $/hr higher.
 
Do you work for the government or something? I'd say your underpaid for all that you do depending on location of course. I know people in that type of environment making nearly twice that or more with great benefits and overtime.

The government actually pays very well, sometimes too well for some people.
 
i do pretty much the same as you, only i do EVERYTHING, vendors don't help me...

although i don't have a store, so i don't do that...

also i have 350 users... ~20 so servers, ~25 locations (with a VPN i built), and 5 PBXes adding probably 20 more... also built the PBXs myself...

i have one tech working for me...

i make 39k

although it is really criminal, and i'll be making somewhere around 50k by the end of next month whether i'm work here or not... every position i've had here i've had created for me, they have no idea what they should be paying... or if they do they're fleecing me, either way things will change soon

the local govt has a desktop support position open for 49k/year which i just interviewed for and did really well, if they offer me the position i'll negotiate with current company, but they'll have to beat the price not match, and they'll have to beat it by a hefty margin...

i'd be quite happy with 70k... honestly i'd be QUITE happy with 55... which is about what it'd take to get me to stay here...
 
Just because you'd be happy with a certain number doesn't mean his pay is adequate for what he's doing, or what you're doing.

IT is booming again in the US. If you're an underpaid sysadmin, ask for a raise or find a new job. Having a CCNA you should be at 70k with no manager responsibilities.
 
I manage 40 Network roughly 80 servers about 1100 users. I make 36k/year officially, I am self employed and I also get dividends which are what ever my company makes at the end of the year.
 
The government actually pays very well, sometimes too well for some people.

Government wanted to pay me 13 and some change for heavy tier 2 support, light tier 3. This would be over 70 off site locations......every day going to them. Working 37hrs a week (but clocking 40).


I work for a bank doing heavy tier 2 support, and very very light tier 1 support (phones get flooded, we take over). And I make almost double the 13/hr


OP, if its any consolation. The head of IT makes around 100k a year with bonuses....


I make almost 50k.....I hold no cert's or anythig of interest. Hands on exp. Go work for a bank!!!!
 
I make around $60k for managing a dozen servers and couple hundred users. Except I don't do the desktop support.
Network is taken care of by different folks.

:p
 
I manage 40 Network roughly 80 servers about 1100 users. I make 36k/year officially, I am self employed and I also get dividends which are what ever my company makes at the end of the year.

$36k or £36k?

I am going for my VMware certs next then a ccnp I expect my value to rise.
 
Wow this thread is quite an eye opener in terms of pay rates.

I am currently a Network Admin for a school district as a contractor. I handle servers, networking gear and some desktop side stuff. Only have MCP, A+ and Net+ currently. Making $55k per year. Once I finish up some certs that should go up a bit.
 
Wow, some people in here need to demand more from their employers. Granted every situation is different and if you like what you do then sometimes money isn't that big of a deal.

OP it sounds to me like you are doing pretty well from what I have seen in the industry. The only thing I would suggest is that if you can actually pitch to your boss that you have added considerably value to the company (this ebay project) then you should be directly benefiting from that in raises/bonus. IT is usually a cost center for companies but if you are actually adding value back then you have some very good arguments.

I am a network admin at a school. I handle all the server and networking equipment as well as some helpdesk, we have a full time helpdesk guy that I assist from time to time. MCP, CSSA, CCENT, etc. Making $57k currently.
 
Wow this thread is quite an eye opener in terms of pay rates.

I am currently a Network Admin for a school district as a contractor. I handle servers, networking gear and some desktop side stuff. Only have MCP, A+ and Net+ currently. Making $55k per year. Once I finish up some certs that should go up a bit.

it really is. i am a help desk / database specialist at a health center with about 500 employees, and i make 50k. it seems pay can very a lot.
 
Everyone keep in mind that to some degree payrates will vary with the local cost of living. $100k in Cali where housing is crazy, may be a close equivalent to $50k elsewhere in the country.

That being said, I was the head of a one man IT shop for a local Oil and Gas Station/C-Store chain for 5 years and was at 55k, andthat was everything from networking, to VPN, to POS, and near the end heavy SQL BI stuff. Now, I'm a consultant, and it's a bit different :p
 
I currently am at 58k USD. At present I'm basically just a helpdesk / customer service tech for a tiny company (11 employees). We have a bunch of customers (~60 right now, each customer has between 15 and 50 users) and are taking on many more at the end of this year. At that time I'm going to be moved to more of a sys admin position (managing our Hyper-V ASP/SaaS infrastructure for the customers, managing customer databases etc.). I'm told that switch will include a raise in January, though not sure how much as of yet. I live about 12 miles out of a large city, but cost of living here isn't terribly high.
 
Everyone keep in mind that to some degree payrates will vary with the local cost of living. $100k in Cali where housing is crazy, may be a close equivalent to $50k elsewhere in the country.

That being said, I was the head of a one man IT shop for a local Oil and Gas Station/C-Store chain for 5 years and was at 55k, andthat was everything from networking, to VPN, to POS, and near the end heavy SQL BI stuff. Now, I'm a consultant, and it's a bit different :p

Where I live. If you're making 100k....you're living like a king......What I make, its easy to get a 2k sqft house recent build with a nice yard etc..... Charleston, SC is easily the best place to live and work. Its easy to afford anything, even on a small budget......

Once again, I have no certs making almost 50k. I could only imagine what the tier 3 guys are pulling in each year with their MCSE and ITTL and such......
 
Am I crazy to ask for a raise? Here is my situation:

- Currently titled IT Manager
- 230-ish employee's in the company, 150 PCs/laptops
- I'm responsible for everything from new employee setup (email, AD, Cisco Call Manager, vendor websites, etc...) to desktop support to networking.
- We will be hiring someone to help me do desktop support in the next 60 days, which will work under me
- I manage our document archiving system, all servers including Kaspersky anti-virus, domain (and back-up) controllers, Exchange server, internal business system, all wireless routers, all switches/routers/ASA's, etc... Basically if it is anything to do with a computer, networking, printing, faxing, or anything mobile, I'm the guy.

I currently make $70,000 salary, work around 50 hours per week, all normal hours. I'm obviously "on call" at nights and weekends if an emergency comes up. I get another $10,000 per year in bonus, so $80k total.

To top it off, I'm also in charge of marketing for the entire company, plus I started an online/eBay store about 2 years ago that is still under my control. We generate around $800,000 per year off of that.

I do most things myself, but have vendors to help with CallManager and networking that gets beyond the basics. I setup all the new phones, change ring patterns, etc... When there is some issue that arises, I call in the "experts" and let them have at it.

So what do you think? Should i ask for a raise?


If you are around here and at that pay, then I know 10 people right off that would kill for that position and even would work for less.
 
Here's the secret IT rule: You are underpaid.

I don't need specifics, I don't need to know what you do. I don't need to know what you're paid. All I need to know is that you work in IT. IT usually doesn't get pay raises the same way other professions do. We get raises by changing companies. While it is almost always a bad idea to accept a counter offer from your current company, but it is acceptable to return to that company after several years away ( for a boost in pay ).

By all means ask for a raise, but also start putting your resume out there and see who bites. If you get a big enough bite, take it.
 
Agree. I've always said to folks that a new job is the raise you're looking for. When $ goes sour where I'm working with what I'm doing, I start looking.

The job I have now is great to me and is the first job that I've had where I actually felt like it.

I'm still riding the high of "I like my work, it's interesting, and I'm well paid"

My big question is they're asking me to consider moving towards management which will obviously boost my pay and ability to move amongst management roles.
 
If you are around here and at that pay, then I know 10 people right off that would kill for that position and even would work for less.

And would be worse at the job, hence the reason they're not in it. :rolleyes:
 
That all depends on where you're living. If you were in the Dallas area like I am I'd say you're about there. I think with the addition of someone to take the desktop support / help desk burden off your plate as well as provide an on-call rotational could also be a raise to your lifestyle outside of work. That should allow for you to not work as many hours period.

The whole extra marketing stuff you're doing is kinda tough. The fact that you have a monetary value on your contribution does help your raise argument. Otherwise it would be helpful for you to show how much money you're saving with IT skillset as well. (prevented outages and such)
 
OP: Not a bad pay for a small company. The downside is you get ALL the work being a one man shop. Find a nice 500-1000 user company where different people do different things and you can get the same pay for "just" managing servers, for instance.
 
OP: Not a bad pay for a small company. The downside is you get ALL the work being a one man shop. Find a nice 500-1000 user company where different people do different things and you can get the same pay for "just" managing servers, for instance.
You know, I used to think that. But it's been my experience that if you are the kind of person that can, and often does, wear many "hats", you will no matter where you go.

Which isn't a bad thing, especially if you are aware of how valuable you are to any company you work for.
 
Depending on your area, you're most likely underpaid. That position for a small company in the DC area is easily over 100k plus at least one helpdesk guy. Helpdesk guys start 30-50k depending on the work... If business is good, you should at least ask for 1-2 guys, either both helpdesk or even a jr admin to do the time consuming work and split the on call times. Plus, you can take a short vacation without getting called for something. Also, most companies do have a whole separate budget for marketing dept or at least a couple people staffing that. You could wait until your company grows big, then ask for a VP or CTO position and the 6 figure pay that comes with that....
 
Thanks for all the replies. I actually do a bit more than what I would consider a "system administrator".

Example: We are looking at converting our internal business system to a new vendor (We spend around $1 million every 5 years with our current vendor), so I've been the one responsible for researching replacements, flying to other companies running comparative software to compare, cranking our ROIs tables, doing presentations for internal employees, etc...

At a company this size, there aren't too many IT literate people around here. About 99% of the changes are coming from IT to the masses. IE, it was my idea to digitize documents, utilize an electronic document management system, create internal groups to evaluate processes, etc...

I also have over 15 years experience in my industry, which really helps this position. I've worked in virtually every department in my industry (From front-line, to sales, to accounting, various management positions, etc...) so I have a great understanding of what managers/directors are trying to accomplish... Such as when one of our locations had an inventory problem where they were losing $40,000 per year in "lost" inventory, I implemented the software, configuration, & training so that it went to virtually zero.

The marketing also ties in very well with IT in a lot of caes -- We use our CRM system to track/manage leads that come through various sources (Websites, 1-800 #'s, call centers, etc...) to figure out response rates, close rates, cost per lead, etc... You need a good tie-in with IT to be able to track & manage all that stuff... Of course, I'm also setting up a Customer Appreciate Day at our HQ, which has nothing at all to do with IT. :)

What I've realized in a lot of the responses is that some of you are really underpaid, but I guess every situation is different. My gut tells me that if I was to leave, they would hire 2 people to replace me, and it would set them behind 6-9 months, if not longer. Throw that on top of the $800,000 in sales we do via eBay, a $10,000 raise seems pretty small in the scheme of things. Hopefully I can communicate that when I ask for the money!

Also -- I was at the Microsoft Server 2012 Product Launch in Charlotte yesterday. They said they had a datacenter with 800,000 servers, and only 15 people employed to manage all that.... So those of you listed the # of users/servers, you now have a new standard of 53,000-ish servers per staff. ;)
 
What I've realized in a lot of the responses is that some of you are really underpaid, but I guess every situation is different. My gut tells me that if I was to leave, they would hire 2 people to replace me, and it would set them behind 6-9 months, if not longer. Throw that on top of the $800,000 in sales we do via eBay, a $10,000 raise seems pretty small in the scheme of things. Hopefully I can communicate that when I ask for the money!
It does seem pretty small in the scheme of things ( *significant look* ).

In negotiations, your first offer should illicit a "HELL NO" reaction from them ( but not so extreme that they call negotiations done ). I would treat this as any other presentation; outline what value you have created in the company, equivalent salary and work load requirements for others in your area, then put forth how much you'd like for a raise. Obviously I'm shooting off the cuff here, but +40g sounds like it'd still be a real deal for both of you ( company and you ).

When negotiating, you do not give up ANYTHING unless you get something in return. You go in there with +40g ( made up number ) on the table, they'll try to talk you down, so have some "soft options" ready to throw out. What do I mean by "Soft options"? Work from home, paid lunches, increased company contribution to 401ks, equipment stipends ( for "business development" ), educational budgets ( for tech classes and certifications ), increased vacation allocation.

These are not simply pay options, and in most cases companies can use them to better their tax situation.

ADDED: Be warned, negotiating might trip company bean counters to investigate replacement options for your position. This is a normal and acceptable reaction, and they should absolutely reevaluate high level positions for waste on a routine basis. You can only help yourself by remaining calm and collected throughout the process. Be a nice guy, but be a nice guy that's aware of his worth and what he brings to the company. You aren't really asking them for a raise; you are asking them for a reason to stay. To not look for other positions.
 
Back
Top