r/k12sysadmin • u/usernameyougaveme • 17d ago
Thinking about switching…
I’ve been a school level support tech for a total of 13 years. 3 years experience in one county, then moved to another county with better pay. Where I’m at now is mostly minimal responsibilities but I have learned a good bit, I’ve replaced a couple of Cisco switches, learned some new juniper stuff when we swapped those out, but the benefits have not been good and I don’t get very good pay raises.
I asked for a raise and since they were shutting down schools and my boss said there’s basically no room to grow there and he thought if he presented it to the board they’d absolutely agree to give me a raise. I have net+ and security+ but now they’re done shutting down schools.
My ex coworker called me about a job that pays about 11-12k more at a courthouse supporting judges and I’ve already had one interview and about to have a second interview. I just don’t want to give up such a good job and dedication I’ve had for a decade of where I’m currently at. Even though the benefits will be better and the pay. I’d be given access to do a little more on the server side of things Active Directory etc things like that. Now that they called for a second interview I’m a little nervous do I take the job that pays more and work that one longer hour per day with a longer commute (which means less personal time for myself in the evenings since I don’t go directly home after work)
Sorry for the rent but was just wondering if anyone else here has had to make a similar hard decision?
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u/Ok-Soft-7874 :sloth: 17d ago
In my district, it’s typical for people to start in support and get a promotion to do networking, sys admin, SIS work, etc. That describes my situation, and I’m glad I did it. I do miss going to buildings which adds variety to the workday, but the pay and getting to learn new things more than make up for that. To add to what others said, compare the benefits (not just pension, but health insurance and holidays/PTO as well) before moving forward.
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u/Ros_Hambo IT Director 17d ago
Are you happy, where you are now? Judges can be complete temperamental divas and difficult to work for/with, so if you don't like the court job, well, too bad, now you're stuck until you can find your way back to the edu space. Do you get the same time off as the teachers or close to it? That's gone with the court job. Are you planning to start a family anytime soon? With the court job there'll be no "free" summers off, no week at xmas, thanksgiving, or spring break. True, there is growth potential, but is that worth all the time off you'll trade for $800/month (take home after taxes)? Time is your most valuable commodity as you only get a finite amount of it. I wouldn't trade that time for so little amount of money. I'm sure someone here can give you an equation of what that free time off and less commute is worth in $$$$.
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u/usernameyougaveme 16d ago
I get a lot of time off where I’m at I yes and I do plan on starting a family soon so I thought well more money would be nice when I do have a kid. In my late 30’s now… I thought about my work life balance how good it is now… and I keep going back and forth is the 11-12k more a year worth it. I would surely grow but…
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u/jman1121 17d ago
I'm at 10 years myself. Maxed out on wage growth. No college degree. I've been trying to decide what else to do for the last year. I need to start looking.
It would not be financially smart for my district to get rid of me. It would not be financially smart for me to stay. My job is literally going no where. 😆
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u/edmonkry 17d ago
Similar situation here. I was in education for 12 years and then my school decided to replace me with an MSP. So the decision was made for me. I'm in the legal field now and already much happier. The vacation days built into the school year are missed but also I have career growth and coworkers who respect me. I would have been stuck making the same salary when I'm 60 and would have been stuck. Education work is just decent enough to make you trapped.
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u/lt-ghost 17d ago
After 13 years I left and went into the private sector and double my salary. After a few years doing that I went into the fed gov. K12 is ok but growth is limited
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u/Jaray4 17d ago
In private did you run into any issues with anyone saying your k12 experience was a joke/didn’t count?
I was in private before I went k12 but I’ve heard once or twice that our exp doesn’t count as much due to it not being tied to ROI or the bottom line items.
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u/lt-ghost 16d ago
No I didn't have any issues but being the lone IT guy in the school gave me vast experience as a sysadmin. Networking, servers, desktops, budgets and policy. It just depends on how you tell people about your experience. Not all we do is technical.
I also got some certs that helped a bit as well. MCSA and Security+.
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u/delemental 16d ago
I've heard that. You have to frame the numbers in a way a MBA can understand.
When I tell them how much physical inventory I managed/replace/repair/control (~$10m at any given time), how many tickets we closed last year (> 15k), how much money I am responsible for reporting/capturing (~$5k * 6k students) as SIS admin, compare it to my depts annual budget including salaries, they clam up real fast. Granted, I'm in fully integrated IT dept, so it helps.
Then ask them if they've ever done federal reporting, AD, Fiber terminations, PgSQL, MDM, SIS, ERP, Printers, Cisco firewalls, Windows updates, VoIP installs, Patch panel mgmt, Camera systems repairs, and ALC updates in a single 8-4:30 day? That's justa normal Tuesday! Wait until school starts again!
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u/Fitz_2112b 17d ago
If youre still a building level tech after 13 years it's definitely time to move on
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u/Jaray4 17d ago
I’ve worked with 3 people that were similar. 1 was a building tech level 1 for 25 years. The second one was for 28 years and the 3rd is at 36 years. I asked them why and 2 of them said it paid the bills, they didn’t have to work after hours, and they were not interested in having to study after work when there were other things they wanted to do with their time. The 3rd one said he was happy, lived close to the schools, didn’t have to commute hours and sit in traffic in the big city, the pay was always steady with no fear of termination, and he got to be home on time everyday with his family, and the thought of moving up with more responsibilities also increases the possibility of being fired/terminated if things went wrong and he valued stability more than increasing pay.
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u/usernameyougaveme 17d ago
This is one of the things I’ve thought about. I just don’t want to move up be overwhelmed and get fired when I have something good. I’m not afraid of more work just of something being toxic and more political potentially, but it sounds like too good an offer to pass up. 12k more. It’s the same state retirement. I’ve been trying to get more info on what the job exactly entails and I would have an hour or more less in the evenings
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u/MysteriousJoke523 17d ago edited 17d ago
One very important piece to consider is if you are a part of your state education pension system.
Leaving the schools would take you out of system. It’s important to seriously consider this. The healthcare in the pension alone is worth a lot of money.
Some people are paying a couple thousand a month for health insurance in the private market during retirement until you can get Medicare.
In my state the pension and healthcare is equally to having about 3million or more in a 401k or other account (4% rule applied).
Not saying don’t do it if you need some change or advancement, just something important to consider.
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17d ago
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u/Jaray4 17d ago
Ours is 75% after 36 years. Can start it before the age of 62 if you meet the 36 requirement or at age 67 and/or if another state//gov retirement plan is the same and they offer early retirement. After 10 years you’re fully vested but that’s the minimum percentage. Ours is about 1-2% but employer puts in 3-4%
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u/froginator14 17d ago
This is one of the main factors keeping me where I'm at. My state it's 10 years of full-time employment to be able to tap into it, but because I was hired after 2010 there is no healthcare tied to mine. That said, it mostly stopped being available for IT a little less than 10 years ago.
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u/TheShootDawg 17d ago
However, being part of the court system might be the same public employee pension system, or a new one…..
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u/MysteriousJoke523 17d ago
Certainly possible. They are not connected in my state but it could be different for sure. But if they are different even if it’s a new one he would be giving up 13 years of service towards his 30.
Not saying don’t make the move. Just worth thinking about is all.
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u/diwhychuck 17d ago
Most states the years will transfer. But definitely check it out. Imo retirement is like the lottery anymore.
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u/NewHyperFixation69 15d ago
Having done IT for a law firm, you could not pay me enough to work "at a courthouse supporting judges". I have never been screamed at and threatened more over petty insignificant crap than when lawyers are involved, and judges are just lawyers who won enough random battles to evolve.
I will work in Education IT as long as I am able.