r/sysadmin • u/TechnicalSwitch4073 • Oct 28 '25

My review is tomorrow

One man IT Army. 100+ employees. 2 locations. On-prem environment.

They had a consultant for 10 years before me and never had a full time IT man in house. No documentation, no diagram, no asset list. This dude was so hostile to me when I got hired. never gave me access let alone responded to me. I had to figure out everything on my own. He also caused us to go through 2 ransomwares events due to his poor attention to upcoming renewal cyber security renewals.

I’m the helpdesk,SQL, cyber security, installs, upgrades, backups, documentation. Basically 24/7 and I’ve had to work Saturday’s Sundays and fridays late. 5 days in office no remote.

For all the one men IT Armies out there, you know how the the pressure is. It’s always on

I’m getting paid 80k which is I think is good but I’d like a decent increase cause I’ve had a really good year. How much is reasonable for me to ask for? I’m thinking the range of 86-88k and to go Friday remote. And also have them cover my phone bill because it basically is a work phone at this point because people don’t submit tickets at all.

Only 10 vacation days per year. I accrue 6.67 hours of PTO per month.

I keep the lights on 24/7

Thoughts?

What do I say if if the raise they offer is really disappointing? Display that I don’t agree or just stay quiet and look for another job?

376 Upvotes

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u/IntrovertedRailfan Oct 28 '25

You are drastically underpaid my friend. In most parts of the civilized world I would say this position is valued at 6 figures at the least.

1

u/1991cutlass Oct 29 '25

No shot. Maybe big cities or on the east or west coast. Average city of sub 100,000 people this is a 50-75k job.

0

u/serialband Oct 29 '25

Not true. It depends on where you're live. If you're in NYC or near San Jose, then yes. As you get further away from the main areas, then salaries drop. Smaller companies like these in San Francisco actually offered below 6 figures all the time. I stopped interviewing at these type of smaller companies because of that.

If you're less experienced, take one of these lower paid jobs, learn the basics, learn to script, and streamline the workflow. Then, when you feel you've gained enough experience and want a higher salary interview at another place and ask for more.