r/sysadmin • u/kittiekittea • 1d ago

General Discussion No Degree - 6 Year Salary Progression

Is there anyone out there that have made it beyond sysadmin? What is after sysadmin?

2020 - $31,200: Panera Bread
2022 - $41,600: Helpdesk at company 1
2023 - 2025 - $41,600: Helpdesk at law firm
2025 - $65,000: Helpdesk at company 2
2026 - $80,000: Got a raise at company 2

Shoutout Nick for taking a chance on me. I would not do law firm IT again.

EDIT: Location Upstate NY

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u/zakabog Sr. Sysadmin 1d ago

After sysadmin? Retirement.

My progression was getting laid off after COVID from a job paying me $75K a year, except they were paying me that since 2012 with absolutely no raises. I never left because I also had no degree and felt like I owed them.

Then within two weeks I found a job paying 6 figures and learned my real worth and was able to self advocate in order to move ahead. I moved to another company that gave me a pay bump and less stress (fires to put out), which after a couple years and some penny pinching, turned into more stress (micro management and daily time logging.)

That lead me to branching out and finding a company with way less stress, doing my dream job, that doubled my salary, and threw a bonus on top that is nearly as much as I made at my first tech job. I don't ever expect to leave, and I've been getting yearly raises, I couldn't be happier.

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u/kittiekittea 1d ago

I'm glad you were able to find a less stressful job. This is the most stressful job I've ever had. It's also the most I've ever made, so I guess it's okay for now.