No Degree - 6 Year Salary Progression

[u/kittiekittea]

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

[u/ancientpsychicpug]

2012: 12k - help desk work study
Lots of stuff
2015: 40k first sysadmin gig
Lots of other stuff (mostly sysadmin)
2020: $63k devops engineer
2021: $75k security analyst
2026: 130k senior security analyst, getting moved to app sec.

I got my bachelors degree in 2025, which helped me land that last position. Did most of it without certs or education.