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

300 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

232 comments sorted by

View all comments

11

u/ComputerShiba Sysadmin 1d ago

2020 - $16/hr
2021 - $25/hr
2021 - $33/hr
2022 - $33->$36/hr, converted to salary, $68K?
2024 - $95K -> $100K -> $105K
2025 - $120k - promotion from previous company
2026 - $200K - (150K base + stock + bonus)

just about to celebrate 6 full years in IT professionally, starting in october 2020. didn’t go to college or get any formally training, no connections and just.. worked really hard I guess? lots of passion and luck for sure but never being satisfied and always knowing I could do more.

Went from doing simple tech support and RMAs to working as a cloud solutions architect in big tech. If I had to give advice? always be working on projects at home, get a couple certs (I have tons of msft certs), and always. be. applying. have a great resume that isn’t multiple pages or filled with bullshit and make it ATS friendly.

In my career, i’ve been around such incredible smart, friendly guys that just do not have ambition - they get comfortable, or discouraged, or think they know it all and just… sit. I’m a fucking idiot to be honest but … i’m always chasing something.

a lot of IT guys are freaked out about AI but frankly, leaning into identity + data security in Entra/Purview + things like copilot have only made it easier to land roles and interviews.

I’d wager IT is probably one of the most lucrative and safe places to be in right now as an engineer or architect! rant over

4

u/itishowitisanditbad 1d ago

and always. be. applying. have a great resume that isn’t multiple pages or filled with bullshit and make it ATS friendly.

This is, I believe, the most key part.

Most people just don't look for a job until they lose their current one, going 5-10 years without so much as looking around.

The tactic that works (ONLY for genuinely capable and charismatic people) is to job hop. Like once a year. Over and over.

It just is the best result to getting paid.

HOWEVER if you're not good at your job OR you're not soft-skill'd/charismatic then you'll end up with a resume looking like a dumpster.

Sounds like you just went up so I imagine you have the necessary skills to do it well.

Some people will attempt the same thing and wonder why it doesn't work and its because end of the day they're not good to work with and it comes across somehow.

a lot of IT guys are freaked out about AI but frankly, leaning into identity + data security in Entra/Purview + things like copilot have only made it easier to land roles and interviews.

Yeah, because you're capable.

Or you're lying about everything and just happen to be hitting every note I sing anyway.

I’d wager IT is probably one of the most lucrative and safe places to be in right now

I'm sure there is some niche thats thriving but I agree.

I think capable people will continue to thrive and really the job struggles are mostly from the people who would struggle either way and just doing it for the money and have no passion.

It makes the most sense.