IT job market - salary related

[richy22]

That's all besides the point, I doubt The Hoff is destitute to the point where he'd want to work in Maccy D's or take a massive paycut from what he was earning before

Oh of course but I'm trying to put across the point that just because he was able to earn x amount before going away doesn't mean you should "expect" to walk straight back into a job on the same wage.

(unless of course your very lucky or have a nice boss like mine)

 

[Cookie]

There's no reason why he can't, the market hasn't changed THAT much in a year, dropped by a few grand if that for some roles.

A lot of big financial firms are on a recruitment drive at the moment for good staff

 

[Glos182]

In London with your experience i would expect around 40-50k if not more

http://www.reed.co.uk/job/searchres...ms=From&mxs=To&st=5&jt=1&jt=2&ns=true&da=8630

 

[DMS]

I can understand where people are coming from when they say "I wouldn't get out of bed for X amount". If a person values their skill set and abilities correctly then there's no reason for them to work for less than a certain amount.
That said, if I was in a position where I couldn't find employment then I would take whatever I job could get.
You have to bear in mind that a large percentage of the population work in "dead end" jobs because they don't work their way up to a position where they can be picky about what job they take. Someone who's worked in IT for years, built up various qualifications and masses of experience is only going to work as a toilet cleaner at McDonalds if they've exhausted every other option, otherwise they're going to try to find another job in IT that pays at least the same if not more than their last one. They've got the skills and experience to do such a job, so why should they have to resort to taking a poorly paid job instead?
Someone who's been a shelf stacker all their lives and generally moans about having to go to work in the first place can't be as picky about what job they take because their skill set is very limited, therefore they have to pull their finger out of their arse and get some experience and skills necessary for a better paid job or work for peanuts.

 

[richy22]

I wouldnt say 30k is a "poorly paid job".

 

[Cookie]

I wouldnt say 30k is a "poorly paid job".

It is if you once earned 60k

 

[DMS]

^ Exactly. It's all relative.
Some people would think my job pays mega bucks, other people "wouldn't get out of bed" for it.

 

[richy22]

No it isn't! 30k is easliy liveable on.

You don't NEED to send te kids to private school, drive a 5mpg gas guzzler, have 4 holidays a year and a f**k off big house.

They are all lifestyle choices from being paid lots of money. "If" someone was struggling on 30k per year after dropping down from 60 or whatever then I'm sorry you need to change your lifestyle/spending habits.

I'm not saying I'd not take a job on 60k and then spend upto that's of course I would

I'm just saying turning down a job because it's 5k a year less then what you were getting is just greed. 6 months down the line you could get rewarded with that 5k as a wage increase. I'd rather work for a company on20k and enjoyed the job then working for another company on 30k that I f**king hated.

 

[DMS]

You are right, but it's human nature to want more. Nobody wants to go to work for free even if it's the best job in the world.
You can live comfortably on 30k. You can even live comfortably on minimum wage if you work enough hours to cover your living costs. What I'm saying is that if someone works their way up to a well paid job, why shouldn't they want to earn the same or more in their next role? Yes, some people take a pay cut for a job they'd enjoy, but they wouldn't if they didn't have to.

At the end of the day there are three types of workers - those who progress themselves within their chosen field to earn as much money and get as high up in the corporate hierarchy as they can, those who have a profession and stick to it all their lives and are content, and those who will take whatever job they can get just to cover their bills and will be stuck in a dead end job all their lives.
You can earn enough money to live on whichever bracket you fall into, but if you're a career person you'll always want to progress just to earn more money so you can have the lifestyle you want.

 

[Magic Johnson]

Kind of straying off topic a bit here lads lol.

 

[richy22]

Personally I was better off on 16k a year at my last place then I am here. But then I do have a mortgage now

and I would struggle going back to 16k...I'd happily get out of bed for 20k.

 

[Cookie]

Personally I was better off on 16k a year at my last place then I am here. But then I do have a mortgage now

and I would struggle going back to 16k...I'd happily get out of bed for 20k.

I don't think I could pay my bills if I were on 20k

 

[Magic Johnson]

I are probably the lowest paid person in I.T tbqfh.

Still, there was only manager positions available at the time so had to accept or faced signing on the doal.

 

[ben_p]

IT wages always surprise me! Its good money! Suppose its payback for being the little c**t in school everyone de-kecked lol (maybe not Hoff, he's gurthy)

I would also wait for the right paid job too, you could rush in and accept 25k then two weeks later a 30k'r would come up that you would be right for, obviously there comes point that you take what you get etc..but I wouldn’t get out of bed for less than 100k

Plus in general the people earning the more dough can sit it out for longer waiting for the right package.

 

[cava83]

Interesting thread.

I work for an Insurance Broker in the city and I am their IT manager, all I have is an HND and Degree in computing, no Microsoft course.

The stuff I do is so varied and diverse.

I employee various 2nd level support guys, all know with MCSE's.

ALL older.

This doesn't mean they are any better, simply academic.

1 of the guys passed his MCSE is 3 months, which is excellent. However, at work, his common sense is not excellent and he's always needing my help.

In hindsight, it's very difficult and all relative.

Certificates and qualifications normally take a big baring as to what wage they should be on roughly but doesn't mean you're any good.

In the other hand, no certificates can normally be off putting.

 

[PinkoCommie]

Certificates and qualifications normally take a big baring as to what wage they should be on roughly but doesn't mean you're any good.

QFT!

We have a guy who alledegly has a CCNA. Except he doesn't know what Etherchannel is

 

[Cookie]

Paper MCSE's and CCNA's make me a sad panda

 

[cava83]

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be an MCP with a MCSE, and the new 2008 equivalent (not bothered about cisco) but I just don't have the time to study.

Anyhow, I'll shut up now.

Back to thread.

 

[DMS]

QFT!

We have a guy who alledegly has a CCNA. Except he doesn't know what Etherchannel is

To be fair, I'm sure EtherChannels aren't covered on the CCNA? I don't remember being asked a single question on the subject when I took mine. There's a lot on trunking but I don't remember anything specific to EtherChannels.
Although not knowing what an EtherChannel is is a bit retarded when you're supposed to be at that level of expertise.

 

[182Matt]

I am MCTS and the test was a piece of piss, doesnt neccesarily mean you are an expert in that area imo.. i think the tests should be longer and not multiple choice.

 

[DMS]

I am MCTS and the test was a piece of piss, doesnt neccesarily mean you are an expert in that area imo.. i think the tests should be longer and not multiple choice.

They are nowadays. Most of the newer MS exams that are being undertaken connect you to a virtualised environment out on a server farm somewhere. Instead of getting asked questions, you're given a scenario that you have to configure / rectify. After you commit the work you've done, a snapshot of the servers are taken and various configuration options are checked against a correctly configured snapshot to determine how you did. The more you did correctly, the more points you score. You also score additional marks if the whole thing has been done correctly and it would work in the real world. You're then given a mark out of 1,000 at the end like usual.

 

[ChrisR]

I'd echo the comments of 30k+ for those skills/experience, and then load a bit on for London weighting.

When I got my current job about 2.5 years ago I had no qualifications, just 4 and a half years previous experience. I walked into the job pretty much (I spent some time contracting there for a month first) and was on more than the 30-35k bracket, plus lots of other niceties (good holiday, 'green travel' allowance).

That's a pretty basic 3rd line server support team role, being the 'specialist' in a couple of areas

My salary has gone up since being there, and whilst I've since done a few certifications (including some crappy itil stuff, cissp) they've had no bearing on my salary. I'd get paid the same if I'd not got them, but it's been nice to get all the training I've had paid for. I reckon over 2 years that's 7 grand of training alone.

My problem is I wanna stay living down here really which is limiting me, could get some juicy contracts or just a better paid perm job if I were to move nearer London.

Our desktop guys start on a trainee wage of about 21k, moving up to 30k over a 3 year period if they do their exams.

Out of interest is Oxford too far away for you? I've got details of a job paying up to 45k there, I'm not interested as it's too far but the recruitment guy said if there's anyone else I know who'd be interested to pass the spec over to.

 

[alanc1000]

Another willy waving look how much i earn thread (not really)

There are a few things going on in the IT market at the moment such as contractors being cut from government and therefore perm jobs becoming available, as well as the FS industry picking up as cookie points out. Its definitely more lively than 12 months ago.

I'm not sure on exact salaries but 32-35 sounds about right for London. I also agree with cookie that the actual cost of the roles has not come down, it is all about the quality of the staff that the companies have been able to afford, and are therefore recruiting for. Companies will pay the "going" rate for qualified staff as they need IT to be responsive and reliable. They get their share of cheap staff from graduate schemes.

 

[Robb]

I wouldnt say 30k is a "poorly paid job".

Neither would I saying it's quite a bit more than double my wage. I'm also not classed as a trainee any more and do much more than just desktop support. I could rent a small house if I didn't run a car! It is liveable but not a great lifestyle because of it :rasp:

 

[iain187]

I know someone who dropped from a 6 figure salary to 30k to cover his bills. Didn't sell his house but was bored shitless. Did it as an only available option as senior positions were so hard to come by in the deep parts of the recession.

He got promoted pretty quick lol.


My company pays rubbish and my boss is fed up with his low wage, I know he's job hunting so I'm looking to pinch his job when he goes and add the experience to my cv