[ArmyBimmerDude]

Hi guys, I'm in the military right now, but will more than likely be getting out. I'm curious as to how much Network Admins make with 10+ years experience. Specifically in California. Also are there a lot of those jobs available or are they hard to come by? Thanks for any info you can provide!

By the way, my fiance is a Neonatologist, so god knows I wont make nearly that much. Just want to hold my own.

[UncleWede]

Haven't sat in on an interview for about 6 months, but there are usually at least 10 people lined up for SysAdmin jobs. Your challenge will be that most of them are thrown in as collateral duty on some system, and unless you find a civil servant job at a military base, your system-specific experience may be negligible.

I think the going rate around Northern So-Cal is around 60K/year, but that with local government. Businesses like banks and home loan companies pay more, but they GRIND their admins into the floor and go thru them in about 1 year.

[jeveryday]

With 10 years experience you should be around 80K atleast. Do you have any certs?

[PresaMat]

I have over 8 yrs experience and am making a nice 6 digit salary in TX. Which pays less then cali. Checkout dice.com and look at the salary calculator. Pretty Accurate

[mds82]

damn i need to new job. still in the low 40k range and 4 years experience no raise or review in 2 years too!

[WAYNEBO]

Mid 6s.... SoCal. Not unusual here. IMO, Just gotta get in with a company via a good connection, not from the papers, Net or headhunter. And it usually takes a couple of "jumps" to different companies to leverage the salary you need to survive here.

[Main33vnt]

With 10 Years of salary you can get about 6 digits if not 80 ranges... I just turned 20 and Have been working for the local government as a Student Professional IT worker for server admin and networking and I make 15 an hour... once I transfer out of community college I get 19 ... and all my bosse's and Contractors get a pretty good salary.... your best bet is to work for a sick firm that they need computer guys and give good amounts... my homie who isnt even cisco certfied like me is getting 25 an hour doing NOTHING in a firm just because hes the computer guy! Search up man 10 years experience is what they want my boss just re-hired my contractor who left 2 years ago and hes getting the same salary that he was getting while he was a contractor now but with benefits too!

[MadDog]

Originally Posted by ArmyBimmerDude

Hi guys, I'm in the military right now, but will more than likely be getting out. I'm curious as to how much Network Admins make with 10+ years experience. Specifically in California. Also are there a lot of those jobs available or are they hard to come by? Thanks for any info you can provide!

By the way, my fiance is a Neonatologist, so god knows I wont make nearly that much. Just want to hold my own.

Check Dice, Monster and even Craigslist for job openings in CA. Good Luck.

[1WickedE90]

Originally Posted by ArmyBimmerDude

Hi guys, I'm in the military right now, but will more than likely be getting out. I'm curious as to how much Network Admins make with 10+ years experience. Specifically in California. Also are there a lot of those jobs available or are they hard to come by? Thanks for any info you can provide!

With 10+yrs experience, you should be pulling in the 80-120K range for a mid-level company, for starters. The range assumes that you have an undergraduate degree, coupled with whatever certs your job requires. If you have above average business skills, your salary goes up. Gone are the days when network admins just needed to know the technology, now companies are focusing on those with good sense of the company's business as well.

Best of luck, I know how hard it is to land that job

[Couch]

Originally Posted by PresaMat

I have over 8 yrs experience and am making a nice 6 digit salary in TX. Which pays less then cali. Checkout dice.com and look at the salary calculator. Pretty Accurate

Actually, you are probably making a lot more than Cali in terms of cost of living here vs. Cali.

[Kalin]

You're over the 10 year hump and thinking about getting out? I would think the Army would try to keep you. An Air Force friend got out under the RIF and has been looking for a job in Colorado for a few months without success... though he got 2 years severance, so I'm not sure how hard he's looking.

Get your certs w/ TA before you leave, if you have not already... and leverage your military credentials when interviewing. Good luck!

[SMSgt B]

Many factors come into play on what you are worth:

1. Do you have a degree? If so what?

2. Clearance? At what level? When was the last judification?

3. Certs? If so what? Active or Inactive?

These are just some of the things that will make you more $$$ and set you apart from all the million 10-year SAs out there.

[ArmyBimmerDude]

Thanks a lot for all the input guys, you all rock! I'm trying to find out what is out there in the real world.

Originally Posted by jeveryday

With 10 years experience you should be around 80K atleast. Do you have any certs?

My certifications currently are A+, Sec+, Network+, and MCSA 2003. For now. I'm working on a couple others on the Army's dime right now.

Originally Posted by Laszlo

10 years I'd say six-figure salary. If you can land a job... right now, IT is hot. As for your wife, don't take this the wrong way, but pharma folks (lab etc.) make very little money in general. My cousin has a crazy education, works for Amgen and makes a terrible salary... including a lot of our friends who are decorated in endless degrees and work in bio and pharma. But if you're in marketing, program management, project management (business side) you can make a killing.

Yeah I was hoping for around a 6 figure salary. By the way, a neonatologist deals with infants. They get payed $250k a year, so you can see why I said I wanted to "hold my own".

Originally Posted by 1WickedE90

With 10+yrs experience, you should be pulling in the 80-120K range for a mid-level company, for starters. The range assumes that you have an undergraduate degree, coupled with whatever certs your job requires. If you have above average business skills, your salary goes up. Gone are the days when network admins just needed to know the technology, now companies are focusing on those with good sense of the company's business as well.

Best of luck, I know how hard it is to land that job

Ok, thanks for the info man. I didnt realize that I may actually be doing more than simply IT stuff. I'll look into that as well.

Originally Posted by Kalin

You're over the 10 year hump and thinking about getting out? I would think the Army would try to keep you. An Air Force friend got out under the RIF and has been looking for a job in Colorado for a few months without success... though he got 2 years severance, so I'm not sure how hard he's looking.

Get your certs w/ TA before you leave, if you have not already... and leverage your military credentials when interviewing. Good luck!

Well I have two problems I deal with. One monthly and the other almost daily. She's a doctor and gets payed very well and with us wanting to start a family, I really dont want to drag her around the world and have her deal with finding work. Its not like its hard for her, but if I go to iraq then she would have it hard. Also, I'm tired of getting offered jobs and not being able to take advantage of them. I'm kinda sick to my stomach when a friend of the family asked my mother when I was getting out so I could work for this massive retirement community network. 3 days after I signed the papers again. $100k flew away....

Originally Posted by SMSgt B

Many factors come into play on what you are worth:

1. Do you have a degree? If so what?
Wrapping up my Bachelors of Science in Information Security Administration.

2. Clearance? At what level? When was the last judification?
Only Secret. Redone Jan 08, so its good for 10 years.

3. Certs? If so what? Active or Inactive?
Yes, A+, Sec+, Network+, and MCSA 2003.

These are just some of the things that will make you more $$$ and set you apart from all the million 10-year SAs out there.

[ArmyBimmerDude]

Originally Posted by PresaMat

I have over 8 yrs experience and am making a nice 6 digit salary in TX. Which pays less then cali. Checkout dice.com and look at the salary calculator. Pretty Accurate

Hows life in Texas? When I get out, she'll only consider cali and texas, so any info you could provide would be helpful. Which cities would be best to move to? Houston?

Thanks man

[e92phreak]

Originally Posted by ArmyBimmerDude

Hows life in Texas? When I get out, she'll only consider cali and texas, so any info you could provide would be helpful. Which cities would be best to move to? Houston?

Thanks man

Dallas/Plano area is cool. Lots of IT shops have a huge presence there, due to the demographics, lack of state tax, and a cost of living.

With your experience, certifications, and secret clearance, you should be able to find something decent in California. Housing prices are coming down in CA so that could be attractive to you. Lots of hospitals in the larger towns so that would be attractive to your fiancee. And if you take SoCal, every suburb of LA has a downtown of its own, so there's probably a hospital in every town.

Tons of SoCalers on this board, many in the IT field. I am too but not in the sysadm field.

[Kalin]

Originally Posted by ArmyBimmerDude

Well I have two problems I deal with. One monthly and the other almost daily. She's a doctor and gets payed very well and with us wanting to start a family, I really dont want to drag her around the world and have her deal with finding work. Its not like its hard for her, but if I go to iraq then she would have it hard. Also, I'm tired of getting offered jobs and not being able to take advantage of them. I'm kinda sick to my stomach when a friend of the family asked my mother when I was getting out so I could work for this massive retirement community network. 3 days after I signed the papers again. $100k flew away....

I completely understand. My wife has an MBA, but now she works for our 1-year old. Went from sugar-momma to baby's-mama.

Your fiance could work for MSF, and you two could hang out in a Darfur IDP camp!

[pdjafari]

80s here 5 years experience but i have good experience w/ good private sector companies doing IT work

1 year w/ Fannie Mae
1.5 years w/ CSC - computer Science corporation
2.5 years w/ EDS now where I am at

Hoping to get another raise this month/next...closer to 6 figures. I had a goal when I was 23 to make 6 figures by 30...I hope to get close, even if I dont make it into 6 figures...

If I were you I would get into Security CISSP, right now in case you havent been reading, there is a huge emphasis on network security, physical security and just security in general. NIST guidelines, hardware requirements, software restrictions/requirements and FIPS complaincy/certifications....

I think w/ a CISSP cert which also requires x amt of years experience and a letter of approval from a co worker which means they will vouche for you, you should be well on your way to earn 80k easy..

[OC Guy]

A decent SysAdmin with 10 years experience should make $100k. 80k means you are short changing yourself IMO.

[e92phreak]

Originally Posted by pdjafari

If I were you I would get into Security CISSP, right now in case you havent been reading, there is a huge emphasis on network security, physical security and just security in general. NIST guidelines, hardware requirements, software restrictions/requirements and FIPS complaincy/certifications....

I think w/ a CISSP cert which also requires x amt of years experience and a letter of approval from a co worker which means they will vouche for you, you should be well on your way to earn 80k easy..

CISSP here could get you 100k+... I know a few here. Coupled with your extensive years of experience, you should have no problem.

[Couch]

Originally Posted by ArmyBimmerDude

Hows life in Texas? When I get out, she'll only consider cali and texas, so any info you could provide would be helpful. Which cities would be best to move to? Houston?

Thanks man

I meet people almost everyone weekend from outside of Texas who've moved here to Houston. They all seem to really enjoy it.

For me I'm staying in Texas, be it Houston (born and currently living) or Austin. Both have great music scenes, Austin's scene is obvious and known world-wide. If you look there's stuff going on in Houston all the time.

[BMWE90]

Perhaps PM Phuonger? He works as an IT director and can possibly hook you up with a job int he Bay Area.

[Choolgooz]

www.salary.com gives a pretty decent range. GL.