this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2023
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I'm an 8 year data center network engineer who recently broke 100k for the first time. When I got asked my salary requirements I actually only asked for 90k as my highest previous salary was 80k with lots of travel, then I found out they gave me 100k because it was the minimum they could pay someone in my position. I've read before about people making crazy salary increases (150%-300%) and am wondering if I played it incorrectly and how I could play it in the future. I plan to stay with my company for the next few years and upskilling heavily and am eyeing a promotion in my first year as I've already delivered big projects by contributing very early. I've progressed from call center/help desk/engineer etc (no degree, just certs) so my progression has been pretty linear, are people who are seeing massive jumps in pay just overselling their competency and failing forward? Or are there other fields in IT like programming/etc that are more likely to have higher progression scales?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I'm job hunting right now and turning over a lot of similar questions, about how much I should be asking for.

A few years back I got over 80% by switching sectors - I was underpaid at a public sector job I loved, and switched to a private sector job in the finance industry and a higher COL area. Similar to you, they offered more than I asked for because corporate had specific pay brackets for that position.

I think your pay depends a lot on the specific area/tech stack you're working in and who you're working for. Some tech stacks just pay more on average than others, bigger corporations can usually pay more than smaller companies, and private sector will always pay more than public sector (but usually with worse benefits). You can check Glassdoor or similar sites to see what people with a similar title make at the company you're applying to, but that's only helpful at really big companies where there are enough employees reporting to give a good average.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

When I went from being Head Chef in fine dining, at $34,000 a year, to being a General Manager at Taco Bell, for $36,000, but because of some law that was passed and went into effect in 2019, I got another $3000 per year raise, giving me a salary of $39,000 a year two months after I took the job.

I guess when I threw my back out a year later at 36, 20 years after I took my first Line Cook job, and started working for myself, growing flower, fostering dogs, and building computers would be my highest pay raise, since I either went from $39,000 a year, or really $0 a year, to making almost $100,000 my first year, and now I'm considering "retiring" at 43 years old because I have consistently made about $1,500,000 after taxes for the last couple years. I only need about $10,000,000 to retire and buy a house in the town I want to live in, that I currently live in.

I also self describe as "the luckiest bastard to ever live," so I'm well aware that most people couldn't do even half of what I have stumbled through. I'm being completely serious there. Any of the two plane crashes, or many of the 36 car wrecks I've been in should have killed me. That doesn't include the mountain climbing accident that had me falling a full 125 feet onto a dry creekbed made of limestone. It also doesn't include the many instances of me making, and testing, my own explosives. I shouldn't have lived past puberty. I was playing around with things that no one should play around with, and somehow I've made it to 43, while actively antagonizing the US cops every chance I get. I "literally" told a cop at the age of 5, "I know where my mother is, she knows where I am. You can fuck off, thanks." That didn't go over well.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I got a 35% salary increase when I started a new job a few months ago. I was very excited.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Jumping jobs is a great way to increase your salary, but be aware that having a bunch of short stints is a major red flag in the hiring process. You may ace an interview, but who wants to hire somebody and train them with their products and db schemas, just to have them leave in a year.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

~220% total comp for me last year, switching companies from a job with okay but below market pay, and becoming a senior software engineer in the move. I think I can feasibly double one more time if I try, but it'd be a bigger push and likely involve working for FAANG. Anything more that is outside my reasonably likely career path.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Last Spring all the Paramedics & EMTs got an hourly increase. I was expecting maybe $1.00-1.50... very shocked with a $6.30hr raise!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If I had the chance to follow my dreams, I would have been a paramedic, followed by either park ranger or some form of rescue team. Unfortunately, as a poor immigrant, I had to focus on pay, and paramedic pay was only about 2x minimum wage where I live, so I decided not to follow my dream. Thankfully I ended up in something else I enjoy. All that to say, you're a hero in my book, and I've always thought paramedics should be paid significantly more.

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