|
Yeah like it's absolutely not a knock on you at all, but holy poo poo you are getting paid next to nothing for doing poo poo like backup implementations and compliance. Once you get your degree start immediately applying for a higher paying job. Or gently caress, start now. $14 an hour to do Sys Admin level work, jesus gently caress.
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 20:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 12:10 |
|
|
Internet Explorer posted:That's true, but you're generally not paying your solo-IT guy for a small shop 28k a year. And they generally have a little more experience. Otherwise you're basically playing roulette with your business. No offense, Defenestrategy. Are you not from America? "Small shop" means "half-rear end everything, treat your employees like poo poo, and expect the loving world from them while providing them with zero budget."
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 20:15
|
|
|
Defenestrategy posted:What? Is this not entry level crap? Definitely not, and especially not for 28k a year in a major city. My helpdesk tech does good work, and I feel like I can trust them with a good amount of stuff, but for compliance stuff or backup design, it makes sense to have someone with more experience handle it. I mean drat my tech makes significantly more than you even after accounting for cost of living differential and doesn't do as much as you have done.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 20:17
|
|
|
Welcome to ITinTheSouth.txt.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 20:18
|
|
|
Thanatosian posted:Are you not from America? I'm from America and have spent most of my time working for small shops. There's a difference between lovely small shops and not lovely small shops, just like there is a difference between lovely big shops and not lovely big shops. Don't settle for a terrible environment just because it's a smaller company.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 20:28
|
|
|
xsf421 posted:I work four 10s over the weekend, they apparently had to pay a premium to find people willing to work thurs-sun Detroit surprisingly isn’t that bad as long your in the city or the nicer suburbs. But gently caress graveyard shifts.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 20:34
|
|
. We're getting ready to open a posting for $60-80k, but it's Thurs-Sun overnights. I expect us to spend 3-5 months finding someone willing to work that shift.
|
Tab8715 posted:Detroit surprisingly isn’t that bad as long your in the city or the nicer suburbs. Traffic sucks, roads suck, 4 seasons of weather (could be good or bad), the nicer suburbs and apartments in the city of Detroit are expensive. Nothing like a 950 sq ft WWII era bungalow for $200k or a $90k fixer-upper in an 'up and coming' neighborhood.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 20:44
|
|
|
Michigan weather (grew up there) is absolutely not something anyone should subject themselves to unless they have to
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 20:56
|
|
|
xsf421 posted:I work four 10s over the weekend, they apparently had to pay a premium to find people willing to work thurs-sun How big does that premium need to be? Sickening posted:Welp, I am hiring 3 sys admins to be my direct reports. I am also taking over all of devops. I was ambushed with this the first day coming back from long, PTO extended fathers day weekend. The CIO explained to me that CEO noticed my salary numbers and he told them he won't continue to pay someone that kind of money without them being part of the leadership team in some capacity. So was this one of those title raises where your salary doesn't actually change? 
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 21:02
|
|
|
I went to Detroit once in January and it was 11 degrees with like a -5 wind chill. gently caress that noise.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 21:02
|
|
|
So it was an average winter day (I am from the Canada land).
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 21:05
|
|
|
ChubbyThePhat posted:So it was an Fixed. I'm in Alaska, so generally when people complain about cold weather I'm just 
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 21:10
|
|
|
Bob Morales posted:Traffic sucks, roads suck, 4 seasons of weather (could be good or bad), the nicer suburbs and apartments in the city of Detroit are expensive. Nothing like a 950 sq ft WWII era bungalow for $200k or a $90k fixer-upper in an 'up and coming' neighborhood. The roads do indeed suck terribly ands it’s strangely kind-of-expensive but beats my current climate. I feel likes there’s more to do and a bit more cultural than the Midwest. Gucci Loafers fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Jun 21, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 21:18
|
|
|
Vargatron posted:Yeah like it's absolutely not a knock on you at all, but holy poo poo you are getting paid next to nothing for doing poo poo like backup implementations and compliance. Yeah, drat. I'm a (lazy) PC janitor and get almost double that.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 21:18
|
|
|
ChubbyThePhat posted:How big does that premium need to be? $60k (to start) + bonus to restart windows services, recycle app pools, and clean c: drives is pretty decent.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 21:23
|
|
|
Vargatron posted:$14 an hour to do Sys Admin level work, jesus gently caress. My experience starting out at a small shop was pretty much exactly this, only I got to $15 an hour by the end. Over the course of 3 years I dragged them kicking and screaming from a workgroup to a domain (SBS2003 can still gently caress itself!), implemented backups, deployed babby's first ERP/order management system, updated all the networking gear, deployed VM[wW]are, programmed custom extensions for the ERP, built a reporting package, automated data transfer to the GSA SIP software... The list goes on. I knew I was criminally underpaid but when I got out of school I got my foot in the door with a bank supporting LOB applications, and now I'm making more than 5x what I started my career at for a software company doing  banking things.I guess what I'm getting at is to hang in there until you can get to someplace better. It sounds like you're already searching which is half the battle. Just don't forget where you started out, having a positive attitude because you're not stuck in some poo poo hole trying to figure out how to make things happen with no budget and no backup can make a world of difference. Working by myself in a small shop taught me the value of saving time wherever possible, because if you weren't efficient, you'd get buried. Learn to automate systems, or hell, just figure out macros / AutoHotKey for the repetitive stuff you have to do. It'll teach you to think a little differently about how to approach problems, and when someone's looking over your shoulder as you're doing a thing, you'll look like a goddamned wizard.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 22:09
|
|
|
Tab8715 posted:The roads do indeed suck terribly ands it’s strangely kind-of-expensive but beats my current climate. Are you saying Michigan isn't the Midwest? I feel pretty Midwestern. I'm too lazy to Google it but I read an article a couple years back saying that Detroit has the lowest natural disaster risk of any major American city. Too far inland for hurricanes, north of tornado alley, safe from drought, far from known fault lines... our only major risk is the nutcases in Grand Rapids.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 22:10
|
|
|
Sickening posted:Welp, I am hiring 3 sys admins to be my direct reports. I am also taking over all of devops. I was ambushed with this the first day coming back from long, PTO extended fathers day weekend. The CIO explained to me that CEO noticed my salary numbers and he told them he won't continue to pay someone that kind of money without them being part of the leadership team in some capacity. The Fool posted:Able to hire as remote positions? Seriously. I can pretend to be normal for long enough to get through meetings, I can make myself presentable for Skype interviews. I’ll even wear pants. I probably wouldn’t be qualified.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:20
|
|
|
22 Eargesplitten posted:I can make myself presentable for Skype interviews. I’ll even wear pants. I can't decide if an IT department filled with the posters in this thread would be the best or worst thing possible. Probably both simultaneously. As a remote employee I really enjoy the reverse pants schedule. Pants are generally only worn after 5 PM if I'm going somewhere. It's a great perk in the Texas summer. I think everyone should do remote work for a while just to see how different it is (and how not-different some parts are). Personally, I thrive being able to focus on the task at hand rather than worrying about my clothes, my commute, packing a lunch, etc. Plus I get to hang out with the doggo and catte all day. It's definitely not for everyone but the next move I make is either going to be another remote position or is going to have to be incredibly attractive for me to go into an office again.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:35
|
|
|
I start my new contract Monday. Today I met up with one of the VPs at my old job (that I still independent contract for) and he told me they are working on a package to offer me the CISO position if I come back. Tempting
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:35
|
|
|
o0o0o. I feel like that return may depend on the package and your willingness to become a C-level.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:36
|
|
|
Hard to do remote work if part of your responsibilities includes deploying computers to end users.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:46
|
|
|
GreenNight posted:Hard to do remote work if part of your responsibilities includes deploying computers to end users. I found your problem.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:47
|
|
|
If they want to pay me 75k to continue doing bullshit work, so be it. Supposedly I’m getting a helper to offload all that crap to next year.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:49
|
|
|
GreenNight posted:If they want to pay me 75k to continue doing bullshit work, so be it. Supposedly I’m getting a helper to offload all that crap to next year. *in narrators voice* He didn't.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:51
|
|
|
That’s fine. I have a list of stuff that we currently pay consultants to do that I could do if I wasn’t fixing monitors and other dumb poo poo. We pay them enough that we could hire two low end techs.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:55
|
|
|
Nuclearmonkee posted:*in narrators voice* Lmbo So true
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2018 23:56
|
|
|
GreenNight posted:That’s fine. I have a list of stuff that we currently pay consultants to do that I could do if I wasn’t fixing monitors and other dumb poo poo. We pay them enough that we could hire two low end techs. My problem with this is that you end up fixing monitors and other dumb poo poo instead of doing real tech work. Do that for long enough and now you're behind in your career. Like sure, I'll do low level work when it's needed. I work in a department of 2, it's not fair to dump that all one someone. But when it gets out of hand you get forced to make a decision for the sake of your career.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 00:10
|
|
|
The above is truth and if you ignore it you'll wonder where five years went, and why you're staring at skills listed on a job advert that you have no idea even exist. It's the same reason that even though I could do a fine job of pulling and terminating cable, or getting a drill out to hang access points and TVs, my approach has always been that I'm not doing that, because the time is always better spent trying to get comfortable with new things.
Thanks Ants fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Jun 22, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 00:15
|
|
|
Vargatron posted:Yeah like it's absolutely not a knock on you at all, but holy poo poo you are getting paid next to nothing for doing poo poo like backup implementations and compliance. The pay for people with literally no experience, and currently studying is very different from those with some experience and a degree. Also might not be full time so per hour could be higher. xsf421 posted:I work four 10s over the weekend, they apparently had to pay a premium to find people willing to work thurs-sun Good luck, that is a hard position to fill. Quicken is always hiring, pays about the same or a little less, and you would get weekends and nights off.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 00:50
|
|
|
lampey posted:
(This is for QL IT) 
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 00:53
|
|
|
nullfunction posted:I can't decide if an IT department filled with the posters in this thread would be the best or worst thing possible. Probably both simultaneously.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 01:27
|
|
|
Defenestrategy posted:No worries, I should have put the ball park of what I was making, which is close to 28k. My point was, the raise I'm gonna be asking for is gonna be considerable for me to stick around.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 01:34
|
|
|
Based on the skillset of a typical security admin that's wildly overpaid.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 01:45
|
|
|
nullfunction posted:My experience starting out at a small shop was pretty much exactly this, only I got to $15 an hour by the end. Over the course of 3 years I dragged them kicking and screaming from a workgroup to a domain (SBS2003 can still gently caress itself!), implemented backups, deployed babby's first ERP/order management system, updated all the networking gear, deployed VM[wW]are, programmed custom extensions for the ERP, built a reporting package, automated data transfer to the GSA SIP software... The list goes on. I knew I was criminally underpaid but when I got out of school I got my foot in the door with a bank supporting LOB applications, and now I'm making more than 5x what I started my career at for a software company doing This is pretty close to how I matriculated in IT. Started out at like $13 an hour and nearly tripled that in 6 years. I took a slight pay cut to take a state job but that was a significant stress reduction and I'm pretty sure I would have had a heart attack if I stayed at my last job.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 01:47
|
|
|
The last couple weeks have been mentally tough for me. Not a day hasn't gone by when I don't come home feeling demoralized and depressed. Had a hard time trying to process why I was feeling that way since apparently I'm doing really well. According to my friend (who's worked for this company for 25 years) I'm doing a fantastic job - I walked in the door and within just a few days I'm hammering project tasks into submission. A little over three months in and I've written a script to remediate Linux servers to over 96% compliance of DISA STIG requirements for machines in classified environments, and the script does it in 3-5 minutes. I'm also apparently the only person who knows how to even remediate servers. On my team I was responsible for writing a Kickstart to provision these servers, and I've solved a number of very difficult technical issues that threatened to derail a couple big projects. I've built an ACAS server. I've documented the poo poo out of processes and written up a number of project documentation papers that have been well-received by customers on the two projects I'm assigned. So it's been something that's depressed me even further trying to figure out why I felt this massive lack of confidence. And then last night while discussing things with my friend it hit me - it's because our PM is a loving technical demigod who makes all us mere mortals feel inadequate regardless of what we do. On top of that, the guy is a workaholic and probably puts in 60-70 hours of billable time a week, while once I hit 40 hours I am gone (I'm also not allowed to work more than 40). My co-worker is a 28 yr old with an incredible technical acumen and could probably do everything I did if he wasn't busy working on his own stuff. Next week he and the PM are going out to a customer's site for a couple days to install and configure a bunch of the stuff we've spent the last month scrambling to put together, but because I don't have a TS yet I can't go, nor can I know anything about the project we've been working on aside from some of the parts that I've worked on (which isn't all that much in the overall scheme of things). On top of that, he's taking the technical lead on the project while the PM sits in the background ready to provide assistance. Next month the two of them are flying out west for most of a week to do a site survey and inventory which, again, I can't help with. I feel like a third wheel and I know it's directly affecting how I interact with the PM and my co-worker and making me appear standoffish and reserved. I finally decided to break down a little and mention my concerns to my co-worker and I think that helped a lot, especially after he laughed and told me that our PM makes everyone feel inadequate, including him. He echoed something my friend said - "You do you. As long as you do your job you're okay." Something that works in my favor is that from Day One when I stepped in the door I've mowed down obstacles left and right and kept projects moving. It didn't take me weeks or months to get up to speed, or as my friend put it, "You jumped up off the couch and immediately started sprinting in the ultra marathon, whereas most new hires are just getting their shoes on." I feel a little better, but it's still tough to get out of my head that I'm just slowing things down rather than providing positive contributions. Didn't really have a purpose to this long drawn out post aside from writing out my thoughts, so my apologies if it doesn't seem very focused. If anyone has some suggestions on how to get out of this particular mindset please let me know. I enjoy the work, the challenge, the people, and the company, and I'd really hate for my negative thoughts to start having an impact on my work.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 01:49
|
|
|
adorai posted:This has to be a troll. I would not have someone making $75k/year dealing with compliance. Eh wasn't all that complicated, I didn't have to deal with making policies. Auditor just sent my boss a list of technical questions and boss passed it on to me, "Did you make sure your employees took our five minute bs cyber security test? Are all passwords at or beyond the standard in this manual? Do you have an offsite backup at this standard? Can you give us a list of mission critical devices and software on your network?" Stuff like that. My predecessor handled policies and my boss copied and pasted his answers to "What to do in case of data loss? Who and how to contact in case of data theft?" and apparently was good enough. Defenestrategy fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Jun 22, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 01:52
|
|
|
Zorak of Michigan posted:Are you saying Michigan isn't the Midwest? I feel pretty Midwestern. Blizzards don’t count? Anyhow, I’d say Detroit is apart of the Rust Belt.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 01:54
|
|
|
Sickening posted:Welp, I am hiring 3 sys admins to be my direct reports. I am also taking over all of devops. I was ambushed with this the first day coming back from long, PTO extended fathers day weekend. The CIO explained to me that CEO noticed my salary numbers and he told them he won't continue to pay someone that kind of money without them being part of the leadership team in some capacity. It's so darn unfortunate that the candidate pool doesn't meet your expectations and you'll be hiring those three people for 8 - 12 months.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 02:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 12:10 |
|
|
I’m preparing for a move to new house and am starting to go through stuff to junk and I found a box with some old parts and an Iomega Jaz drive. I got it running on a Frankenstein box with a drop in Jaz Jet SCSI adapter on Windows 98 (weeee!) and I found a drive with all my operating notes from 1994 and they are hilarious. They tell the tale of migrating from Windows for Workgroups to OS/2 plus LAN Manager and then OS/2 Warp. Had a chuckle, kept the notes, recycled the parts. Edit: this should probably go into the tech relic thread, but what ‘ev.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2018 03:47
|
|
