Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

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MortgageOnBlack
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Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by MortgageOnBlack »

Hello,

I'm currently at 50k a year salary as an IT Consultant. I primarily work 40hrs per week on average so it's not terrible (I realize and I"m thankful for what I have - I realize people make less than this and I'm appreciative at least). I have a friend who's a welder who I just found out makes over a 100k per year! I'm not sure what hours he has to put in to see that kind of money (I'm definitely going to find out :wink: ). I currently have an assoicate's degree from a local technical school which I obtained immedaitely upon graduating high school. I'm looking for a career change to make some extra cash. I'm very open minded and wouldn't mind doing anything under the sun. Any ideas what I can begin learning to improve my income? I'm amazed that he makes that much - He's exactly my age! He showed me his paystub and he's already at 30k for the year! :o I've put in consistent time in my field and it feels like I'm spinning my wheels - Maybe I'm just terrible negotiating or not as strong as I think I am.
investomajic
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by investomajic »

What kind of IT consulting work are you doing (what technologies) and how long have you been doing it?

The reason I ask is that you may want to start with the career you already have, assuming you enjoy it. In your area, it should not be that difficult to get to 100k per year by becoming an expert in a few select skillsets.
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MortgageOnBlack
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by MortgageOnBlack »

Good Advice. I have about 8 years experience as a General Network Admin. I wouldn't consider myself an expert in any specific area. There are a lot of things I don't know. I feel like this industry is over-saturated a bit and there are a lot of well-rounded individuals who do what I do. I guess I have a hard time differentiating myself and "finding my calling" if you will. I do enjoy what I do for the most part. It would be nice to become more valuable If I could, but Im not sure where to begin
livesoft
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by livesoft »

How about managing a team of IT experts at a corporation? You could have about 20 people working for you. Your pay would be a bit higher then.
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sunnyday
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by sunnyday »

The key is to be very good at whatever you do. Salary.com shows that an average welder makes ~$40,000. You're friend who makes 2.5x that may be the Michael Jordan of welding.
I think IT is a great field to be in. Salary.com has the average IT Network admin salary at ~$75,000. Do you think there's room for growth with your current setup? How do you compare to your coworkers? Are there other, higher paying jobs that you're qualified for?
tibbitts
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by tibbitts »

MortgageOnBlack wrote:Hello,

I'm currently at 50k a year salary as an IT Consultant. I primarily work 40hrs per week on average so it's not terrible (I realize and I"m thankful for what I have - I realize people make less than this and I'm appreciative at least). I have a friend who's a welder who I just found out makes over a 100k per year! I'm not sure what hours he has to put in to see that kind of money (I'm definitely going to find out :wink: ). I currently have an assoicate's degree from a local technical school which I obtained immedaitely upon graduating high school. I'm looking for a career change to make some extra cash. I'm very open minded and wouldn't mind doing anything under the sun. Any ideas what I can begin learning to improve my income? I'm amazed that he makes that much - He's exactly my age! He showed me his paystub and he's already at 30k for the year! :o I've put in consistent time in my field and it feels like I'm spinning my wheels - Maybe I'm just terrible negotiating or not as strong as I think I am.
I think you're doing very well, and shouldn't worry about what your friend makes. You should be more concerned that your own job is one that you enjoy (or at least don't mind doing), is likely to be in demand for a while, and is something that you're reasonable good at.

The job market isn't always efficient. I've worked in IT where, at the same company, one contract employee made $40k a year, and another over $100k a year, doing basically the same job. My experience has been that, if you're truly exceptional at what you do, you're going to earn a high salary. If you're like the other 90+% of us, what you'll earn is based partly on skill, experience, hard work, etc, but also a good bit on luck. Remember when you read replies here that this is a forum with an unusual percentage of very successful people, and there's probably a tendency for members to underestimate the amount of skill, ability, and, yes, luck, that was necessary for them to become as successful as they've been.

There are people I know who work in IT and make well more than twice what I do, and others who earn not much more than half as much. Except for the most and least skilled, there isn't always a correlation between skill and pay. I can look back on my career and see where, with some different decisions, I could have been earning twice what I do now, but I can also look back and see that I'm pretty lucky to have had the positions I've had, and pretty lucky to have the ones I have now.

Paul
tibbitts
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by tibbitts »

livesoft wrote:How about managing a team of IT experts at a corporation? You could have about 20 people working for you. Your pay would be a bit higher then.
And you'd be the first person to lose your job when the company realizes that it only needs one manager for every 200 IT experts. Seriously, management isn't always a step forward in job security.

Paul
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GregLee
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by GregLee »

How about working toward a higher paid retirement? Think ahead. Maybe shop around for a government job with a defined benefit retirement plan.
Greg, retired 8/10.
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interplanetjanet
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by interplanetjanet »

tibbitts wrote:
livesoft wrote:How about managing a team of IT experts at a corporation? You could have about 20 people working for you. Your pay would be a bit higher then.
And you'd be the first person to lose your job when the company realizes that it only needs one manager for every 200 IT experts. Seriously, management isn't always a step forward in job security.
The key, as in any high profile job, is to add value and make sure that people know it without getting in their face. A lot of managers who do get cut miss this simple point. Exceptional ones are worth their weight in scandium.

-janet
tibbitts
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by tibbitts »

interplanetjanet wrote:
tibbitts wrote:
livesoft wrote:How about managing a team of IT experts at a corporation? You could have about 20 people working for you. Your pay would be a bit higher then.
And you'd be the first person to lose your job when the company realizes that it only needs one manager for every 200 IT experts. Seriously, management isn't always a step forward in job security.
The key, as in any high profile job, is to add value and make sure that people know it without getting in their face. A lot of managers who do get cut miss this simple point. Exceptional ones are worth their weight in scandium.

-janet
Very true, but as I said, being truly exceptional at almost anything - including management - greatly improves your odds of earning a high salary. However, being truly exceptional isn't necessarily something everyone is capable of.

Paul
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by beachplum »

sunnyday wrote:The key is to be very good at whatever you do. Salary.com shows that an average welder makes ~$40,000. You're friend who makes 2.5x that may be the Michael Jordan of welding.
I think IT is a great field to be in. Salary.com has the average IT Network admin salary at ~$75,000. Do you think there's room for growth with your current setup? How do you compare to your coworkers? Are there other, higher paying jobs that you're qualified for?
My husband works at a company with a lot of welders. the reason they can make a lot of money has to do with having a labor union, overtime pay at time and half and double on Sundays' --which they love to rack up in order to make the money your friend makes. The average for an experienced welder at this company is 28 an hour. Do you like working in the freezing cold, the burning heat, very tight spaces and breathing fumes? Those are the conditions the welders work under at my husband's company. there are plenty of job openings, I wonder why?
wendy
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by yobria »

Most "IT consultants" I know make a lot more than blue collar workers.
TRC
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by TRC »

If you have good people and communication skills, look into becoming a technical pre-sales engineer/ consultant. Usually mid to high 100s if you're good.
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bottlecap
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by bottlecap »

In Chicago, a welder probably does make that much. He is either a member of a union or works on state jobs farmed out to private companies that are required to pay certain wages by law. There can also be other barriers to entry imposed by the law or the trade, or both. In other words, you have to be protected by law to make that much as a welder. Its a good gig if you can get it. There are others. Hell, even lawyers and doctors have protections against competition.

When I worked construction (and benefited from some of these protections, although my position wasn't union), it was interesting. The welders made more than almost anyone else and, perhaps because of that, were very unreliable - mostly because they could afford drugs. The whole project would be held up because welders wouldn't show up for work, but they couldn't be fired, not necessarily because they were union, but because there weren't enough of them. You had to take them when they wanted to show up. Half way through the project, management hired one that was clean and it was smooth sailing from then on. I'm sure the unreliable guys found work occasionally elsewhere.

Anyway, my point is that there are anomalies everywhere that drive up the salaries of certain professions or jobs. Find one that looks good and pursue it. With the Internet, you should be able to find these quickly. The Department of Labor website isn't a bad place to start.

JT
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by SpecialK22 »

Is your friend an underwater welder? Dangerous line of work but salary seems to match. Could just have a nice union jobs as others have mentioned.

I don't work in IT, but it seems when it comes to networking certifications like CCNP and MCSE would be helpful. Might look into what other certifications might make you more competitive.

Some other quick ideas:

Look into Guard or Reserve IT positions which would require a Top Secret security clearance and get you experience working on some military systems. This would make you pretty marketable to defense contractors. Alternatively you could try to go active duty but a little more risk there. With Guard or Reserves, you can more or less guess what you will be doing based on the unit you are joining. Active duty could have you working on something that really has little correlation to the civilian world. For example, one of my Community College of the Air Force degrees is in Information Systems; however, my job at the time was to setup an maintain the Air Force Air Request Net at whatever Army echelon I was at, and to advise the ground commander on the best use of close air support in their maneuver operations. While mostly fun at the time, it’s not really directly helpful with getting a job on the outside.

If you're up for overseas work, I would guess your typical IT contractor in Afghanistan makes $160k-$250k a year. Long work hours and not the greatest living conditions, but good pay and almost no expenses.
jjbiv
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by jjbiv »

MortgageOnBlack wrote:Good Advice. I have about 8 years experience as a General Network Admin. I wouldn't consider myself an expert in any specific area. There are a lot of things I don't know. I feel like this industry is over-saturated a bit and there are a lot of well-rounded individuals who do what I do. I guess I have a hard time differentiating myself and "finding my calling" if you will. I do enjoy what I do for the most part. It would be nice to become more valuable If I could, but Im not sure where to begin
Any certifications? At my shop, you would earn at least $10K more with a CCNA. A CCNP and experience in the areas covered while studying for that certification would get you to where you are aiming for. The real question is do you enjoy what you do? It's much easier to excel when you love (or at least like) your work. Also, your employer makes a large difference in what you are paid. You could be the best network admin but if you're working for a non-profit organization (as an example) you're not likely to ever make what you would otherwise be worth on the market. If you worked in consulting, sales, or for a large company with solid pay practices, you would be likely to make much more with similar skills.
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MortgageOnBlack
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by MortgageOnBlack »

My 8 years of experience has all been in the private sector for very small companies (less than 50 employees). I have valued my experience with smaller companies because job stability has felt reliable and I have gotten opportunities to wear many hats. But because of this, there has been limited growth and my position has been stagnant. Perhaps I should explore the possibility of working for larger corporations.

Edit: I'm MCSE in Windows 2003 (outdated - Will need to update my skills a bit)
jda
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by jda »

One thing I have heard from my previous company's IT people is that people who are good at Linux are harder to find than Windows people. So one thing you can do is start learning on Linux on your own, setup a little email/file server at home. Learn how to do some scripting that may help you with your future job hunting.
edge
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by edge »

First, you are not an IT consultant. You are an IT contractor.

Second, if you want to make more money, become a consultant (i.e. someone who primarily offers advice/strategy).

Thirdly, 'making more money' usually (but def. not always) revolves around how much value (or perceived value) you create for the firm. In an IT contractor position your value creation opportunities are limited. Simply put, to be more valuable you have to do more valuable things.
TheEternalVortex
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by TheEternalVortex »

Profit comes from scarcity. That applies just as well to the profit you earn from your labor. So to make more you need to do something that other people either don't want to or can't do.
tibbitts
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Re: Higher Paying Jobs. How do I begin?

Post by tibbitts »

edge wrote:First, you are not an IT consultant. You are an IT contractor.

Second, if you want to make more money, become a consultant (i.e. someone who primarily offers advice/strategy).

Thirdly, 'making more money' usually (but def. not always) revolves around how much value (or perceived value) you create for the firm. In an IT contractor position your value creation opportunities are limited. Simply put, to be more valuable you have to do more valuable things.
Correct on the contractor/consultant issue, but in fairness to OP the terms are often used interchangeably in IT, even if they shouldn't be.

However, "become a consultant" is sort of like saying that if you aren't making enough money working at a golf course, become a successful touring pro. Obvious, but not necessarily doable by everyone.

Paul
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