IT Professionals- In here!

[ringo747]

Reading this thread makes me realise that working in IT in the mainland must be very different to working here in NI. I have been with a large IT company for over 4 years now and I am still on not much more money than when I started. I have went to lots of interviews for new jobs and none of them really pay terribly well.

I work with SharePoint mostly and am earning ~£35k (package value). Jobs advertised for people with 5 years experience are paying no more than 40k. SharePoint really is in demand big time in the UK but in NI the contractor market is said to be very slow for the type of stuff I do.

I could probably be earning £60k+ in London for doing essentially the same job. In the first few years I learned very little but I stayed because I was earning more than most of the folks I graduated with. Many of them will still be stuck on low 20ks even with 4/5 years experience.

 

[rogan]

Well i've applied for 15 internships now and been declined from 11 <.<

Losing the will to apply !

 

[jonneymendoza]

Reading this thread makes me realise that working in IT in the mainland must be very different to working here in NI. I have been with a large IT company for over 4 years now and I am still on not much more money than when I started. I have went to lots of interviews for new jobs and none of them really pay terribly well.

I work with SharePoint mostly and am earning ~£35k (package value). Jobs advertised for people with 5 years experience are paying no more than 40k. SharePoint really is in demand big time in the UK but in NI the contractor market is said to be very slow for the type of stuff I do.

I could probably be earning £60k+ in London for doing essentially the same job. In the first few years I learned very little but I stayed because I was earning more than most of the folks I graduated with. Many of them will still be stuck on low 20ks even with 4/5 years experience.

You are not going to progress salary wise sticking with same company for so long because most companies only give u 10% payrise once a year IF your lucky. This is why i myself will only stick to a company for no longer then 2 years.

 

[Eliot]

My progession is as follows:

Left uni in July - BSC hons IT 2:1
Moved from wales to london with my girlfriend for work (study in her case)
I'm currently a Graduate (Trainee) In the IT Support department of a insurance company.
Its a scheme of sorts where I get involved in different positions and projects, at the moment im working on virtualisting employees in our london offices (400 users)
after that i think its a windows 7/office 2010 rollout.
However in between project work im basically filling a 2nd line/ desktop support role.

26k at the moment but I believe that should increase after september when i get my "Position".
Its easily enough to live on (or will be) at the moment im still dipping in the overdraft at the end of the month after the initial costs of moving and setting up.

 

[ringo747]

You are not going to progress salary wise sticking with same company for so long because most companies only give u 10% payrise once a year IF your lucky. This is why i myself will only stick to a company for no longer then 2 years.

All very well in theory, however, there just aren't the opportunities here. I could possibly move to one or two large companies that pay more but they are the type to throw you out as soon as a big project gets completed.

 

[Delvis]

Heh, I need to change jobs / career paths

@17: Started at a PC building company - 7.2K
Stayed here for 5/6 years and ended up in the test / projects department
@22ish: 14k

Left the above company due to redundancy
Then worked at a bespoke speaker manufacturer - 12k
Went back in to IT as Helpdesk Support, all levels practically - 18K
Above company merged and I left

Ended up at wickes on £6 something an hour for 6 months,

Joined a school as the IT Tech (went for the sys admin job but got declined) - Now back on 16k+ but due to only working term time it's more like 12k now - I'm now 26

EDIT: As well as running the helpdesk I do most things involving the website and all admin things relating to the VLE

 

[Hank_Marvin]

I've looked at school IT jobs before and the stuff they expect you to know and do and what little they pay, it's crazy, even posh private schools with term fee's in the £1000's.

 

[Delvis]

I've looked at school IT jobs before and the stuff they expect you to know and do and what little they pay, it's crazy, even posh private schools with term fee's in the £1000's.

Its' over rated, due to everything being in public sector its all done by salary ranges, and you cant jump up a salary range unless your job title changes basically...Hence why I'm doing the website now as well because I moaned

Issue is, they aren't going to have two people at the same level / same job title, so I'll never be earning what my colleague is earning, even though I can do the same things.

 

[joemc]

Tech Support - 13k
IT Tech - £15, but with training available...

Really looking in to SEO at the moment - any idea's on how to get in to it?!

 

[pyropetepete]

Looking forsomething my self. Had my hours cut right down and i can't just play hop skip and jump when they say! I want something 100%. Bugga all going down in the south west!

 

[Mr^B]

You are not going to progress salary wise sticking with same company for so long because most companies only give u 10% payrise once a year IF your lucky. This is why i myself will only stick to a company for no longer then 2 years.

Depends on the company and what you do to impress.

I'm on about 2x my starting salary (started here in 2008).

 

[anything I don't mind]

I find it difficult to make the jump from desktop support, 1st/2nd line support with a bit of 3rd to dedicated 3rd line roles. Even with increases in responsibility ie being the only IT guy for a company, having to handle all aspects from purchasing to meetings with suppliers and doing upgrades all way down to fixing printers and outlook problems. This is still classed as desktop support but imo is not comparable to say just answering the phone all day and logging calls and doing the occasional fixing of problems and some exchange/ad admin etc. I find it difficult to get 3rd line roles because they want people who have done 3rd line roles before or have specifically specialised in a field. I have not applied to third line jobs in a while though but I would not like to specialize, the idea of working only on one thing for the foreseeable future bores me. I like varied roles. Like the sharepoint consultant, i would realy not like to work on sharepoint all day but look how much the guy makes.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Depends on the company and what you do to impress.

I'm on about 2x my starting salary (started here in 2008).

Yes i agree mate but most companies aint like that. Fair enough if you are in na good company that doubles your salary based on your performance then stay where you are.

 

[rickjames]

Just acquired my first role as an ICT Support technician at a school, CRB check and written offer pending.

Bear in mind I've no certs (studying my A+ now) I'm amazed I'm in there out of 40 applicants. Had some previous school experience over a summer which I guess impressed them a little.

First step on the ladder!

 

[infernox]

Just started a Ict Apprentice technician at a school too. CRB done,

Have my CCNA and A+, could have probably done better but there paying for a server 2008 course, and unless they offer me a decent wage at the end of it, i dont think i will be staying.

Also 6.5k a year sucks

 

[jonneymendoza]

Just started a Ict Apprentice technician at a school too. CRB done,

Have my CCNA and A+, could have probably done better but there paying for a server 2008 course, and unless they offer me a decent wage at the end of it, i dont think i will be staying.

Also 6.5k a year sucks

cool not bad

 

[Delvis]

Just acquired my first role as an ICT Support technician at a school, CRB check and written offer pending.

Bear in mind I've no certs (studying my A+ now) I'm amazed I'm in there out of 40 applicants. Had some previous school experience over a summer which I guess impressed them a little.

First step on the ladder!

It'll be a doddle, half of it is turning things off and on again anyway...And i'm not joking

 

[Beasty]

I'm over triple my starting salary from the beginning of 2009 (which was utterly peanuts) but I got more incremental increases in salary etc ahead of others because hard work was recognized. It's not gonna be such a sharp increase any more though

It'll be a doddle, half of it is turning things off and on again anyway...And i'm not joking

^ He's really not joking, the more challenging aspect of the job is the 'customer service' part of it as you will meet some utter morons that you will need to stay polite with, even if they treat you like dirt, if you say anything out of line they (some) will go straight to the HoD and try to get you nailed, it helps to have a good boss that has your back!

 

[Lunawolfy]

Currently half way through my degree in Computer Security and Forensics. Just secured a years work placement doing 1st line IT Support for the University of Edinburgh, 15.5K and I'm still in uni (my uni do work placement worth half a years credit, and worth a years experience in an otherwise tough to penetrate sector).

I think the moneys magic (being a naive student who works at the Golden Arches )

Hoping to graduate with 1st class honours into a job where I can study for Cisco Security and Encase forensic technician and hopefully get into the field of Criminal/Corporate digital forensics. Either that or security consultancy and/or penetration testing.

 

[Delvis]

^ He's really not joking, the more challenging aspect of the job is the 'customer service' part of it as you will meet some utter morons that you will need to stay polite with, even if they treat you like dirt, if you say anything out of line they (some) will go straight to the HoD and try to get you nailed, it helps to have a good boss that has your back!

Pretty much nail on the head. The support staff tend to be nicer...usually