***UPDATE****

Hope you all don't mind me bringing this post back, but a lot has changed for me over the past few months. After graduating I decided to move to NYC to live with my older sister and find a job up there. We got an apartment in Brooklyn about a month and a half ago and I began my job hunt. I decided to stick with IT support jobs simply because I had the experience already so I figured it would be easier to get a job. I spent about 4 full weeks interviewing and applying for dozens of job postings around NYC and didn't really have much luck until about the 3rd week.

I went in and interviewed for an IT Specialist position with Telstra Incorporated, a global telecommunications company headquartered in downtown NYC. The position was "Entry-Level" and the pay was $40,000-$50,000. After interviewing I never heard back for about a week even after sending thank you emails and what not. About 2 weeks later I got an envelope inthe mail with an offer for the position! I was so happy. My starting salary is $50,000 a year with quarterly bonuses and the coolest part is my office is on Wall St. in the Trump Building on the 40th floor.

I start tomorrow morning, and I'm nervous even though everyone is telling me I shouldn't be.

Here's a list of the specs for the job (it sounds VERY basic and entry-level based on the description). I've had much more experience supporting a windows environment then listed, and perhaps that is why I got the offer I did from them.

Anyways, thanks for listening, I wanted to keep all you IT people updated on what I've been up to the past few months.

Thanks!

P.S. --> if there are any IT people in NY, I'm looking to meet some new ppl and check out the local bars and what not.

Also, does anyone know of any IT forums/communities online?

 

Hey man,

I'm an IT Network and Software Support Tech. I work here in upstate NY. Salary is real nice. I would say stick with it, it will pay with experience over the years. Salaries will vary by where you live. Average salary for 0-2 yrs exp. is $35,000-$50,000 and its moves up from there. Also depends what support you are

 

Im also in the field. Graduated last may with a BS in CS and i have been working at a large texas bank doing work on their mainframe. I only took it because I needed to start paying on my car loan and student loans. Its an easy job and it pays $32,000 a year but i'm looking for more of a challenge.
This morning i did an interview for a programming position for another company and they start at $52,000 a year. i hope i get it so i can pay off some of my debt.
for IT you need experience to get the big $ but i dont want to wait so im going into programming, they get a lot more money. just have to find a good language to be a guru at and a few others to keep on the side.
dont lose hope, it took me awhile to find this job and i have been looking for a new one for the past 3 months but since im paying my bills, im taking it easy until i find the right one to hold onto.

good luck

 

I'm in the field too, and in LA there are some good jobs. But I want to move up to the Bay Area where the real jobs and money are at.

 

A buddy of mine who graduated with me is working in San Fran working at yahoo, lucky bastard
he loves it over there

 

bay area FTW!

 

Im just starting monday as an Onsite Technician Lvl1 for HP. Ill be making 29,140 a year with 0 industry experience. I have only ever worked at computer repair places.

 

IT pays okay depending on where you work. All I have to say is make sure you work at a place where you are not expendable. It really sucks when you have to worry about losing your job. Also, another tip is to focus on the business side of IT. There is more challanges, money, responsibility, and longevity in those roles.

 

That is what I wanted to move towards, using IT for business and moving away from help desk/support. I like working with people, but I don't want to be Nick Burns, company computer guy for the next 20 years lol.

 

I'm one of the head user interface designers on my team in the User Experience Group at large international rental car company. We do all of our own app dev (public facing websites and internal software). Starting is typically mid 40-60k depending on the position (ueg, front or back end dev, etc.) and your experience level.

PM me if you want to know the details.

 

I've been involved in IT for 10+ years. It takes a certain breed of person to really enjoy IT work and if it's your forte, then you'll do well. If not, then you'll burn out quickly and never make it to the decent money.
For an experienced MCSE, CNE, or other systems engineer, the typical income (at least in Texas) is $40,000+, with experience pushing the income envelope up to $65,000+. Unfortunately, that is usually where systems engineers will cap unless they find a specific niche to fill.
Helpdesk people make MUCH less and are usually crapped on by corp. employees on a regular basis. Helpdesk is a thankless job, but unfortunately, it is usually the avenue to a better career in IT. Helpdesk is typically the starting point for new IT professionals. Knowledgeable, skilled helpdesk employees with usually get out of Tier 1 quickly, and can usually navigate through Helpdesk and out to a more specific and appealing IT position within a year or two.
If you are willing to REALLY relocate, you may find a more lucrative income in Europe or the UK. Europe, believe it or not, is somewhat behind in IT technology implementation and a skilled IT Professional with a broad arsenal of knowledge is very sought-after.
...hope this helps.
If you have any specific questions that I can answer, shoot me a PM.
L8R,
UV7

 

Helpdesk isn't always crapped on. I started there less then a year ago and got paid $33,000 which is nice. And the company that i work for relies on the helpdesk for support since we our a software and networking company. I have since moved up in the last year I've been here and am making more money as a lead Network and Software support tech. I have interviewed for an in house Position: QA Engineer / Software architecture programmer. This position starts at $65,000. Pretty nice pay considering im only 20, about to be 21. Remind you I only have an A.A,S degree in CIS Networking. My internship helped me get where Im at today. I make great money now but that $65,000 would be nice and a little more money my way. Anyways, IT is paying off for me right now and im gonna be 21 on June 23rd. Stay in IT unless you're bored with it.

 

i am going to be in IT next week. (computer operator) The pay sucks big time, but it will be my stepping stone.

 

web developer / programmer here. ive seen guys with mis degrees and here is where i have worked at:

disney
general dynamics
sun

i started working when i was 22 and i am now 25. i started at 24k but have grown to 3x+ that amount since i 1) have the skills but 2) i am greedy. i have been at 5 places in like 4 years but i do NOT recommend doing that unless you can back up your work. it is much harder to make bank with your degree because unless you get at a place where your specialty is the backbone of the company, they are going to shaft you. expand your portfolio and you will be more valuable. i started off as a comp sci major not knowing too much of what it entailed and since then i have ended up where i am knowing many things like java, .net, php, jsp, oracle, myql, mssql, ant, flex, working with web servers (apache, websphere, tomcat), etc etc. just be a sponge and you will benefit from it. notice how my skill set ranges from programming (web and software), to system admin work, to configuration management (release engineering). that may be what you want to do to be more marketable. on the flip side of things, i have a friend who does work solely with mac products and gets to work with famous people all day (singers, actors, etc). its all up to you. work environment is like any other place - you get a cube and you sit in there and code away hehe. dress code is casual so jeans and t shirts for me every day and that is a big plus. overall i am happy with my career because i could be working in another field that is much more stressful.

 

bump

 

Apparently I missed the original discussion, but I was hired by Boeing on the day of my graduation. I graduated with a BS in Computer Information Systems and went directly into the position of Systems Analyst Lvl 1 starting at $56,400.