IT Employment

I have personally been in the IT field for a short amount of time (2 1/2 yrs). I was hired at my present company as a PC support tech and became Net Admin 8 months later. I became certified as an MCSE 2000 last year and I am looking at getting my CCNA certification the end of this year. With those certifications under my belt is it reasonable to think that I may be in for a salary increase? I have been on regular reviews and receiving small salary increases at those review points but does any one think that upon receiving my CCNA (or possibly CCNP) I may be entitled to a reasonable salary increase?

If you were already receiving an inflated salary, don't expect it to keep jumping all the time with the same employer and the same manager. Sometimes it requires a departmental move and/or a company change before someon realizes you for yout true worth.

My former company (Xerox Connect) had such budgeting issues that they wouldn't give me any more than the reasonable and customary %4 any year or review... Once a manager stuck her neck out and gave me %13, based on stealing from everyone else in the department! That's wasn't easy to swallow. Needless to say they all left within weeks because the department was going down any way.... My moral here is that you have to be utilized or appreciated, or current employers view your cert as a gift to them, not an asset that they should value.....

I am unsure as to what certification does for you besides get you an interview. Once you learn your organizations network there is little a certification will do for you...that is if your doing your job. When it comes time to add a router, installan server, firewall, etc..it is important not to be biased about what brand you decide to utilize. Remember that certs are promoted by the manufacturer and it's not like getting Cisco certified gets you certified in routers. Additionally, you may find that getting routers configured by a vendor will cost alot less -and take up alot less time- if you outsource. Frequently, you are much better off NOT troubleshooting your WAN's, let that to the telecom folks. Focus on your network, and don't feel that you need to get certified in "SonicWall" or "Watchguard" before you buy and use a product.

Certification is worth the blazing sum of $0.00! A good employer will pay for performance and promote for potential. Your boss may be right - your certification (along with experinece, problem solving skills, management skills, and 10,000 other things) may improve your potential to the point where you should be promoted, but certifiction ain't worth a dime - unless you use it to PERFORM.