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by dwiebles

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Hello,
Recently the lead in my IT dept (there were only 2 of us) left unexpectedly. Now the company is looking at me to be the sys admin. I am fine with this but they have asked me what my expected earnings are, (currently 24,000 annual canadian funds). I have NO certs, experience or anything that could even remotley be called qualified, but have been with this company for 2 years, and the former Sys admin actually recomended me for the position, claiming that I have a good grasp on the current systems, and am "tech savy", on the condition that I get training. They are also going to hire a "less experienced" person under myself. so ultimatly what I want to know is what salary should I request? They will pay for courses I wish to take in addition to my salary. We have 3 application servers (win 2k3), a SQL server (win 2k3), domain master and backup (both win2k) and a Mail server (linux mandrake), as well as a NAS. There are roughly 60 users, and I am expected to be on call. Any and all input is Greatly appreciated.

Cheers and Thanks,

-Dusty

4 replies

by jamesrl

You don't want to price yourself in the same range as experienced Sys Admins, because there are lots of them out there who are hungry for work. You don't want to value yourself too low either.

I would get the courses as part of the offer. I would ensure that on call pay is clearly defined(no one should carry it for nothing). And I would look at how many levels you are being promoted - was the previous one 2 levels higher? Then add 10% per level - thats a hefty raise for anyone, but depending on your market(I am in Toronto where you would starve on 24K) you may want to adjust down.

James

by dwiebles

I am in Winnipeg, and apparently we have the among the highest cost of living in Canada, personally I think that's absurd, but whta do I know. On call work is UNPAID, "part of the job" I have been told. I forgot to mention a PBX phone switch is also one of my responsibilities. I am unsure of how many levels this promotion is, how might I determine that? Thanks for the insight, I really had/have little or no clue.

-Dusty

by mauri_1848

I administrate a very similar network in size, and I was in a similar situation last year.

If I was you, I would ask an average between your last salary and the salary of the former admin, because in that way, both (your employer and you) win.

When security is being a major issue for admins, tou should not forget a fundamental thing, "trust". If they trust you, they must pay you for that confidence.

by rcrc001

I would definitely want to know why the other person left? Is there something going on that you should know about before accepting the position?

I believe that someone already mentioned the fact to not request the going rate for experienced Sys Admin. Also, remember that the more higher the pay the greater the expectations.

Again, someone asked not to make the request to low -- a great point!

Sometimes searching websites like monster.com will give you some insight on the occassions where salary is mentioned.

There used to be a book called 'Area Wage Survey' that provided salary numbers for local areas the used to be housed at the library.

Also, I believe that the Department of Labor website might offer some help (http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm) on the Occupational Outlook Handbook page.

Hope this helps.

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