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Computer Guru's....
- Thread starter The Ranger
- Start date
I get paid pretty well though at my company, more than most 21yr olds I know.
J
john937
Guest
Nearly all roads thru the tech world pay relatively the same at the bottom.
Entry level jobs don't pay, but you learn a lot and get credentials.
Then the mid to senior level jobs pay from 40K - 60K, and maybe into the 70's if your special.
But then you hit a ceiling.
The only way to get past the ceiling is to either go into management or become a contractor.
White men find it particularly hard to go into management because so many tech companies
use women in management to balance their OEO quotas/ratios.
I can't count how many situations I know where there's a white woman in management and everybody reporting to her is either a white male or ethinic female.
I'm not debating whether that's right or wrong, that's just what I see every day.
So as a white male you're best bet for getting into higher level pay is to become a consultant/contractor and be really good at something and have great references and do a lot of networking so people in you're area recognize you as being a hot item.
The trick to being a hot consultant is to be knowledgable in a hot area before everybody and his dog learns it.
So to stay hot as a consultant you have to keep learning the leading edge technologies.
Right now I'd say that's java development, with a side order of database and network/telecommunications.
Personally I didn't like programming, so I'm in database administration and system administration, which don't lend themselves to being a contractor.
Managers are very leary of hiring a contractor to be their system "root" admin because they want to know you're going to stick around for years.
Entry level jobs don't pay, but you learn a lot and get credentials.
Then the mid to senior level jobs pay from 40K - 60K, and maybe into the 70's if your special.
But then you hit a ceiling.
The only way to get past the ceiling is to either go into management or become a contractor.
White men find it particularly hard to go into management because so many tech companies
use women in management to balance their OEO quotas/ratios.
I can't count how many situations I know where there's a white woman in management and everybody reporting to her is either a white male or ethinic female.
I'm not debating whether that's right or wrong, that's just what I see every day.
So as a white male you're best bet for getting into higher level pay is to become a consultant/contractor and be really good at something and have great references and do a lot of networking so people in you're area recognize you as being a hot item.
The trick to being a hot consultant is to be knowledgable in a hot area before everybody and his dog learns it.
So to stay hot as a consultant you have to keep learning the leading edge technologies.
Right now I'd say that's java development, with a side order of database and network/telecommunications.
Personally I didn't like programming, so I'm in database administration and system administration, which don't lend themselves to being a contractor.
Managers are very leary of hiring a contractor to be their system "root" admin because they want to know you're going to stick around for years.
J
john937
Guest
Sure there's exceptions and you have to adjust for regional pay differences.
I doubt anyone is getting 85K to start anything in the south.
When I moved from New York to Texas I took about a 50% pay cut, but at the time it was worth it to get out of NYC.
That brings up another topic: to be a high paid contractor you have to either be willing to travel to the high paying contracts or live in one of the biggest cities that is used to doing buisness with contractors.
That means NY, LA, SF, etc. You're not going to get high paying contracts in Bucksnort Utah.
I doubt anyone is getting 85K to start anything in the south.
When I moved from New York to Texas I took about a 50% pay cut, but at the time it was worth it to get out of NYC.
That brings up another topic: to be a high paid contractor you have to either be willing to travel to the high paying contracts or live in one of the biggest cities that is used to doing buisness with contractors.
That means NY, LA, SF, etc. You're not going to get high paying contracts in Bucksnort Utah.
H
HappyScrappy
Guest
yeah, like I'll be at at least 80K in a few days once my review goes through - but that is b/c the cost of living here is high.
makes me feel like maybe I shoudl try to get some work done.
makes me feel like maybe I shoudl try to get some work done.
JUSTINCREDBOL
New member
big easy said it best.
Web Design sucks and pays peanuts.
Oracle is the highest paying job out there. CISCO would be next. And all entry level jobs do NOT start out the same. My entry level as a Junior DBA was at $47 per hour. It has only gone up since. I have been offered permanent jobs that pay over 100K, but I enjoy doing contract work as it allows me to grab various stock cheaply (or free) while still making more money. I also I get time off whenever I want it and not have to stick with the 2 weeks standard vacation time most companies have.
Oracle is the highest paying job out there. CISCO would be next. And all entry level jobs do NOT start out the same. My entry level as a Junior DBA was at $47 per hour. It has only gone up since. I have been offered permanent jobs that pay over 100K, but I enjoy doing contract work as it allows me to grab various stock cheaply (or free) while still making more money. I also I get time off whenever I want it and not have to stick with the 2 weeks standard vacation time most companies have.
john937 said:
I'm glad you mentioned that because those rules of pay scale don't apply in NYC. Just reiterating.
I am a computer engineer so I can speak from experience that being a software engineer is the easiest way to make a load of cash.
It takes longer for hardware engineers to reach the same pay scale as their software counterparts, and generally the education is more demanding.
Most of my work right now is done in c++ and Java on wireless platforms. If you can get a job in the bay area, you can reel in 6 figures real quick as long as you are pretty good.
The key is to be strongly rooted in the software fundamentals and to know C++. Knowing Java is desireable, but if you know C++ then you can pick up Java very easily, but the opposite does not hold true.
The Doc
It takes longer for hardware engineers to reach the same pay scale as their software counterparts, and generally the education is more demanding.
Most of my work right now is done in c++ and Java on wireless platforms. If you can get a job in the bay area, you can reel in 6 figures real quick as long as you are pretty good.
The key is to be strongly rooted in the software fundamentals and to know C++. Knowing Java is desireable, but if you know C++ then you can pick up Java very easily, but the opposite does not hold true.
The Doc
