Does anyone know of good resources for figuring out average salaries in Portland, especially in IT? I work in a retail computer repair shop and I know I'm getting underpaid, but I don't know by how much. Anyone else in a similar job want to have a conversation about this with me? I'll buy coffee for anyone who wants to meet up in person!
Posted Feb 12, 2012, 7:37 PM UTC
Retail computer repair shop? That's not IT, that's grunt work. Get some certs, build a test lab, show initiative, get a real job.
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I deleted my original response because saying "get a real job" offended me, but I understand your point. What certs do you recommend? I've heard a lot of talk about certs not mattering anymore but I don't really know anything about them, except for taking a CCNA course years ago in high school. About the test lab, do you mean at home?
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I just liken "repair shop tech" to "mailroom clerk" in terms of one's career. It's a good starting point, but if you want to make some real money in IT you'll focus on moving to a more lucrative position rather than fortifying the one you have now.
Certs show an employer that you're willing to study and work to improve your skillset and value, especially if you get them in regular intervals. They matter and they don't matter, it really depends on the HR department of the company you're applying to. Some organizations have strict requirements to get an interview, and I see a lot more requirements for high-level Microsoft certifications than I do for 4-year college degrees.
Certifications aren't just pieces of paper. If they're pursued in the correct manner they are a way to motivate you to learn a certain amount about certain subjects, which is really something you should be doing anyway if you want to be competitive in the IT job market. It's more valuable than just studying on your own for certain things, because at the end of it you'll have searchable "proof" that you did the work.
CCNA is a good base cert, the certification track will teach you basic networking theory and practice. I highly recommend it for entry-level IT workers, even if you don't intend on focusing on Networking. If you want to be Microsoft-focused you can go down that track, if you want to be *nix focused there are certs for that as well.
Once you get a cert or two for what you're interested in, then you look for entry-level jobs or contracts that use that technology, then you begin accumulating experience you can use to acquire more lucrative (both in terms of pay as well as lines on your resume) positions.
Yes, you'll need a home test lab to really complete some certification tracks.
Thanks for writing out such a detailed response. I'm well aware that I'm at the bottom of the food chain, but I'm not sure which direction I want to go from here. I don't think I want to be in a corporate environment even if that is where all the money is.
Ohh, gotcha. Good luck!
Basic 'retail' computer repair tech? maybe $12 an hour? I'd range anywhere from 9.50-14.50 depending on the shop/your experience/range of job responsibilities.
Get on CL and find a similar job, see what it pays. If it's more than you're making now, apply for it.
I totally forgot to do that, thanks. It seems that most jobs don't advertise pay rates though.