Okay I have sent my resume to a place that was looking for a entry level network admin and 2 days later to my surprise they call me back and I was at work and wanted to know what my desired salary would be. Well I have no clue. To give you a little back ground I have A+ Net+ I-Net+ Microsoft Pro, Server and working on getting my 70-218

I also have about 2yrs of experience working for a helpdesk and also at an ISP some desktop stuff also.

Please help with what I might ask for a starting salary. I currently at a helpdesk make about 31K

Please any help would be great this is Friday and I will call her on Monday to give her the info.

Thanks
Don

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Well first of all you don't want to go lower or the same as you are on now as you have gained the experience on your present job. I think between 32 - 35 tops what do others think.

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They have a salary range in mind, and they want to see if you fall into it. Give them a range of your own, or something a little less specific to chew on.

I'd say something like "I'd like to see a salary in the mid-30s."

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Mid to upper thirties sound good. Though 40k wouldnt be a bad start either but that might be asking to much.

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I would at least go for upper 30s to lower 40s. You may just want to phrase it "upper" or "lower" to see if how they bite it. It will make you seem negotiable if you are pricing too high. Get a decent pay increase out of it, particularly if this is a salary position. If it's salary you're probably going to find that you'll be putting in more hours anyway.

After two years experience, I found myself in a similar position, although I have a degree and had a few more certs at the the time. I was making 31K and negotiated for 10K more. In both cases my pay was hourly. After a year the position started getting precipitous, and I decided to take another position with a more secure company for the lower 40s as well. This position is salary, and I work 60+ hours most weeks. It's not a bad job aside from that, but money-wise it's a bit of a rip. So make sure your negotiating for fair pay if it's salary.

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i would say at least 35 - 40 depending on the duties, darthw scares me with that story
60 hours a week x 52 weeks = 3120 divided by say 42 grand is about 13.50 an hour... i would be extremely pissed if i had all the certs you had and i was making that hourly wage (which i was making at ups with no degrees as a part time supervisor) just thinking about that makes me mad but im glad you brought that up because its something to keep in mind when you are looking for a job

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Unfortunately darthw's story is the reality. It's extremely important to know if you will be hourly or salaried. If you're going to be hourly, then I would agree with Nicole and say "I'd like to see a salary in the mid-30s." If you're going to be salaried, however, you can expect to spend more than 40 hours a week there, so be sure you factor that in and ask for upper-30's. Also, keep in mind that unless you tell them what you honestly make now, they have no way of varifying that info. so tell them you're currently making in the mid-30's - at the very least you don't want to take a pay cut Again, they don't know you're not making $35k now.

Important Note: If you get the feeling like you're asking for too much and you really want the job, you might try an answer similar to "My current salary is $35K annually, but if this is the right fit for both of us then I'm sure that we can come to an agreement with a fair salary." I've also found it helpful to point out that money is not the primary motivation for you looking at this job. The job itself is! But at the same time, you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot.

In the past I have actually answered that question with something similar to "You know, I really am not here just for the money, of course, the money is always nice, but it's the ability to help people and the challenge of troubleshooting problems that I really enjoy. I'm sure that if we both feel this is the right job for me and I'm the right person for the job, then we will be able to come to an agreement for a fair salary. Is there a range in mind that you could share with me?"

I always try to get them to tell me what the given range is without committing myself to a specific dollar amount first. This is very hard to do, but I'd say on average, I've had 30-40% of my interviewers give up the range before I put my price tag on the table.

Best of luck to you and congratulations! This is a real nice problem to have right now.

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Amazing...Perhaps it because I work in NY, but Level one helpdesk jobs here go for 40K. If you are gonna be a network admin, you gotta get a decent raise.

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But I agree with most, 35-40K would be a decent asking range.

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whatever you do, do not answer that question. He who quotes a number first loses that negociation. Tell them something alon the lines of "I expect to be paid according to market value, but I also look at my employment as a total package including benefits, salary, tuition reimbursment, 401K, etc..." that way, you don't have to say a price. Say you tell them you want $35K. Maybe they had $40K in mind. You just lost $5K. Say you tell them you want $40K. Maybe they have $32K in mind, and they think you are too far and decide to not go further... let them do the talking, you'll be better off. Just my .02$

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