I fell into IT almost three years ago, I tried to start a company in an unrelated industry, which failed, and I needed a job to support my family. That first IT job paid $30k/year.
In the last three years, I got a B.S. in IT, a bunch of certs, and worked my way into a Sr. Cloud Operations Engineer position where I sit now, with a salary of $85k/year and a 10% annual bonus. On my current path, I can see myself over $100k base within 9-12 months, and probably around $110-$130k base within 2 years, with similar bonuses.
I see posts on here pretty often about people that have reached $200-300k+ TC within just a couple years, people getting sign off bonuses that are half my annual income, etc.
At this point, I know I need to do something different if I want to get there. From what I've seen, it looks like I need to become a developer to get there. I was originally going down the DevOps route, because that pays high by IT standards, but seems to be pretty low compared to a lot of developers.
I'm looking for general advice about this path, and anything I should focus on or pursue. I know I'm going to have to learn actual programming, grind leetcode, and it's going to take a while for me to get there. I'm trying to find the most efficient path to get from where I am to where I want to be.
Want to see the real deal?
More inside scoop? View in App
More inside scoop? View in App
blind
SUPPORT
FOLLOW US
DOWNLOAD THE APP:
FOLLOWING
Industries
Job Groups
- Software Engineering
- Product Management
- Information Technology
- Data Science & Analytics
- Management Consulting
- Hardware Engineering
- Design
- Sales
- Security
- Investment Banking & Sell Side
- Marketing
- Private Equity & Buy Side
- Corporate Finance
- Supply Chain
- Business Development
- Human Resources
- Operations
- Legal
- Admin
- Customer Service
- Communications
Return to Office
Work From Home
COVID-19
Layoffs
Investments & Money
Work Visa
Housing
Referrals
Job Openings
Startups
Office Life
Mental Health
HR Issues
Blockchain & Crypto
Fitness & Nutrition
Travel
Health Care & Insurance
Tax
Hobbies & Entertainment
Working Parents
Food & Dining
IPO
Side Jobs
Show more
SUPPORT
FOLLOW US
DOWNLOAD THE APP:
comments
@Symantech/Humatics, I get it, I'm not worried about other people's TC. It doesn't bother me at all that people are making more money than I am. The reason why I bring it up is that it shows opportunities for me to improve myself and do better.
I like expensive things, eating out at nice places, high end tech, I want to get my pilot's license, travel with my family, etc. Those things are a lot easier with a lot more money. The only reason other people's TC is relevant for me is because it shows it's possible.
Btw, 12 yoe, just landed my first real job as SWE, all the rest was self employment. $420k TC, smaller public tech company (not FAANG). You can do this if you want to.
With background in IT and Cloud, being a customer facing resource for any of the major cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) will get you there. Typically the TC is 1 level below what a dev at that level makes. However, it's also generally easier to get promoted than as a dev. The roles you can consider are Cloud Solutions Architect, Sales Engineer, Account Executive, Technical Account Manager, Account Technology Strategist etc.
For even higher TC, consider that as an Account Exec, if you blast past your quota you can have a massive payday that dwarfs any role. But this isn't easy necessarily. Seven figure TCs for major coups as an Account Exec is not unheard of.
I wasn't aware that the Architects/Engineers brought in that much money at the major providers, I'll have to look into that more.
Location matters.
FWIW I'm a SA with FAANG and 175k TC in a LCOL state. Came from a similar background to you.