How Much Can You Make in IT? Complete Salary Guide by Role (2025)

You’re researching IT careers and wondering: “How much money can I actually make in IT? What’s realistic for someone starting from scratch? And how long until I can earn six figures?”

I get it. When you’re considering a career change into IT, salary is a huge factor. You need to know if the investment of time and certifications will actually pay off—and how long it will take.

I’ve been in IT for 15 years. I started at help desk making $42K. Today I’m a cloud architect making $172K. Along the way, I’ve mentored 58 people through IT career transitions, reviewed hundreds of salary offers, and watched patterns emerge about who earns what and why.

Here’s what I’ve learned: IT salaries vary wildly—from $40K help desk to $250K+ for senior architects and CISOs (Chief Information Security Officers). But the good news? There are proven paths to reach $100K+ in just 3-5 years if you make the right moves.

Let me show you exactly what IT professionals make at every level, what skills command the highest salaries, and the fastest paths to six figures.

Entry-Level IT Roles: $40K-$65K (Years 0-2)

Let’s start with reality: your first IT job won’t make you rich. But it’s your foundation—and if you play it right, you’ll only be here 12-24 months before moving up.

Help Desk Technician / IT Support Specialist: $40K-$55K

What you actually do:

• Answer support tickets (password resets, software installation, printer issues)
• Troubleshoot basic computer problems over phone or remote desktop
• Set up new employee workstations
• Document issues in ticketing systems like ServiceNow or Zendesk

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities (SF, NYC, Seattle, Boston): $48K-$58K
• Mid-tier cities (Denver, Austin, Charlotte, Phoenix): $42K-$52K
• Small cities / rural areas: $38K-$48K
• Remote positions: $40K-$50K (often location-adjusted downward)

Required credentials:

• CompTIA A+ (most common)
• High school diploma or associate degree
• Customer service experience helps

Timeline to this salary:

• Career changer: 2-4 months (get A+, apply to 30-50 jobs, accept first offer)
• Recent grad: Immediate with internship or A+ certification

Marcus’s story: Marcus was making $38K as a retail assistant manager. He studied CompTIA A+ for 3 months (90 hours total) while working full-time. Passed the exam in November 2023. Applied to 47 help desk positions in December-January. Got 12 phone screens, 5 interviews, 3 offers ranging from $44K to $52K. Accepted $47K help desk role at healthcare company in February 2024. Not life-changing money, but a $9K raise and his foot in the IT door. 18 months later, he’s a Desktop Support Specialist making $62K.

Desktop Support Technician: $48K-$65K

What you actually do:

• Everything help desk does, PLUS:
• Install and configure hardware (desktops, laptops, printers, peripherals)
• Support mobile devices (MDM systems like Intune or Jamf)
• Basic Active Directory administration (create users, reset passwords, manage groups)
• Image computers using deployment tools (SCCM, FOG)
• Some light networking troubleshooting

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $55K-$68K
• Mid-tier cities: $50K-$62K
• Small cities: $45K-$58K
• Remote positions: $48K-$60K

Required credentials:

• CompTIA A+
• 1-2 years help desk experience OR
• A+ plus Network+ (lets you skip help desk sometimes)

Sarah’s story: Sarah started help desk at $52K with just A+. After 14 months, she studied CompTIA Network+ (10 weeks, passed first try). Her company had an opening for Desktop Support II supporting their 6 branch offices with light networking responsibilities. She applied internally, demonstrated she now understood TCP/IP, subnetting, and basic switch configuration. Got promoted to $62K without even changing companies. Network+ was worth $10K in 14 months.

Mid-Level IT Roles: $70K-$110K (Years 2-5)

This is where IT careers start getting financially interesting. You’ve proven you can do the work. Now you’re specializing and your salary reflects it.

System Administrator / Network Administrator: $70K-$90K

What you actually do as a System Administrator:

• Manage Windows Server or Linux server environments
• Handle Active Directory at scale (hundreds to thousands of users)
• Manage virtualization (VMware, Hyper-V)
• Backup and disaster recovery
• Patch management and security updates
• Basic PowerShell or Bash scripting

What you actually do as a Network Administrator:

• Configure and manage enterprise networking equipment (Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet)
• Design and implement VLANs, routing protocols, VPNs
• Network security (firewalls, ACLs, IDS/IPS)
• Monitor network performance and troubleshoot outages
• Wireless network management

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $78K-$98K
• Mid-tier cities: $72K-$88K
• Small cities: $65K-$82K
• Remote positions: $70K-$88K

Required credentials:

• SysAdmin: CompTIA A+ and Network+, OR Microsoft certifications (MTA, MCSA legacy), OR Linux+ / LPIC
• Network Admin: CompTIA Network+ or Cisco CCNA
• 2-4 years experience in desktop support or junior admin role

Jennifer’s story: Jennifer started as Desktop Support at $58K. After 2.5 years, she specialized in Windows Server administration. Studied for and passed Microsoft’s MD-100 and MD-101 (Modern Desktop Administrator). Her company promoted her to Junior SysAdmin at $72K managing 450 Windows desktops and 12 Windows Servers. Eighteen months later, she switched companies for a mid-level SysAdmin role at $85K. She went from $58K to $85K in 4 years—a 46% increase—by getting deeper into systems administration.

Cloud Support Engineer: $75K-$100K

What you actually do:

• Troubleshoot cloud infrastructure issues (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Support cloud deployments and migrations
• Monitor cloud resources and costs
• Assist with IAM (Identity and Access Management) policies
• Document cloud architecture
• Work with DevOps teams on deployment issues

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $85K-$105K
• Mid-tier cities: $78K-$98K
• Small cities: $70K-$90K
• Remote positions: $75K-$95K (cloud roles often fully remote)

Required credentials:

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate OR
• Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104) OR
• Google Cloud Associate Engineer
• 1-3 years IT experience (can be desktop support + cert)

Why cloud support pays more than traditional IT support:

• Cloud skills are in massive demand (10:1 cloud jobs to qualified candidates in many markets)
• Cloud touches every modern business application
• Foundation for higher-paying cloud engineering roles ($110K-$160K)

David’s story: David worked help desk for 18 months making $51K. He studied AWS Solutions Architect Associate for 12 weeks (220 hours total). Passed the exam. Applied to 38 cloud support and junior cloud engineer positions. Got 9 interviews. Received 3 offers: $82K cloud support at enterprise, $88K cloud support at tech startup, $98K junior cloud engineer at fintech. Accepted the $98K junior cloud engineer role. He jumped from $51K to $98K (92% increase) in 20 months by pivoting to cloud.

Junior Security Analyst / SOC Analyst: $70K-$95K

SOC stands for Security Operations Center—teams that monitor security alerts 24/7.

What you actually do:

• Monitor security alerts in SIEM tools (Splunk, QRadar, Microsoft Sentinel)
• Investigate potential security incidents
• Respond to alerts using documented playbooks
• Manage user access and permissions
• Assist with vulnerability scanning and patch management
• Document security incidents

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $78K-$98K
• Mid-tier cities: $72K-$92K
• Small cities: $68K-$88K
• Remote positions: $70K-$90K

Required credentials:

• CompTIA Security+ (minimum, sometimes required for DoD compliance)
• CySA+ or CEH (raises ceiling to $85K-$105K)
• 1-2 years IT experience (help desk or desktop support acceptable)

Why security pays a premium:

• Cybersecurity talent shortage (700,000+ unfilled security roles in the US)
• High business impact (security breaches cost millions)
• Regulatory requirements (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2 require security staff)

Carlos’s story: Carlos did the CompTIA Trifecta (A+, Network+, Security+) over 11 months while working help desk. After completing Security+, he applied to 42 SOC analyst positions at banks, healthcare companies, and tech firms. Got 8 interviews. Received 4 offers ranging from $72K to $82K. Accepted $78K SOC Analyst role at financial services company. Two years later, he’s a SOC Analyst II (senior tier 1) making $102K. Security+ was his ticket from $47K help desk to $102K in 3 years.

Senior IT Roles: $110K-$160K (Years 5-10)

This is the six-figure tier. You’re a specialist now. You solve complex problems. Companies compete for you. Your decisions affect business outcomes.

Cloud Engineer / DevOps Engineer: $110K-$145K

What you actually do:

• Design and build cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Automate deployments using CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab, GitHub Actions)
• Manage infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation, ARM templates)
• Containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Monitor production systems and respond to incidents
• Cost optimization and FinOps

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities (SF, NYC, Seattle): $125K-$165K
• Mid-tier cities (Denver, Austin, Boston): $115K-$150K
• Small cities: $105K-$135K
• Remote positions: $110K-$145K (cloud roles often remote-friendly)

Required credentials:

• AWS Solutions Architect Associate + Professional OR
• AWS Solutions Architect Associate + Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) OR
• Azure Administrator + Azure Solutions Architect Expert
• 4-7 years experience (can include sysadmin time)
• Strong scripting (Python, Bash, PowerShell)

Skill premiums (add $12K-$25K each):

• Kubernetes production experience (CKA certification helps)
• Multi-cloud (AWS + Azure or AWS + GCP architectural knowledge)
• Infrastructure cost optimization (FinOps skills)
• DevSecOps (security automation, compliance as code)

Marcus’s story: Marcus started help desk at $47K. After 3.5 years (desktop support → junior sysadmin → cloud support), he had AWS Solutions Architect Associate and 18 months hands-on AWS experience. He studied Kubernetes for 4 months and got CKA certification. Applied to DevOps and cloud engineer roles at 22 companies. Got 11 interviews. Received 5 offers ranging from $118K to $138K. Negotiated his top choice from $128K to $135K using competing offers. He went from $47K to $135K in 5 years—a 187% increase.

Security Engineer / Cloud Security Engineer: $115K-$155K

What you actually do:

• Implement security controls and monitoring
• Security architecture and design
• Threat modeling and risk assessment
• Incident response and forensics
• Cloud security (IAM policies, encryption, compliance)
• Security automation and DevSecOps

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $128K-$170K
• Mid-tier cities: $118K-$158K
• Small cities: $108K-$145K
• Remote positions: $115K-$155K

Required credentials:

• CompTIA Security+ AND one of:
  • OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) for offensive security
  • CySA+ or GCIH (GIAC Certified Incident Handler) for defensive
  • AWS Security Specialty or Azure Security Engineer
• 4-7 years security experience

Why security engineers earn 15-25% more than general IT:

• Specialized skill set (fewer qualified candidates)
• Direct business risk (security breaches = lawsuits, fines, brand damage)
• Regulatory requirements (companies MUST hire security staff for compliance)

Diana’s story: Diana started as SOC Analyst at $78K with Security+. After 2.5 years monitoring alerts, she specialized in cloud security. Got AWS Solutions Architect Associate, then AWS Security Specialty. Pivoted to Security Engineer role at fintech company focused on AWS cloud security: IAM policies, GuardDuty, CloudTrail, Security Hub. Started at $125K. After 18 months, switched companies for Cloud Security Engineer role at $145K. She went from $78K SOC analyst to $145K security engineer in 4 years—an 86% increase—by specializing in cloud security.

Senior Data Engineer: $120K-$160K

What you actually do:

• Design and build data pipelines (ETL/ELT)
• Work with big data technologies (Spark, Kafka, Airflow)
• Data warehouse and data lake architecture (Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery)
• Data modeling and optimization
• Collaborate with data scientists and analysts

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $135K-$175K
• Mid-tier cities: $125K-$165K
• Small cities: $115K-$150K
• Remote positions: $120K-$160K

Required credentials:

• Strong SQL and Python
• AWS Data Analytics Specialty OR Google Professional Data Engineer OR Databricks Certified Data Engineer
• 4-7 years experience (can include database admin or BI analyst experience)

Why data engineering pays a premium:

• Critical for AI/ML initiatives (every company wants AI, needs data engineers first)
• Complex technical skillset (SQL + Python + distributed computing + cloud platforms)
• Direct revenue impact (data-driven decisions = competitive advantage)

Sarah’s story: Sarah started as Database Administrator making $72K. After 3 years, she transitioned to data engineering—learned Python, Spark, and AWS data services (Glue, Athena, Redshift). Got AWS Data Analytics Specialty certification. Switched to Data Engineer role at tech company building real-time analytics pipelines. Started at $128K. After 2 years of building production pipelines, she switched to Senior Data Engineer at $155K. She went from $72K DBA to $155K senior data engineer in 5 years—a 115% increase.

Leadership and Architect Roles: $160K-$250K+ (Years 10+)

This is the top tier. You’re making strategic decisions. You’re leading teams or architecting complex systems. At this level, your experience, business acumen, and specialized expertise command premium salaries.

Solutions Architect / Cloud Architect: $150K-$200K

What you actually do:

• Design complex cloud solutions for enterprises
• Make technology decisions that affect millions in spending
• Lead technical pre-sales and customer engagements
• Multi-cloud architecture (AWS + Azure + GCP)
• Cost optimization at scale (save companies $500K-$5M annually)
• Mentor engineers and set technical standards

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $165K-$220K
• Mid-tier cities: $155K-$205K
• Small cities: $140K-$185K
• Remote positions: $150K-$200K

FAANG and top tech total compensation: $220K-$320K (base + stock + bonus)

Required credentials:

• AWS Solutions Architect Professional OR Azure Solutions Architect Expert OR Google Professional Cloud Architect
• 8-12+ years experience across multiple technologies
• Deep hands-on experience (not just certifications)

Security Architect / Principal Security Engineer: $160K-$220K

What you actually do:

• Design enterprise security architecture
• Lead security projects and initiatives
• Set security standards and policies
• Threat modeling and risk assessment at organizational level
• Mentor security engineers
• Work with executive leadership on security strategy

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $175K-$240K
• Mid-tier cities: $165K-$225K
• Small cities: $150K-$205K
• Remote positions: $160K-$220K

Required credentials:

• CISSP (almost always required at this level) OR OSCP + years of experience
• Often multiple certifications: AWS Security Specialty, CKS (Certified Kubernetes Security), GIAC certs
• 8-12+ years security experience

Why security architects earn at the top:

• Scarcity (very few people have 10+ years security + cloud + architecture)
• Business criticality (one security failure can cost company $10M-$100M+)
• Regulatory pressure (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA require security architecture)

Engineering Manager / IT Manager: $140K-$185K

What you actually do:

• Manage teams of 5-15 engineers
• Hiring, performance reviews, career development
• Budget management ($500K-$5M IT budgets)
• Project planning and execution
• Balance technical decisions with business needs
• Still hands-on technical work (30-50% depending on company)

Geographic salary breakdown:

• Major cities: $155K-$205K
• Mid-tier cities: $145K-$190K
• Small cities: $135K-$175K
• Remote positions: $140K-$185K

Management vs individual contributor:

• Managers earn 10-20% more than senior ICs (Individual Contributors) at mid-size companies
• At FAANG/top tech, Staff/Principal ICs often earn MORE than managers ($250K-$450K)
• Management caps lower long-term unless you reach Director/VP level

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): $180K-$450K+

What you actually do:

• Lead entire security organization (teams of 10-100+)
• Report to CEO or CTO
• Board-level presentations on security posture
• Compliance and regulatory strategy
• Security budget management ($2M-$50M depending on company size)
• Incident response leadership during major breaches

Salary by company size:

• Startups (50-200 employees): $140K-$200K + equity (0.25%-1.00%)
• Mid-size (200-2,000 employees): $180K-$280K + equity
• Enterprise (2,000-10,000 employees): $250K-$400K + bonus
• Large enterprise (10,000+ employees): $350K-$600K+ total comp

Required credentials:

• CISSP (almost universal requirement)
• Often MBA or master’s degree
• 12-20+ years experience
• Track record of building security programs

Carlos’s story: Carlos started as SOC Analyst at $78K (Age 26). Specialized in cloud security, became Security Engineer at $125K (Age 29). Moved to Senior Security Engineer at $155K (Age 32). Became Security Team Lead at startup $175K + 0.15% equity (Age 35). Company grew rapidly. Promoted to CISO managing 12-person security team at $220K + equity valued at $400K at IPO (Age 38). Total time from SOC analyst to CISO: 12 years. Total compensation at CISO level: effectively $620K with equity over 4-year vesting.

The Fastest Paths to $100K+ (3-5 Years)

This is what you really want to know: How do I get to six figures as fast as possible?

I’ve seen people do it in 3-5 years. Here are the proven paths:

Path 1: Cloud-First Track (3-4 Years to $110K+)

Year 0-1: Entry Help Desk ($45K-$55K)

• Get CompTIA A+ (skip if you have any IT experience)
• Land help desk role immediately
• Learn the business while studying cloud

Year 1-2: Cloud Support or Junior Cloud Engineer ($75K-$95K)

• Get AWS Solutions Architect Associate (or Azure equivalent)
• Build 2-3 portfolio projects (deploy real applications to cloud)
• Apply to cloud-specific roles
• Jump from $50K help desk to $85K cloud support (+70% raise)

Year 2-4: Cloud Engineer or DevOps Engineer ($110K-$135K)

• Get AWS Solutions Architect Professional OR Certified Kubernetes Administrator
• Deepen hands-on experience: Terraform, CI/CD, Kubernetes
• Switch companies (internal promotions rarely give 25-30% raises)
• Target $120K+ offers

Total time: 3-4 years from zero to $120K

Jennifer’s actual path:

• Year 0: Retail manager $38K → studied A+ for 3 months
• Year 1: Help desk $52K (got A+)
• Year 2: Cloud support $88K (got AWS SAA, built portfolio)
• Year 3: Junior cloud engineer $108K (deepened Terraform/Docker skills, switched companies)
• Year 4: Cloud engineer $128K (got CKA, switched companies again)

4 years: $38K → $128K (237% increase)

Path 2: Security Fast Track (4-5 Years to $110K+)

Year 0-1: Help Desk ($45K-$55K)

• Get CompTIA A+ and Security+
• Land help desk role at company with SOC

Year 1-3: SOC Analyst ($70K-$85K)

• Get CySA+ or start OSCP
• Learn SIEM platforms deeply (Splunk, Sentinel)
• Move from tier 1 to tier 2 SOC analyst

Year 3-5: Security Engineer ($110K-$140K)

• Get OSCP (offensive security) OR AWS Security Specialty (cloud security)
• Specialize: penetration testing, incident response, or cloud security
• Switch to Security Engineer role at tech or fintech company

Total time: 4-5 years from zero to $120K+

Marcus’s actual path:

• Year 0: Teacher $42K → studied Security+ for 3 months
• Year 1: Help desk $48K (got A+, Security+)
• Year 2: SOC Analyst $72K (monitored alerts, learned SIEM)
• Year 3: SOC Analyst II $88K (got CySA+, handled tier 2 incidents)
• Year 4: Security Engineer $118K (got OSCP, specialized in pentesting)
• Year 5: Senior Security Engineer $142K (switched companies)

5 years: $42K → $142K (238% increase)

Path 3: Data Engineering Track (4-5 Years to $120K+)

Year 0-2: Database Admin or BI Analyst ($55K-$75K)

• Strong SQL foundation
• Learn Python basics
• Understand data modeling

Year 2-4: Junior Data Engineer ($85K-$110K)

• Learn cloud data platforms (AWS, GCP, Databricks)
• Get AWS Data Analytics Specialty OR Google Professional Data Engineer
• Build data pipelines with Airflow, Spark
• Switch to data engineer role

Year 4-5: Data Engineer ($120K-$155K)

• Deepen expertise: streaming (Kafka), performance optimization, data architecture
• Switch companies for senior data engineer role

Total time: 4-5 years from database/BI to $130K+

Sarah’s actual path:

• Year 0-1: SQL Report Writer $58K
• Year 2: Database Administrator $72K
• Year 3: Junior Data Engineer $98K (got AWS Data Analytics, learned Python/Spark)
• Year 4: Data Engineer $128K (switched companies, built production pipelines)
• Year 5: Senior Data Engineer $155K (switched to tech company)

5 years: $58K → $155K (167% increase)

Geographic Salary Differences: Where You Work Matters

Location dramatically affects IT salaries—even for remote roles. Here’s the reality:

Tier 1 Tech Hubs: Highest Salaries, Highest Cost of Living

Cities: San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, New York City, Boston

Cloud Engineer salary: $125K-$165K Security Engineer salary: $128K-$170K Data Engineer salary: $135K-$175K

Cost of living reality:

• 1-bedroom apartment: $2,800-$4,500/month
• After rent and taxes, $140K in SF = $95K in Denver purchasing power

When it makes sense:

• You’re targeting FAANG or top tech companies ($200K-$400K total comp)
• You’re early career and want maximum learning (5 years in SF = 10 years elsewhere)
• You plan to work there 2-3 years, then go remote at same salary

Tier 2 Tech Cities: Excellent Salary-to-Cost Ratio

Cities: Denver, Austin, Seattle, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Phoenix, Salt Lake City

Cloud Engineer salary: $115K-$150K Security Engineer salary: $118K-$158K Data Engineer salary: $125K-$165K

Cost of living reality:

• 1-bedroom apartment: $1,400-$2,200/month
• $130K in Denver has better purchasing power than $155K in SF

When it makes sense:

• You want tech salaries without SF/NYC cost of living
• Quality of life priorities (outdoor access, lower stress)
• Long-term wealth building (save 25-35% of income vs 10-15% in Tier 1 cities)

Tier 3 Cities and Remote: Lower Salaries, Lowest Cost

Cities: Remote work from anywhere, smaller metros, rural areas

Cloud Engineer salary: $100K-$135K Security Engineer salary: $105K-$145K Data Engineer salary: $110K-$150K

Cost of living reality:

• 1-bedroom apartment: $900-$1,600/month
• $120K remote salary in low-cost area = $145K Tier 2 city purchasing power

When it makes sense:

• You value location flexibility (live anywhere)
• You have family/roots in lower-cost areas
• Maximum savings rate (can save 35-45% of income)

Remote Work Salary Reality in 2025

Truth #1: Most remote roles are location-adjusted

Companies like GitLab, Automattic, and many tech companies use location-based pay scales:

• SF/NYC: 100% of benchmark
• Denver/Austin: 85-90% of benchmark
• Remote Tier 3: 75-85% of benchmark

Example: Cloud engineer role

• SF office: $145K
• Denver remote: $130K (90%)
• Kansas City remote: $115K (79%)

Truth #2: Some companies pay the same regardless of location

Smaller tech companies, startups, and some forward-thinking enterprises pay role-based, not location-based:

• Cloud engineer: $120K-$135K anywhere in US
• Security engineer: $125K-$145K anywhere

Strategy: Target these companies for maximum purchasing power in low-cost areas.

Salary Negotiation: How to Add $10K-$25K Per Job Switch

Here’s a secret: the biggest salary jumps come from switching companies, not internal promotions.

Internal promotion: 5-15% raise ($85K → $95K) External job switch: 20-35% raise ($85K → $110K)

I’ve seen this pattern hundreds of times. Here’s how to maximize every job switch:

The Multiple Offer Strategy

Never negotiate from a position of weakness (one offer). Always create competition.

Step 1: Interview with 4-6 companies simultaneously

Don’t cherry-pick your dream company. Apply broadly:

• 2 “reach” companies (slightly above your level, top compensation)
• 2-3 “target” companies (perfect fit, market compensation)
• 1-2 “leverage” companies (you’d take the job, but not your top choice)

Step 2: Compress interview timelines

When Company A wants to schedule an interview:

• YOU: “I’m also talking to a few other companies. I’d love to keep all my processes aligned. Could we schedule for [specific week]?”

Goal: Get all offers in the same 7-10 day window

Step 3: Use competing offers for leverage

When Company A makes an offer ($118K):

• YOU: “Thank you! I’m really excited about this role. I’m expecting to hear from [Company B] by Friday. Could I have until Monday to respond?”
• [Company B offers $128K on Friday]
• YOU (to Company A): “I received another offer at $128K, but I prefer your company’s mission and team. Is there any flexibility on the compensation to get closer to that range?”

Result: Company A often comes up to $125K-$130K. You just added $7K-$12K.

Salary Deflection: Never Reveal Current Salary

Recruiter: “What’s your current salary?”

WRONG answer: “$85K” (Now you’re anchored to $85K. Best offer you’ll get: $95K-$100K)

RIGHT answer: “I’m focusing on the market rate for this role and my skill level. Based on my research, I’m targeting $110K-$120K for a Cloud Engineer role with my AWS certifications and 3 years of experience. Does that align with your budget?”

Why this works:

• Anchors to market rate, not your (probably underpaid) current salary
• Shows you’ve done research
• Gives them a range, not a single number
• Positions you as confident, not desperate

Real Negotiation Examples

Marcus: Mid-level Cloud Engineer

• Company A offer: $118K base
• Company B offer: $128K base, worse benefits
• Company C offer: $122K base, startup with 0.08% equity

Marcus’s negotiation with Company A (his top choice):

“Thank you for the offer! I’m very excited about the role and the team. I’ve received offers from two other companies at $122K and $128K. I strongly prefer [Company A] because of [specific reasons: technology stack, team culture, growth opportunity]. Is there flexibility to move closer to $128K?”

Company A response: “We can’t go to $128K, but we can do $125K base plus a $10K signing bonus, which gives you $135K in your first year.”

Marcus accepted. He negotiated from $118K to $125K + $10K signing = $135K year 1.

That’s $17K more than the original offer—for a 20-minute negotiation conversation.

Diana: Security Engineer switching to Cloud Security

• Company A offer: $135K base
• Company B offer: $142K base, long commute
• No Company C offer yet

Diana’s negotiation with Company A (fully remote, her top choice):

“Thank you for the offer! I’m really excited about this Cloud Security Engineer role. I have another offer at $142K, though the commute is challenging. Given my AWS Security Specialty certification and the 3 production security projects I’ve led, I was hoping we could get closer to $145K. Is there flexibility?”

Company A response: “We can’t move on base salary for this level, but we can offer a $8K signing bonus and accelerate your first equity vesting by 6 months.”

Diana accepted: $135K base + $8K signing + equity acceleration worth ~$5K = $148K effective year 1.

Common Negotiation Mistakes That Cost $10K-$25K:

1. Accepting the first offer without negotiating (companies expect negotiation, first offer has 10-18% built-in room)
2. Revealing current salary (anchors you to underpaid role)
3. Negotiating without competing offers (you have no leverage, get 5-8% max vs 15-25% with offers)
4. Only negotiating base salary (miss signing bonus, equity, remote work flexibility, extra PTO)
5. Negotiating too many times (companies rescind offers; make ONE complete ask, then accept or walk)

Your 7-Day IT Salary Maximization Plan

Here’s what to do this week to start increasing your earning potential:

Day 1: Calculate Your Market Value

Action: Research your market salary using these tools:

• Levels.fyi (best for tech companies)
• Glassdoor (good for general ranges)
• Payscale (includes geographic adjustments)
• r/sysadmin, r/devops, r/cybersecurity salary threads (real data from practitioners)

Compare to your current salary:

• Within 10%: You’re fairly compensated
• 10-20% below: Underpaid, negotiate or start looking
• 20%+ below: Significantly underpaid, start interviewing immediately

Sarah’s example: She was a Cloud Support Engineer making $78K in Denver. Market research showed:

• Glassdoor: $82K-$105K for her role and experience
• Levels.fyi: $88K-$112K at tech companies
• Reddit threads: $85K-$110K with AWS SAA

Conclusion: She was 15-20% underpaid. She started interviewing.

Day 2: Identify Your Highest-Value Skill Gap

Action: Look at job postings for your target role (the one that pays $20K-$40K more than you make now).

What skills appear in 70%+ of postings that you DON’T have?

Examples:

• If you’re help desk ($50K) targeting cloud engineer ($110K): AWS certification
• If you’re SOC analyst ($75K) targeting security engineer ($125K): OSCP or AWS Security Specialty
• If you’re sysadmin ($80K) targeting DevOps engineer ($125K): Kubernetes (CKA certification)
• If you’re BI analyst ($70K) targeting data engineer ($120K): Python + Spark + AWS Data Analytics

Pick ONE skill to develop over the next 6-12 months.

Don’t try to learn everything. Pick the highest-ROI skill and go deep.

Day 3: Build Your Compensation Narrative

Action: Write down 3-5 business impact accomplishments (not technical tasks).

Bad (technical task): “Managed CI/CD pipelines in Jenkins” Good (business impact): “Reduced deployment time from 3 hours to 15 minutes, enabling 10x increase in daily deployment frequency which improved feature velocity by 40%”

Bad: “Monitored security alerts in Splunk” Good: “Detected and contained ransomware attack within 20 minutes, preventing estimated $2M in downtime costs”

Bad: “Built data pipelines with Airflow” Good: “Automated financial reporting pipeline, reducing manual analyst work from 40 hours/week to 2 hours/week, freeing team for strategic analysis”

Why this matters: In salary negotiations, you justify your ask with business value, not technical buzzwords.

Day 4: Update Resume with Salary-Focused Language

Action: Rewrite your resume to emphasize results, not responsibilities.

Current resume (boring):

• Managed Windows Server infrastructure
• Supported 500 users across 6 offices
• Implemented backup solutions

Salary-optimized resume (compelling):

• Architected and managed 40-server Windows infrastructure supporting $50M in annual revenue
• Reduced help desk tickets 35% through proactive monitoring and automation
• Designed disaster recovery system with 4-hour RTO, passing SOC 2 audit with zero findings

Each bullet should answer: “So what? How did this help the business?”

Day 5: Research Target Companies and Compensation

Action: Create a target list of 15-20 companies where you want to work.

Mix of:

• 5 “reach” companies (FAANG, top tech, slightly above your experience level)
• 10 “target” companies (perfect fit for your skills and experience)
• 5 “leverage” companies (you’d work there, but not your dream choice—useful for competing offers)

For each company, research:

• Glassdoor salary data
• Levels.fyi compensation (base + equity + bonus)
• Company stage (startup, scale-up, mature tech, enterprise)
• Remote work policy
• Known salary bands for your target role

This gives you negotiation leverage: “Based on Levels.fyi data, Cloud Engineers with AWS Pro certifications at companies your size average $132K-$148K. My ask of $140K is right in that range.”

Day 6: Set Up Job Search Infrastructure

Action: Prepare to interview efficiently.

• LinkedIn: Update profile, set to “Open to Work” (visible to recruiters only)
• Job alerts: Set up alerts on LinkedIn, Indeed, Dice for your target role
• Networking: Message 5-10 people in your target role at target companies
• Application tracking: Create spreadsheet to track applications (company, date applied, status, contacts)

Recruiter LinkedIn message template:

“Hi [Recruiter Name], I’m a Cloud Engineer with 4 years of experience and AWS Solutions Architect Professional certification. I noticed [Company] is hiring for a Senior Cloud Engineer. I’ve built production Kubernetes infrastructure at scale and have strong Terraform/CI/CD experience. I’d love to learn more about the role—could we schedule a brief call?”

Day 7: Take Your First Salary Action

Choose ONE:

Option A: Ask for a raise (if you’re within 15% of market rate)

Schedule 1:1 with your manager:

“I’d like to discuss my compensation. I’ve been here [timeframe], and I’ve delivered [3-5 business impact accomplishments]. I’ve also researched market rates for my role and experience level, which range from [$X to $Y]. I’m currently at [$current salary], which is [X%] below market. I’d like to discuss bringing my compensation to [$target], which reflects my contributions and aligns with market rates. Can we make that happen?”

Option B: Start interviewing (if you’re >15% underpaid or want to switch careers)

Apply to 10-15 companies this week. Goal: Get 3-5 phone screens scheduled within 2 weeks.

Option C: Commit to high-value certification (if you lack key credential)

Register for certification exam 12-16 weeks out. Buy study materials today. Block 10-12 hours/week on calendar for studying.

The Bottom Line: Your IT Earning Potential

Let me give you the brutal truth and the encouraging truth.

Brutal truth:

• Your first IT job will probably pay $40K-$55K
• It will take 3-5 years of strategic moves to break $100K
• Geography, specialization, and negotiation matter as much as skills
• You need to switch companies for big raises (20-35% vs 5-15% internal)

Encouraging truth:

• IT offers one of the most reliable paths from $45K to $120K-$160K in 5-7 years
• You don’t need a computer science degree (I’ve mentored 58 career changers, most have no degree)
• Certifications + hands-on experience + strategic job switching gets you there
• Remote work means you can earn $120K-$150K living anywhere in the US
• After 5-7 years, you have leverage—companies compete for senior talent

Realistic 7-year earning progression (cloud engineer path):

• Year 0: $0 (career changer, studying A+ and AWS)
• Year 1: $50K help desk (got A+)
• Year 2: $85K cloud support (got AWS SAA, switched companies)
• Year 3: $108K junior cloud engineer (built Terraform/Kubernetes skills, switched)
• Year 4: $128K cloud engineer (got CKA, switched)
• Year 5: $145K senior cloud engineer (deepened expertise, switched)
• Year 7: $165K-$185K senior/staff cloud engineer or $155K-$175K engineering manager

7 years: $0 → $170K median

That’s the power of IT. Not get-rich-quick. But a proven, repeatable path to upper-middle-class income for people willing to learn, build real skills, and make strategic career moves.

Your turn. Start today.