RHCT Salary

[meton_magis]

i couldn't think of a better forum topic to put this in, so i put it here.
i just got my RHCT a couple days ago, and am looking for a job. i've researched online for salary figures, but i cant find any for entry level ideas. i've never had an IT job before, so i'm comming into this one fresh. is there any good links or ideas for how much an entry leve RHCT should make in phoenix, arizona.

thanks mates.

[Redman]

Well hello collegue

Figures are hard to give. Mainly because it depends on several things. What a company is looking for ("a Linux specialist" or "a RHCT"), how much experience you have on the subjects they value the most.

My advise to you, look around for (any) IT related job offer. Those might give you a certain "range". When I got my RHCT, I too looked around for any job offer. But many companies were looking for people with 25 years experience and younger than 20 years....

So with little IT experience, don't expect too much. Any certificate is a good way to prove your knowledge, but people also look (sometimes too much?) to your experience.

[meton_magis]

Thanks,
i knew the experience would be a hard thing on me, but its horrible. the only jobs that dont ask for 5+ years administration experience are "administrative assistance (why dont they just call it a glorified secretary??)" well i guess i'll just have to hope for the best.

thanks

[anomie]

meton_magis,

Keep practicing and keep learning on your own time. If you're not able to land a RH tech job right away, you'll be able to familiarize yourself more with Linux and common services that organizations require support for.

Occasionally I'll see a job ad posted for entry-level Linux support staff; in an interview like that you can be sure they'll quiz you big time to see whether you know what you're talking about.

[likwid]

I would say look for a support job where you need to know some linux, then try to get more responsibilities with the linux stuff. Then you can eventually work your way up to an all linux job. That's what I did.

As far as salary goes, it rly depends. In the city, linux support jobs go for around 65k, that's intermediate level support. Junior admin positions go for 50-65, depending on your knowledge and experience. Outside the city the pay is usually a lot lower.

My first support job paid around 35k, about an hour from the city, which was extremely low for what I was doing and my knowledge. You're probably going to have to just "do your time" as I put it in a lower position and work up.

[benjamin20]

ya, i know a couple of lawyer people that once out of collage, basicaly had to either know sobody that could get them a decent job or work as a secritary for a lawyer until they could get up enough experience to be able to put it on a resume to be a real lawyer. aperantly many other professions work like this as well. this is the problem with many collage student because they are repeatedly told various wages they could make but never told how long and what you have to do before you actually get payed that. just count on starting small for the first few years until you have experience.

[likwid]

Gotta love college, one of the biggest industries in the world. I dropped out because of reasons like that. I'd be graduating right about now, with significantly less experience, and a lower pay. Of course, college does pay off for some people.

[harner]

My advice is start in the trenches and work your way up. Do the dirty work (aka tech support) and deal with morons. As you move up, you'll hopefully deal with less end-users. It'll work its course, just be patient. Don't expect to land a $100,000/yr job with 6 weeks vacation with one little cert.

GJ on the cert by the way.

[meton_magis]

well thanks for the reply guys. i'm not expecting to make the money that i was told was the average pay.

as far as continuing education, i'm still enrolled in a redhat academy at my college, and am on track to land my RHCE after december, and my CCNA next year some time, so i'm not going to just stick with the RHCT.

i've just been pushing out my resume to every job i've seen from a respectable company, and i'll just pick the best.

i saw an IBM jr. aix/linux admin job that got me drooling a bit though, asked for 5 years experience, but hopefuly no one applies and i manage to get that. THERE is some experience.

[likwid]

Normally, the AIX jobs are pretty impossible to land without specific experience in AIX.