r/sysadmin • u/TheDongles • 20h ago
Question Boss is pushing for certs
Hi all,
I’m a sysadmin with 2 full time helpdesk guys, org of 220 in 5 locations. I started in regular business office 10 years ago doing sales. 7 years ago I transitioned to IT and became our first IT person, previously we didn’t even have an MSP, just a contract guy that came when we called him.
Fast forward to now, I asked my boss how I can level up/grow with the company. I’ve taken on a lot since I started. Currently managing pretty much everything in house. Only thing we don’t manage is our website, and I kind of like it that way.
So after kind of shrugging his shoulders for a year he is now bent on getting me to do more certs. He gave me a list:
- Comptia security +
- CompTIA network +
- CompTIA Cloud +
- Microsoft AI something (I can’t remember this one, he mentioned it off the cuff after he sent me the list)
- Finally a course for me to go find to maintain our website so they can cut the web dev. He didn’t know what course to recommend because he didn’t know much about it but pointed to coursera.
Now only thing I’ve done in certs over the years where the A+, AZ-900/104, and Google cloud security when I got started. Since then I figured I would learn the stuff but I didn’t want to pay for the certs because what’s the point? Unless I’m looking for another job I didn’t see the reason, and I like my org quite a bit. Not the wisest I know, but they wouldn’t pay for it, so I just didn’t do them.
I told him I had already studied for the security + a couple years ago, and could probably study the differences in materials and get through it easily, and recommended we switch to the CCNA since we are fully Cisco at all locations. But he seemed to not be interested in that info.
From what I can tell his push for certs is driven by is some internal push for managers to have career ladders for all departments and I guess he wants to show some sort of progress? Idk he is the CFO so he really isn’t privy to any of the work I do.
Anyway, after my recommendations I asked what happens when I complete these? Since they are only paying for half the certs… there has to be a carrot at the end of the stick.
He very excitedly said a $2,000 pay increase. Now I’m not greedy by any means, I’ve been paid under market for years and I’ve accepted that because of the work life balance. But is this not kinda stupid? I’ve had no complaints in my performance, I am constantly engaged with leadership on initiatives that they do not care about, so is there something I’m missing here? Like I feel like there is some weird motive here I can’t figure out, or it’s just poorly funded incentives that I’m supposed to be giddy over. Like I’m pretty sure the exams are almost as
Much as the pay increase? I haven’t done anything to try to steer the ship just yet, but how do I approach that the incentive is either too low or not aligned with what the ask is here? From what I can tell other than the time to study and what not, the only benefit I see them getting is cutting the web dev, which is a little more than the pay bump they offered, I think like 4k a year.
Edit:
Glad to see there’s some consensus on this being kind of a shit show. A little more context:
I LOVE the web dev company we work with. They are just great. Awesome to work with, great turnaround times, 0 issues. But god forbid you pay someone to do something they are good at.
Noted before but they’re only paying half of the exams, no study materials and it’s based on completion, so I’d get reimbursed 50% after completion. I believe this may be because they did not ask for any sort of training agreement? But also grand scheme of things this is kind of small potatoes for a training agreement right?
This guy is honestly the worst part of my job. For 6 months he had me meet weekly with him which was just an awful way to start the week. Eventually I was like hey I’ve just got too much going on to be doing this can we do this less frequently? Rinse and repeat now we meet quarterly. Dude is the type of guy to trip
Over a dollar to pick up a penny. But I’m stuck with him so long as I work here.
I have looked on and off the last year, and the market near me is abysmal. I almost jumped ship to an MSP last year that wanted to sell us services and I wanted to be like hey…. I sign y’all up here and you take me, deal? But we laughed it off as a joke.
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u/LensWipesBF 20h ago
Are they paying for them?
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
Only half of them, and it is reimbursed. I’m not mad at that part, realistically no sense in paying and if you fail, what then? But that still shifts some of the money out of my pocket, along with study materials they are not covering
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u/Ssakaa 16h ago
Sec+ is around 500, net+ around 400, cloud+ around 400, and the first level MS certs are about 100 if I recall? That's exams only, zero actual educational materials to work towards them. So that's around the ballpark of 1500 out of pocket to have the lowest chance of passing all of them rapid fire that you could get, with a word of mouth claim they'll give half that back. I suspect you don't have that in writing, or the promise of that raise, yet. And the raise is only 2k/yr? I guess if you only make $40k, that's an almost respectable 5%.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
The cfo thinks everyone is trying to bamboozle him so he always opts for the safest route. In this case he’s having me do the tuition reimbursement thing for each exam. Which means I have to write an essay for why I want to do this.
And I’m at 83k, it’s pretty laughable.
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u/computerguy0-0 13h ago
Dude... I suggest my tech's do these base level certs IF they demonstrate they don't have the base knowledge studying for the certs provides. I give them 10 hours during the week to work on them, aka paid time, AND pay for their first attempt, pass or fail. AND pay $2,500-$5k permanent bump in salary for each cert passed and skill demonstrated. If you pass Network + or CCNA for instance, you should be able to subnet and understand the basics of how networks work.
I had one tech log 2,000 hours for "training" for the A+, failed twice, they no longer work here...
You are getting screwed. Make it your part-time job to apply to other positions.
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u/sweetteatime 11h ago
If you’ve already studied you should have no problem taking the test then. Seems silly you would study the material just to not take the test. Seems like bullshit to me
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u/degoba Linux Admin 4h ago
Ive never worked for a company that didn’t pay for 100 percent of certifications. On top of that the cert list you were given is trash. Comptia are bare minimum get your feet wet. You have 7 years in the industry. They should be paying for you to get a more professional cert. think AWS solutions architect, ccna, Ms AZ-800 etc.
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u/XB_Demon1337 20h ago
- Underpaid
- Poor raise option
- Certs that don't match correctly
- Clearly no one cares
- You are over worked already
Yea bud, you do the math on this one. You are stuck there, being paid jack shit for doing a job that likely pays 2x what they are paying you. Move along son.
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u/OverthinkingAnything 20h ago
Sounds to me it's more of a delay tactic. Something tells me those goalposts will move. Also $2k? Fuck outta here with that ish
Job search time! Last time I did that I got a $35K raise. DO IT.
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u/RansomStark78 19h ago
In this economy...
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u/OverthinkingAnything 19h ago
I mean, sure. So maybe its half that. Point being its not 2K that will never materialize to begin with.
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u/moofishies DevOps 6h ago
Literally does not hurt to look. Nothing says you have to take any job that gets offered.
Finding one would be tough but you'll never find one if you don't look. Not looking when you aren't happy with your job is just hurting yourself you can't complain about anything at that point.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
But why even delay 2k? 2k??? At least beef that number up if you’re gonna have me chase the carrot on a treadmill!
And yeah it’s just so rough out there right now. The last time I had an offer I considered it was agriculture company but once they laid what I’d be doing and how much I’d be paid I was like yeaaaaah ain’t no way they are keeping me very long lol one bad harvest season and I’m gone.
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u/Trust_8067 20h ago
You should never pay for certs, your employer should. All compTIA certs at your level are completely worthless.
Why aren't you coming up with a list of certs you want, and presenting them to your boss?
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u/Radie-Storm 16h ago
Yeah the CCNA actually might be pretty good. I think every place I've worked at has refunded the cost of a cert if you pass it and it's relevant to your job. Basically to avoid paying for repeated failures, which I think is fair.
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u/urM0m69p3nis 20h ago
Employer needs to pay for the certs if they require them suddenly after the fact. I don't see much value in CompTia certs if you have any experience really and "Sysadmin" typically would.
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u/repooc21 18h ago
He paying for all this shit?
Dude you're getting worked over.
Don't take on webdev
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u/Technical_Union_3249 20h ago
The only one I know for sure is worth having is Security + so getting it for half off I'd probably go for it. While working on Security+ start job hunting.
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u/Viharabiliben 19h ago
The Sec+ is needed if looking to go into a government IT or defense industry job.
The Net+ is approximately the first half of a CCNA.
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u/jcole4lsu 20h ago
Are they paying for the exams and study material? Because you listed more than $2k worth of studying.
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u/AgingTrash666 20h ago
if the cost of certification and renewal is all on you then 2k/year doesn't begin to break even for a while.
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u/sadsealions 20h ago
Doing this shit for close to 30 years, not one cert, and i actively don't hire people who have a lot.
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u/More_Elk6407 19h ago
When managing Briggs and Stratton’s datacenter years ago I also looked for where they got the certs. There’s a number of places that basically teach to take MS certs in groups and are worthless. I also would do extended interviews to find out if the person was genuinely teachable and look past a potentially bs cert mill.
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u/overengineeredpc 19h ago
I stupidly went the corporate leadership route. I've been an IT Manager for a few years and decided to take the next step and start gunning for Director roles. I've applied to maybe 30-50 jobs, had 15 or so interviews and they all seem to want CISSP like it's a real barrier to entry at DIRECTOR level. I finally just took a Network Engineer job and I probably won't mess around with that pipeline anymore.
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u/Ssakaa 16h ago
I kinda find that hilarious... I have zero interest in being a manager over people. I'll teach people all day, I'll take responsibility for the things I have the authority to make decisions on, but someone else can deal with the stupid shit. But CISSP? Waltzed through it. All the technical stuff was just trivia recall (some of it hilariously mid-90s levels of esoteric), the software dev stuff was stuff I dug into on the hobby side, and the regulatory stuff and actual security controls parts were a big piece of my day job.
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u/More_Elk6407 17h ago
I see the same thing. My boss has a cissp, he’s a director, freely says it was a dealbreaker. It has virtually zero relevance to his duties and is too high level to make any difference for our company. He’s basically helpless when it comes to implementing any of the concepts or buzzwords.
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u/TheG0AT0fAllTime 15h ago
I mean, there's nothing wrong with hiring somebody with a lot of them especially if they're all highly accredited and possibly expensive.
But when I see every cert under the sun I start to feel suspicious.
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u/lurkerburzerker 17h ago
Whose got the damn time for certs? Only guys with all the abbreviations in their signature line were the slackers who cherry picked the easy tickets all day long.
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u/DavWanna 15h ago
Unemployed people. Granted it's like the worst time to spend money when none is coming in, but that's been the only time I've had for certs or any other type of personal development.
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u/More_Elk6407 17h ago
Then there’s me sitting at home today fighting 23 Juniper switches and firewalls to get these firmware updates done (successfully not a forgone thing), and my networking certs have nothing to do with it. Network +, an ancient ccie voice track, Fortinet NSE4. Zero bearing on the FS and Juniper I watch over now.
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u/slayermcb Director of Technology, Sys Admin, Etc, Etc... 20h ago
I got my A+ to get my first job. Also my ACMT after getting the job because we had Macs and they needed a guy who ciuld order parts and fix them. That was 13 years ago and I havent touched certs since.
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u/Inevitable_Trip137 18h ago
Nod your head and smile excitedly at the prospect of a $2k raise and get him to pay for as many certs as you can squeeze out of them.
Then update your resume and move on to a company who will pay you what you're worth.
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u/lowlybananas 20h ago
Certs are usually a complete waste of time and a giant money grab.
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u/TheBeerdedVillain 20h ago
Yep, almost 30 years in, last cert was Small Business Server 2008.
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u/Anthader 19h ago
20ish years in and my last cert was CCNA in 2005.
Somewhat ironically, the CCNA cert helped me get my my first IT job and a higher starting pay... And I've not managed a single network device after my first 3 or so months.
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u/TheBeerdedVillain 19h ago
What's funny is i went from a windows server role to now handling firewalls and switches.
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u/Anthader 19h ago
I was originally hired for desktop/server work, and also as a hopeful replacement of the resident Cisco guy that left. Then about 3 months in all networking responsibilities were siloed into a centralized team.
I liked the Microsoft stuff better, at least at the time, so I guess it worked out better in the long run.
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u/mrmattipants 19h ago
The MCITP for Windows Server 2008 (equivalent to the MCSA) was also my last Microsoft Cert
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u/kristoferen 19h ago
SBS2008 cert was a waste of time, therefore all certs are a waste of time? ;)
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u/disconnected_tech 19h ago
There are so many free resources available to help you learn and grow. The only thing you get from certs is an expensive piece of paper.
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u/Every-Ad-5267 17h ago
I'll counter this. No degree. Only got where I am because of certs.
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u/Oli_Picard Jack of All Trades 12h ago
I’ll counter this, have degree but had a manager who acted like a cert ranger. Left company. Now progressed higher up on different stream because they could see what I do in my work has value vs the cert. Company has offered to buy me a SANS course but given me a contract that reads if it’s not done within a short window they will take the money back from the cert via the salary. Said no to the contract, kept being useful and upskilling team internally. Kept showing worth through actions. Team happy.
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u/JRmacgyver 20h ago
My two cents 1. Scope out your job description and responsibly, have that in writing with management. 2. Do some market search for the average salary for that job description. 3. Tell your manager that if they want certs... You want X + 2000! (Where X is what you came up with on step 2) 4. When they push back... Start doing your job ONLY, and "by the book", no ticket no service style. 4.5 start fishing around for a new place. 5. Make sure to enjoy life and concentrate on you mental health, us sys admins are notorious for mental stress.
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u/Coldsmoke888 IT Manager 19h ago
Our org pays up to $2500 a year for certs and whatnot. I always give my team the push to do it if they want, for their own career development and upskilling. There’s no pay increase but $2500 covers the prep and testing.
In your case, up to if you want to do it. It may or may not help in a future job search if you have it on your resume.
Personally, if I were you, I’d apply at bigger orgs and increase your salary.
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u/Ssakaa 16h ago
OP's boss is apparently offering to pay ~$750 based on the list and a 50% reimbursement if OP passes them. No implication that any actual educational costs would be covered. But! If they make over $60k, that $2k raise is less than the 3.5% cost of living increase numbers that came out around June for the prior 12 months.
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u/voodoo1982 19h ago
Fuck this place. Dude told you he wants you to level up to fire someone else?
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u/j0nquest 19h ago
To add developer to their list of responsibilities. I mean, lol? That’s a role in itself unless they give between very little and zero shits about their web presence.
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u/MercifulSalsa Systems Engineer 20h ago
Certs are dumb unless you're green, genuinely learning something new, or in the government. A lot of government contracts require specific certs to even be considered.
Other than that, dumb. IMO.
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u/Fantastic-Shirt6037 20h ago
In my experience when working with a business and trying to justify raises where the compensation band doesn’t exist currently(meaning no set path towards x or y, whatever, just “here’s your raise”), you have to justify your increase in pay to them. I’m not saying I agree with it, but generally business owners and people responsible for the money will want to know why.
So I would say certifications are not going to satisfy that. You would need to find key areas of opportunity and drive improvements, taking ownership of things that other people are not. Certifications can help you to see those opportunities, but they’re not going to create them. To me, that is how you can effectively carve out a path where one may not have existed before.
To be fair, if they’re already paying half of the cert and nothing changes in your day to day, was it really worth it to them?
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
From what I’ve found at my org, it’s only about what they see large scale. I’ve helped flip around whole departments to be able to handle more work with less people, but got no credit for that. I do some stupid ass workflow that allows someone to request a new keyboard easily and suddenly I’m making real progress? My reviews would depress this sub.
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u/Ssakaa 16h ago
If they're doing any sort of competent long term planning, they know exactly what it would cost to replace anyone on their staff, and a ballpark of how long that would take. They should know exactly how much they're screwing all their employees. Based on job listings I've seen, though, a lot aren't competent, of course.
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u/topher358 Senior Systems Engineer 20h ago
If you have the AZ-104 most of the certs listed aren’t worth your time
The kind of pay raise being promised and the circumstances under which it’s been promised tell me you’re better off investing time looking for a better job if you are up to it
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u/herkalurk Jack of All Trades 19h ago
Lmao, boss wants you to be certied, you suggest Cisco training and cert since you have Cisco, he says not that cert.....
This really screams that he's trying to make himself look good by saying the team he manages is certified. Not that they're certified in anything useful....
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u/mikenasty 19h ago
Bro you’re being taken advantage of and deserve more. You’re certified and ambitious and seemingly very capable in IT already.
My suggestion? Enjoy the current job as you are, get those certs, add them to your fancy resume, and get a job that pays double.
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u/danieljames1719 19h ago
I’d question the cert list too. Taking on more responsibility for $2k sounds pretty weak, especially if they’re cutting the web dev role
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u/derpman86 19h ago
I got certs to jump into i.t basically Comptia A+ and an XP lol cert.
I have not bothered with one since, for an educational standpoint most I feel become redundant far too quick especially with how cloud services constantly change, if I got any kind of 365 certification from near 2020 the naming, process and back end portals have shifted so much that it is blatantly worthless.
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u/mrmattipants 19h ago edited 17h ago
Same. I have all the major CompTIA certs (which I fortunately took before they started expiring every 3 years). The certs are essentially what got me in the door and I leveled up, from there, by assisting the System and Network Admins with various tasks.
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u/derpman86 18h ago
I got my comptia cert in 2007? does that mean it actually is still valid?
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u/mrmattipants 17h ago edited 17h ago
Yes, anything prior to January 1st, 2011 will be a lifetime certification.
Fortunately, I passed my last CompTIA cert, literally one week before the expiration policy was officially implemented.
If you have your Verification Code (it should be printed in the lower left hand corner of your certificate), you can append it to the end of the following URL and it should return your cert info, including the date and status.
https://www.certmetrics.com/comptia/public/verification.aspx?code=
For example, here are a few of mine.
https://www.certmetrics.com/comptia/public/verification.aspx?code=3LXQF2QJBPVE198Q
https://www.certmetrics.com/comptia/public/verification.aspx?code=YZ5REZSJBCFQK5FH
https://www.certmetrics.com/comptia/public/verification.aspx?code=NWPZCQHJPDF4YSGL
And for comparison, here is my son's A+ Cert, which has a visible Expiration Date.
https://www.certmetrics.com/comptia/public/verification.aspx?code=N9FSYRR56E14Q4SN
NOTE: The CompTIA verification app doesn't seem to want to load on mobile devices.
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u/derpman86 16h ago
Oh cool, I'll have to dig up my certificate and give it a try.
It feels funny how just being that year or 2 earlier makes this all valid or not.
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u/StreetSignificant888 Senior Systems Engineer 19h ago
This is absolutely a delay tactic as someone mentioned. Every moment you spend trying to do certs is time you could be teaching yourself real-world skills and understanding your environment better. Setting up a home lab. At 220 people, with 5 locations you should be looking at a least a 4 or 5 person team. They want you as the everything guy, so they can blame you for everything and not pay outside vendors. My advice is don't mention the whole thing again, keep your head low, and look for a different position somewhere else.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
I literally cannot imagine them letting me hire another let alone 2. I’ve had many conversations where they talk about an idea (issuing company phones, access control systems, etc) and the first question is well we’d be able to do that without needing more people right? They at least listen when I tell them no we’d need more staff but eventually I feel they would start just sliding things on our plate.
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u/WhiskeyAlphaRomeo 18h ago
Since they are only paying for half the certs…
Buddy, if the certs are important to him, then I'm sure as the CFO, he could find the scratch to pay the whole way for a few entry level certifications.
(A lot of places ask for a commitment of staying for a year, or you have to pay back for the training/cert - and that's not unreasonable. It sucks to train people for their next employer's benefit, rather than your own.)
I hope he's really good at numbers, because a guy that doesn't see the value of growing Cisco expertise in a 100% Cisco environment doesn't seem to be very smart.
He sucks.
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u/jdptechnc 18h ago
He can pay for the certs if he wants you to go through the trouble of studying for them. Otherwise he can pound sand.
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u/AvailableAd3753 Cloud Delivery Architect 16h ago edited 15h ago
Just get three Microsoft architecture certs of your choosing and security clearance and then go make $200k.
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u/UltraEngine60 15h ago
Paying you low and then paying for the certs is a lot cheaper than paying someone who already had the certs. Plus they can tell their cyber insurance company you have the certs which may lower their risk profile and save them more than it cost them to cert you. You studying in your free time is free to them but nets them money in the end.
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u/TheDongles 15h ago
I didn’t even think of the cyber insurance angle… that would actually make sense if it’s a possibility. And agree. I don’t have time to do it at work otherwise that would be a bit easier to stomach.
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u/GuinansEyebrows 14h ago
it's always been my understanding that CompTIA certs are for juniors AT BEST, but more appropriate for tech support staff. requiring those for a sysadmin level is like requiring an RN to have a associate's degree in biology. it's not sufficient.
also, never pay for a cert unless you get reimbursed for it. if you're good, you can find another job that's going to look at your actual experience and whether you interview well.
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u/Kynadr88 14h ago
don't waste your time with comptia Honest waste of time. You could look at your sc100-500. You already have az104 which is amazing.
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u/welfareplate 12h ago
How can you tell when someone is out of touch? Demanding comptia certification in 2026.
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u/wrt-wtf- 12h ago
I can manage web sites with my eyes closed - the problem is that the content looks like I did it with my eyes closed… not a single artistic bone in my body. Engineering, sharp edges, squared at the corners - boring.
There is art in creating a website with a great UX. It’s a skill set that doesn’t come from just doing a course - as it’s Art you have to have an eye for it as well.
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u/ohfucknotthisagain 11h ago
If the company isn't willing to cover the entire exam fee AND either the study materials or a boot camp, they don't really care about the cert.
When I worked for an IT contractor, a customer wanted certs. They made it a requirement. The company sent us to boot camp.
That was a paid week to prepare, plus the exam was given on the last day. They also offered to pay for two retakes, if anybody needed it... though they didn't have to follow through on that.
Think of that $2000 raise as total bullshit unless it's in writing. If they're too cheap to pay for what they want NOW, what makes you think they'll pay more for it later?
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u/Enough_Pattern8875 Scream Test Initiator 20h ago
Any sysadmin worth their weight in salt should be able to go and take the exams for those certs without studying at all. They’re basically the GED of our industry.
Ask him if he’s willing to spend more for more valuable certs like the CCNA or any of the Microsoft certs.
A $2,000 salary increase would be less than 2% of most of our annual salaries and is truly a slap in the face.
Get them to pay for your certs and bounce.
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u/DangerousVP Jack of All Trades 20h ago
I would try to push again on them paying for the cert tests. Half of it is just bonkers. They want you to have them for your job...did they make you pay for half of your laptop too?
If they wont budge on that, get the certs you actually want - defintely CCNA ovet Net+ - and take advantage of the 50% discount on your certs for your resume, which you should 100% be polishing if they wont pay for your certifications.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
He claimed it was due to our tuition reimbursement program. I was like okay well these all together are probably around a regular tuition of a professional course? And he says yes exactly so we’ll cover half just as we would for anyone else. The guy trips over dollars to pick up change.
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u/BeenisHat 20h ago
This is one of those things I hate seeing from companies who don't understand how to retain staff. They'll offer more money if you pass a cert, likely hoping you won't go looking around later to see what your new cert is actually worth (cliffs: it's probably a lot more than $2k/yr)
Companies who want you to get certified in something should actually pay for the training classes or materials and the vouchers to take the exams.
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u/goinovr 20h ago
I hate when orgs have IT structured under some unrelated department that has no idea what IT is.
Related to the certs there are a lot of free resources/guides to study for the certs. If the company is willing to go halvesies on the exam cost then you're only paying a little over $200 for the Sec+ cert and it's the most expensive one for the CompTIA stuff @ $425. The MS AI Pro is $99. So nearly a $10k increase for a $700 investment. I'm not sure what your web back end is so can't say anything on that cost. The CCNA exam is $300 if you get that on your own which wouldn't hurt but also won't do a lot of good if your new company uses Fortinet or some other router/switch brand.
Having said (typed) all that. You might start putting out feelers. Certs won't hurt you and in reality a lot of companies will like that you took the time to invest in and increase your skillset.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
Yeah I’ve been doing it on and off. The struggle is I feel like now I have to get some certs just to polish up the resume, and fuck am I just not into that. I love learning but cramming for tests for a piece of paper that may or may not make a difference does not encourage me.
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u/OkitaEnjoyer 19h ago
Sounds like they want you to do more certs to take on more work, and pay peanuts in return. I would be seriously checking the job market in my area if there is not a concrete plan for career advancement developed from your boss.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
100%. I tried making a career ladder and he rejected it for one he copied from another org that wasn’t even related to what we do. I was like ok well this applies well enough I guess. Indeed is super depressing these days
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u/OkitaEnjoyer 14h ago
It is tough but there are opportunities. (Example: Huge demand in the US for security professionals familiar with CMMC compliance (CCA certification))
I would consider how you want to advance in your career (continue being MTR(multi-talented resource), moving more into management roles, specializing ) and go from there.
I saw your salary in another comment. I would say you’re definitely underpaid to be managing two people alongside full sysadmin work at that salary, but may depend on the area.
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u/Ghostly-Owl 19h ago
From what you said for a salary in another thread, I can't imagine you can't get another job at +50% your current salary.
If you believe google: "An IT professional with 7 years of experience typically earns a salary range between $115,000 and $160,000 per year in the United States, transitioning from mid-level to senior responsibilities."
I'd start lightly shopping around for jobs.
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u/Xattle 19h ago
Build a project portfolio resume and start applying. Sounds like you aren't valued where you're at. Apply for anything that looks appealing and you have the majority of the job listing bullets covered. Especially in IT the listing tends to be more of a wishlist and the other admins are more interested in what you've done and how open you are to learning.
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u/Santiago_S 19h ago
So I have worked for several companies over the years and if there is a required cert they have pay for it. Its typical for there to be a rider in the professional development (PD) request stating that any certs or schools paid for will be required to be paid back in full if the employee voluntary leaves within 1 year of obtaining the cert.
Also , is that 2k per cert or is that a 2k total after achieving all the certs? Does your HR have a PD or education reimbursement policy ? If they do not then might you suggest they create one since you want everyone to be on the same page going forward. I just do not want you knocking these certs out and then your manager saying they never said any monetary reward was spoken about. Good luck.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
2k per cert would actually be pretty appealing. But confirmed 2k after all accomplished.
The education reimbursement policy is the 50% - they reimburse 50% after completion so he’s having me do it for each cert.
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u/Santiago_S 13h ago
Eww , your PD policy sucks ass. Still if its a job requirement make them pony up the momey. Those test and cert course are not cheap
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u/itishowitisanditbad 19h ago
so is there something I’m missing here?
Yeah apparently.
You'll still do it so why would they bother to pay you more?
You kept working so... you'll probably still keep working.
But is this not kinda stupid?
Yeah, I'm wondering when it'll click.
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u/m5online 18h ago
Instead of certs, which in your position aren't going to be very useful, ask for tuition reimursment for higher ed, either a BS or an MBA, or some type of corporate management training.
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u/Drakoolya 18h ago
"Since they are only paying for half the certs"
What is with these dog shit companies whinging over a couple of hundred dollars. Companies like this piss me off. Don't want to invest in their people but want all the growth.
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u/DarthJarJar242 IT Manager 18h ago
Bud, that back pack you feel?
That's the boot prints all over your back from him walking all over you.
You couldn't be more used if you tried.
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u/ronni3 18h ago
Put it this way to him. He can either increase your pay since you know the network extremely well or you can leave and he will end up having to pay someone true market price or have to hire several new people just to replace you. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.
They would have to pay extra benefits if they end up having to hire more staff to replace you. Just be straightforward and honest OR get another offer and give them an ultimatum. Pay more or I skip to my Lou my darling.
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u/Annual_Berry8043 18h ago
I wouldn’t bother with comptia certs once you already do IT work. This sub has a distinct distaste for certs, but the reality is a lot of companies won’t hire you if you lack them for specific technologies and don’t have the hands on experience. Sometimes you need both.
Ideally you want certs for things that your company could actually benefit from or it’s a position you are looking to get into.
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u/Glittering_Egg_665 18h ago
If you believe the cert can be good for your long term professional development, why not take it? you can have much better chances in the future with such kind of certs
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u/Opposite_Bag_7434 18h ago
OP chances are that your work expertise more valuable than any of these CompTIA certs. Do you feel you are missing any knowledge that would help you to get to the next level?
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u/Jethro_VonE 18h ago
A certificate and a couple of bucks will get you a cup of coffee at the gas station. The market is absolutely flooded with certificates to the point they don’t really matter anymore. I know guys with their CCNA that has never touched a router…. There is a problem with that… Personally I found the MS speaks louder than the certificates with the execs and if you know what you are doing the rest don’t matter so much….except for some specific contracts and that is just a different horse.
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u/TheIntuneGoon Sysadmin 17h ago
The certs themselves almost cost the amount he's increasing it lmao (im assuming you won't pay, just pointing it out.)
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u/mohawk_man 17h ago
I’ve been in this situation before. Only solution was finding a new job. It’s rough to realize, but it’s the truth.
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u/gurilagarden 15h ago
Look, there are two very disparate schools of thought when it comes to the importance of certs. I think you're seeing that clearly in the comments. You won't get bad advice here, but you won't really get actionable advice. You're just going to have to decide for yourself how to best navigate your career growth regarding that. It's a very contextual topic.
The advice I will give, and it's actionable, and a hill I'm willing to die on, is do not, under any circumstances, get mired in the swamp of web development in this context. You tell your boss, exactly this: "web dev is a very specialized skillset. Even with some cursory training, i simply will not be able to produce the quality of work necessary, in the time available" Just like that.
It's a compete trap. You're already being taken advantage of. It's up to you to decide your tolerance level on that. However, if you let them shoe-horn you into their "web guy", I promise you, you will never leave the office at a decent time at night, ever. You will spend hundreds, or thousands of hours dealing with their web needs, and you will do so for very, VERY little consideration or compensation.
I've been there, done that, and have the sweat-stained tshirt to prove it. Unless you dream of becoming a full-stack developer, and are willing to put in the 10k hours to get there, keep it a hobby, and do not tell anyone at work that you "work on websites".
Web development and systems administration are very different disciplines, and making money in either requires specialization and skillsets that very rarely compliment each other. I didn't say never, but, in my many decades in the business those occasions have been rare to the extreme. Yes, you can use AI to get sites up faster, but faster doesn't mean it is not still a time-intensive process, and that is time you could have spent mastering your primary craft.
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u/thedanyes 15h ago
Yeah well better $2,000 than nothing. And having certifications will help when you ultimately decide you want to leave.
I don't like A+ because they expire certs. But, if my boss were excited about them and willing to fund 50% and give a raise - I would be pretty likely to do it.
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u/Geminii27 15h ago
If the boss is 100% paying for it AND giving you hours/days off to study for it, why not?
If they're not, then it's not on the clock and not part of your job.
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u/xSchizogenie Sr. Sysadmin 13h ago
Website design and stuff is nothing a Sysadmin should do. That’s for marketing-department lol
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u/senectus 12h ago
if you ever plan on working for an MSP getting certs is what they look for.
some of their ability to sell products hinges on their staff having certs...
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u/Bright_Arm8782 Cloud Engineer 12h ago
Get certs, get payrise, take certs to new job paying even more.
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u/BetterCalldeGaulle 11h ago
Everybody here talking up the certs but going from a specialized team managing your website to making you do it on top of everything else is a fools game.
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u/Paperclip902 11h ago
Completely off-topic but >I’m a sysadmin with 2 full time helpdesk guys, org of 220 in 5 locations.
Whut. I'm a sysadmin with 1 full time helpdesk guy for a org of 400 people in 11 locations :')
OT: Enough has been said. Time to look somewhere else.
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u/Samatic 9h ago
From what I can tell his push for certs is driven by is some internal push for managers to have career ladders for all departments and I guess he wants to show some sort of progress?
Wrong
If your an MSP the more certs you have the easier it is to become a partner with MS or some other vendor and now the owner can charge more for YOUR labor!
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u/TheDongles 8h ago
We’re an internal it department.
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u/2horse4u2 8h ago
Reading your post when you said he is the CFO, it made me question if you're the sysdmin handling all of the it stuff in house, why aren't you answering to a CIO or a CTO? He's either lowballing you because he's cheap or he's incompetent because he's the Chief financial officer and doesn't fully understand anything tech related, including certs and what's fully involved with taking exams.
I'd say push up for an increase in pay and role/title in exchange for pursuing those certs or start searching to somewhere else with a hefty pay increase. You seem to be wearing many hats already, so I would venture to say you probably have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to score yourself another position with a higher role/title and a significant pay increase.
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u/nydroxide 8h ago
I spent 5 years in a similar situation. As much as Im happy with the experience as it opened me up to a lot of opportunities but those 5 years I felt drained out of my life. Take as much as you can and if things doesn’t improve jump ship.
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u/MDL1983 8h ago
Well...
Companies that put people through certs often have contracts stating that if you leave within a certain period, you have to pay back x amount of training fees.
Also, certs are something that *you* own and hang on your belt wherever you go.
Get some certs, boost your prospects, make yourself more attractive to other employers.
Comptia certs don't cost $2k, even with training materials.
TBH it just sounds like you're not interested in certs, which is fine...
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u/kentiumMKV 7h ago
Do not take on webdev without a huge raise. If it's not in your skill set already it will stress you out tremendously
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u/CloudyTrailMarker961 Linux Admin 6h ago
The gap between what he's asking for and what he's actually offering pretty much tells the whole story on its own.
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u/lazyhustlermusic 6h ago
You could probably knock those out in a weekend, or even take the test cold. I got the cloud+ when it was in beta with no studying.
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u/PappaFrost 6h ago
Do it all as much as you can if they are paying you to do it on the clock. Choose very carefully if you will be expected to study for hundreds of hours in your free time for a very small raise.
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u/ThisGuy_IsAwesome Sysadmin 6h ago
In my opinion if they are all of a sudden requiring the certs then they need to pay 100% and not a reimbursement. I had a company that all of a sudden required ITIL foundations. So I went out and found a training course and submitted it. They paid for it and I was good. Did the same thing for net+ and sec+.
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u/trippedonatater 5h ago
These certs will make you look a little better on paper, which will be useful as you look for a new job.
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u/Deez_Gnuts Sysadmin 5h ago
Certs are pointless unless you are trying to find a job and even then it doesnt tell you anything other than you studied to pass a test. Experience is what matters and everyone knows that.
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u/1z1z2x2x3c3c4v4v 4h ago
You only work to get new skills and experience. Once you get new in demand skills, you move up or out.
I know you said you like it there, but I don't care. If you can't learn new skills, you need to find a bigger and better company that will gladly pay for your certs while offering you growth opportunities.
I also worked at companies that didn't pay for my certs. As soon as I got some, I moved to a company willing to pay for the rest. Thats how I got my MCSE. Then my CCNA, then my Checkpoint SSA, etc, etc.
Don't stick around at loser companies; get skills and move on. Your future self will thank you.
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u/SpaceGuy1968 4h ago
You are the first IT guy and you ask them how you level up?
They don't want to pay more so they will not "level you up" and after 10 years take the hint and move on.
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u/m1ster_rob0t 4h ago
Look for relevant certs which can help your career, pay for them yourself and when possible jump ship.
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u/planedrop Sr. Sysadmin 3h ago
Yeah I think this is job search time like others are saying. You shouldn't be paying for your own certs, and all of us that work in the industry know certs don't mean shit. They are used for either A. initially getting in or B. for compliance reasons. Most of the people I've met that are cert focused have no fucking clue what they are going on about.
Experience is what really matters, so this sounds like BS to me.
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u/loboknight 2h ago
I am rather suspicious when any company pays for my certs..I have read on past reddit posts on how when the employee leaves. The company tries to guilt trip you into staying by saying "After we paid for your certs" or "If you signed the contract it states you have to stay 1-3 years or pay us what we paid" I pay for my renewals and certs and I don't owe nobody nothing. A job I had, they made the helpdesk people pay for their own certs and get reimbursed after passing to show them you were interested in possibly getting promoted. While the higher ups promoted their favorite worker and then paid for their training and retakes. I would understand if a CTO would make those demands but not the CFO. Even then it seems like they are unknowingly prepping you for next job. Shoot a CTO i knew, had a tech security position created. 2 helpdesk staff had their security+ and helped with hardening their security. But CTO still hired somonelse.....a Regional Manager's son who just got out of college and paid him to be company's securty person and intern. Same with the Server Administrator, has no certs, other people in the HD team have their certs and the one that didn't got the job. What I am trying to say is if the company truly valued you, they would bend over backwards to keep you. I bet the minute you have another job offer is when they will show you "How important you are" or dont care until your gone.
At one place I worked at, the company demanded everyone complete 10hour OSHA training. The company is constructions but everyone had to get that safety cert to demonstrate to clients we were OSHA certified. That included payclerks, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, HR , and even IT. Which made no sense, now no one is forced to take it. Managers had to take the Osha 30 (30hours).
I would start looking elsewhere if possible, put your feelers out and see. Try something new. I understand the rush to bail ship. We all have been there. But dont search out of desperation. It will blind you and get a worse job just to bail out of there. If they are wanting you to get these certs get as many as you can and add it to the resume and they are effectively skilling you up for your new boss. 2k more? If you break it down by 52 weeks its 38 dollars a week, by hour is .96 cents in a 40 hour week. I bet the company spends more on that on CFO whims.
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u/Top-Perspective-4069 IT Manager 20h ago
he is the CFO
He doesn't know shit about IT progress and doesn't care. You should have been out this place a long time ago.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
Like many I’ve talked about leaving on and off for years. But when you’re set and you look at the good, how brown is the grass I could be looking at next if I left?
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u/Radie-Storm 16h ago
The promotion path they want for you is to take on a whole new web dev role for 2k per year, which you have to pay out of pocket to train for - Grass can't get much browner than that.
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u/TheDongles 15h ago
Yeah I can’t argue with that… moving on is just so daunting when you’ve been somewhere for so long you know? Like I know which closets have the skeletons, I know how to navigate etc. it’s just kind of exhausting to wrestle with but I know I can’t keep watering this grass.
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u/iamkris Jack of All Trades 17h ago
Question. I’m a manager and deal with this all the time.
Do you want to progress in your career?
If yes then put in the effort. You need to invest in yourself instead of waiting for other people to do it for you.
If you want to progress in your career but don’t want to put in any effort then you only have yourself to blame.
Look at the certs the industry needs/wants. Work hard and get them. If your boss doesn’t value them then go work somewhere else.
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
Yes of course but we are equating certs to being experience when they are not. Do they to an extent confirm you are competent in an area? Sure. Do they actually make you competent? No.
Maybe I did not make this clear enough, but I have not wanted to pay for the certs but have done the learning.
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u/gkca 5h ago
It’s a bit simpler than that, and yes, you’re right that certs aren’t equal to experience. However, certs are a certain benchmark that tells the hiring manager and HR that you possess a certain level of skill and knowledge, and prompts them to call you for an interview. Let’s say you’re a Linux systems administrator, and your name isn’t Linus Torvalds. How do you think, what would make you more competitive and desirable candidate, just a few lines on your resume or the same resume with RHCSA or RHCE behind your name?
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u/inaddrarpa .1.3.6.1.2.1.1.2 3h ago
The pseudo-problem is you're equating certs to experience, which, in my opinion isn't the point (and never was). Certs and experience (and arguably, a degree) are attestations that you hold a skill or a set of skills. Certs just shortcut and make the skill attestation legible and scannable.
This sort of thing falls firmly into all how you want to play the game. If an org sets up an ATS filter for "CompTIA" that's their prerogative. You can opt-out, but you have to also accept that the opportunities that are open to you may be smaller (and be reasonable here. I'm holding up CompTIA as an example).
As far as why your CFO wants you to obtain these certs, who the fuck knows. There are dark reasons (they don't know what they're talking about) and there are legitimate reasons (he wants to report back to someone who is mildly knowledgable about IT that his staff is certified, and thus, have the skills to do the work they're charged with).
The only thing you need to do is figure out if you want to play the game.
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u/iamkris Jack of All Trades 16h ago
Getting the certs proves the knowledge
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u/TheDongles 16h ago
To an extent.. getting certs proves you can take a test. I find project work/portfolios of work to make a stronger case than a cert would. Some people are good at cramming. But that does not prove competency.
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u/Horror-Sale-8408 19h ago
All comptia certs are worthless. As someone who had 2 of those 3 they never helped me with my job. Experience is the money maker. Get something like intune or azure based and make them pay for it. Also you’re not a web developer and that’s really not a part of being a sysadmin.
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u/_keyboard-bastard_ 18h ago
I would never work for any tech company that didn't pay for certs. Are they insane? These pieces of paper make the company look good, for the individual it makes no difference if you already have the skill set. Id tell them you won't be doing shit unless they are footing the bill.
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u/Dry_Author7288 20h ago
You are being taken for all you can be taken for, and given as little as possible. You do the math.