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Thread ID: 102391 2009-08-18 00:31:00 Entry Level IT Consultant Hourly rate aidanmaz (7180) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
802075 2009-08-18 00:31:00 I have been employed as an IT consultant for a Pawnbrokers, and am in negoiations for a new contract. I was previously being paid 15/hr for the following:

Prepare and install new PCs
Preapre and install AD Domains/VPNs/Email
Computer Maintence / Server Backup Up
Reformatting of recycled PCs
and other general IT duties. (ie printers etc)

I belive i am being well underpaid for a 20year old, with my MCP/MCSA A+/Net+ quals. I thought at least 25/hr as a minimum, am I right in thinking this? What is the average rate per hour for an entry level IT Consultant?
aidanmaz (7180)
802076 2009-08-18 00:54:00 There's no hard and fast rule about wage rates, but I think $15/hr is about right for starting out in that role; I have a mate that does break/fix, as well as some intermediate sysadmin work (unsupervised, but trusted not to get out of his depth!); he's just gone up to around $18/hr, so for Auckland I'd say $20 would be about right .

Rates have dropped back slightly due to the recession unfortunately . . .
nofam (9009)
802077 2009-08-18 00:55:00 It *really* depends, but to be honest $40-50K would be what I'd assume for doing that type of work.

The AD Domains / VPN / Email is worth a bit more, but yeah ...
Chilling_Silence (9)
802078 2009-08-18 01:06:00 $20/hr is all I was getting at my last job and had been on that for about 4-5 years with no sign of any increase.
Hence the reason I left and started my own business :thumbs:
Now I get paid nothing :horrified
CYaBro (73)
802079 2009-08-18 01:12:00 It just seems 15-20 an hour is extremely low for what i am doing, and the amount of hours i put in to restructure the whole IT infrastructure aidanmaz (7180)
802080 2009-08-18 01:16:00 It just seems 15-20 an hour is extremely low for what i am doing, and the amount of hours i put in to restructure the whole IT infrastructure

Yeah it's often the way if you over-perform in a role - you're working at a much higher level than is expected, but it doesn't get recognized, and you don't get rewarded for it.

Unfortunately it happened a lot in ICT; probably because the people assigning wage rates to a job don't understand/value what involved.
nofam (9009)
802081 2009-08-18 01:49:00 $20/hr is all I was getting at my last job and had been on that for about 4-5 years with no sign of any increase.
Hence the reason I left and started my own business :thumbs:
Now I get paid nothing :horrified I KNOW what you are saying CY :thumbs: I also run my own business - If I got paid $20 / hour for every hour I was working Id be quite rich.

I work from drawings - so only take what I need. BUT theres one hell of a lot more to it than simply calculating $/hour in what you actually get.
wainuitech (129)
802082 2009-08-18 02:14:00 It just seems 15-20 an hour is extremely low for what i am doing, and the amount of hours i put in to restructure the whole IT infrastructure

IT grads entering a large, reputable consulting firm in Auckland or Wellington would expect a salary of around $40-45k as a starting rate. These are people who have completed an IT degree, and gotten a good grade. People who are exceptional (i.e. top 5 students from a university) can expect a starting rate of up to $50k. For the sort of work you're doing, $15-20 isn't too bad - you are more of a "technician" than a "consultant".
somebody (208)
802083 2009-08-18 02:21:00 In my experience (contracting for ten years) the going rate is whatever you can negotiate at the time .

That said I always have a number in mind that I won't even get out of bed for (which has continued to rise over the years)!!!!

However, I have also found that if you're a permanent employee, often then only way to get paid "market rates" is to leave and find another job - not easy at the moment .

Like nofam says
the people assigning wage rates to a job don't understand/value what involved - and they will often try to get away with as small an annual increase as they can anyway .

That's just good business sense - a short term view, of course - if employers piss off their employees by paying pathetic rates, the employees will leave anyway . Which means whoever they replace the employee with they will be paying higher rates to anyway - and they have lost that all-important business knowledge gained by the original employee . . .
johcar (6283)
802084 2009-08-18 02:49:00 aidanmaz - you don't say how long you've been working there, i.e. how long was your previous contract?
A set period or was it basically "to restructure the whole IT infrastructure"?
If you've done that, does your employer still need you enough to afford a raise?
Or have you been on $15 for at least a year?

As others have said, it seems low for the job, but sometimes it's a question of how much you're worth to a particular employer - not as a general principle.
Laura (43)
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