Hourly rate for Desktop Support?

Reznik

I'm being asked what my hourly or daily rate is for a desktop support job. I worked at this job previously for an 8 month co-op and made around $15 an hour as a student. Now I'm applying there again for a term starting in January, but through a contracting agency since I'm not a student anymore. I will have graduated my 2 year Computer Systems Technician program by then so I figure that's good for a bit of a pay bump above $15 but I don't know how much. I don't know what anyone else is making there, and I don't want to set the bar too high since they all have more experience than me.

I've never applied for a job where they haven't just told me what I'm going to be making so I have no idea what to say here. This is in Canada if that makes a difference.

Bowen

I'd say 15-20$ would be a decent range.

zepherin

Reznik wrote: »

I'm being asked what my hourly or daily rate is for a desktop support job. I worked at this job previously for an 8 month co-op and made around $15 an hour as a student. Now I'm applying there again for a term starting in January, but through a contracting agency since I'm not a student anymore. I will have graduated my 2 year Computer Systems Technician program by then so I figure that's good for a bit of a pay bump above $15 but I don't know how much. I don't know what anyone else is making there, and I don't want to set the bar too high since they all have more experience than me.

I've never applied for a job where they haven't just told me what I'm going to be making so I have no idea what to say here. This is in Canada if that makes a difference.

Where at in Canada?
How is the economic climate where you work?
How many other solid job options do you have at the moment?
How much experience do you have as a computer systems tech?

Without those it's kind of uneducated guess work. You are probably safe asking for an extra $2.50 an hour, but for more those questions are important.

Reznik

Ottawa.
It's usually a good job market since it's all government jobs, but at least as of 4-6 months ago there was a hiring freeze and I don't know if things are back to normal yet.
I don't have any other leads on jobs that I'm working on at the moment, though I have heard a few other government departments looking to fill help desk positions.
I have 8 months doing the specific job that I'm applying for since that was the co-op I did, plus 2 years working in the college computer labs and another 2 years doing essentially freelance tech support (really mostly dealing with viruses). Plus in school I learned a lot of sys admin stuff that's really beyond the scope of this job (setting up mail servers for example), but I'm not sure if education counts when you talk about experience.

No certifications yet, though.

Cog

I wouldn't feel bad asking for closer to $20 now that you have some education to point to. When you say "I worked at this job previously for an 8 month co-op", that means you worked this exact position? If so, I would probably look for $18/hr and push the education you've completed as proof that you're dedicated to growing your skillset and qualifications, and advancing your career.

Cambiata

Cog wrote: »

I wouldn't feel bad asking for closer to $20 now that you have some education to point to. When you say "I worked at this job previously for an 8 month co-op", that means you worked this exact position? If so, I would probably look for $18/hr and push the education you've completed as proof that you're dedicated to growing your skillset and qualifications, and advancing your career.

Cost of living for the area will make a difference in the price, but this sounds about right to me. Though I think at least $20 is reasonable, given your education level.

Cog

If it was a brand new position at a different company, I'd probably go with $20. A $5/hr bump for doing the same job he was already doing might be pushing it if he's just applying for his current position.

Cirira

I work a fairly entry level Desktop Support position at a Fortune 500 company in the US and make about $24 an hour. I would think it depends on what their definition of Desktop Support is myself. I order equipment, image the machines, deploy equipment, troubleshoot PC issues and am responsible for setting up conference rooms among my duties so that may be more or less than what is expected of you. A former colleague of mine works at a university nearby and does a lot less functions and started at around $21-$22 at her current position.

I live in the US though so the job being in Canada may mean the pay is much different. I've friends in Cali (I'm in the Midwest) that makes around what I do with similar job functions as well so I'm not sure how much cost of living factors into the pay that much.

Cog's suggestions of going for around $18-$20 sounds reasonable to me given what you previously made and your current experience level.

Cambiata

Yeah to add my own salary here, I also have the job title of entry level tech support for a fortune 500 company (job title meaning that other people who have the title and pay level do desktop support, but I do not) and I get around $25 per hour. Also in the US. When first hired I recieved about $21 per hour, and this was with no long term paid experience, no certifications, and a bachelors degree in a completely unrelated field.

Cirira

I started out at a Help Desk job (basically a call center) making around what the original poster stated in the first post. My current rate is with 5 or 6 years at the same company. My title is equivalent to what an entry level Desktop person would be but I'm close to being the next tier up. The $20 range definitely seems like a decent starting area based off of Cambiata's post as well.

Cog

You can always ask for 20, they can counter offer if that's more than they really want to pay. It probably won't be a big deal between 18 or 20. It's not like you're asking for something 10-15k off their range.

Newblar

Reznik wrote: »

Ottawa.
It's usually a good job market since it's all government jobs, but at least as of 4-6 months ago there was a hiring freeze and I don't know if things are back to normal yet.
I don't have any other leads on jobs that I'm working on at the moment, though I have heard a few other government departments looking to fill help desk positions.
I have 8 months doing the specific job that I'm applying for since that was the co-op I did, plus 2 years working in the college computer labs and another 2 years doing essentially freelance tech support (really mostly dealing with viruses). Plus in school I learned a lot of sys admin stuff that's really beyond the scope of this job (setting up mail servers for example), but I'm not sure if education counts when you talk about experience.

No certifications yet, though.

Note I'm a government accountant not a computer systems person so my information may not all be relevant.

On the high end you could look at what entry level computer systems people make in the government. By the end of the month the hourly rate for a CS 1 will be 27.40 and have a bunch of benefits you won't receive. Granted they start at higher then most other professional level government jobs and while technically you can get that job with just a 2 year college diploma, realistically they primarily hire people with honors degrees and a few years of experience. Clerks which many people will accept a job at either just to get their foot in the door or because they don't really have much in the way of qualifications can start a little lower or as low as 60% of a CS 1, but most new hires as clerks are somewhere in between (that's sort of the low end of what the gov pays employees).

You're going to be a contractor so you won't get benefits but you also aren't providing skills the government doesn't have, the position most likely exists because of the hiring freeze or to save money so 18-20 is probably reasonable, remember the contract agency needs to make their cut too so they need to be able to skim some profit off of what ever rate they've agreed to with the government for the position. While I have worked with contractors that have special or really in demand skills that made a killing, I've also worked with fairly experienced contractors where even before taking away the agencies cut we were barely paying more than an entry level person when considering all the benefits a normal employee receives. You're not experienced enough to command a premium.

There is still a hiring freeze and likely will be for the next several years, additionally while I'm not sure how long ago the freeze started there have been massive cuts in government for the last several years and will continue to be so until at least the next election. Actually it's beyond a hiring freeze, the government is shedding quite a few jobs. While the first ones out the door were people that took a package we are starting to see experienced people laid off and now competing for whatever job they can find. So basically it's a really competitive market right now but Ottawa's a fairly expensive place to live so don't go so low that you can't afford to survive. 18-20 seems reasonable but remember it's costing the government more than 18-20 so you need to consider that which is why I'm not saying something like 25+

Sir Red of the Manti

Huh. I'm currently working as a Desktop Support Tech for a decently large company and I'm bringing home 37.5k CAD before taxes. Should I be seeking work elsewhere at that rate?

Cirira

Sir Red I believe that depends on the area you're in and what Desktop Support Tech means at your company. That pay sounds more in line with our Help Desk (basically a call center that makes tickets) than a Desktop person (that goes to the PC and fixes stuff) to me, but that may be the going rate in your market. I live in a decently sized city so there are always opportunities for growth. If you're in a smaller area that may be a decent rate for that area.

Best bet is to use Google and try to research salaries in your area if you feel underpaid. I know that I am comfortable with my work atmosphere, rate of pay, and benefits despite the fact I could potentially be making more money if I looked around for other jobs in the area. The trade-off of my work environment and the stability is better to me than the potential extra earnings at this point in my career.

Myiagros

I live in Ottawa as well in IT, my first job out of college without any previous experience paid me $15/hr. With 18 months experience I was making $17/hr at a different company doing software testing, it was through a contracting company though so I had no benefits or vacation. I'm now in the $20/hr range after 3 years but I'm also underpaid for the amount I do. I think you'd be good in the $18-20 range as others are suggesting.

zepherin

Cirira wrote: »

Best bet is to use Google and try to research salaries in your area if you feel underpaid. I know that I am comfortable with my work atmosphere, rate of pay, and benefits despite the fact I could potentially be making more money if I looked around for other jobs in the area. The trade-off of my work environment and the stability is better to me than the potential extra earnings at this point in my career.

This is an important point. How much do you like the work environment? Happiness with what you are doing and job satisfaction is huge. At 32. I'm happy with what I do, and while I can get another 20k a year as it is I feel satisfied with my position, I had to get my various bosses together for a powow cause they were dumping on me, but after that I'm feeling pretty steady. Now after I get my pmp, then all bets are off, because I can turn down an extra 20k a year, 30k-40k a year extra is a different story.


And this brings up another point, even if you are happy with your job, and like what you are doing. Keep your resume circulating. Do an interview every 3 or 4 months. That way if shit hits the fan you have a hedge against unemployment.

Gonmun

I'd go the $17-$20 range imo. My wife presently works as a contractor in the IT department for a large company doing desktop support and she's making $17/hr and we're in New Brunswick.

Sir Red of the Manti

Cirira wrote: »

Sir Red I believe that depends on the area you're in and what Desktop Support Tech means at your company. That pay sounds more in line with our Help Desk (basically a call center that makes tickets) than a Desktop person (that goes to the PC and fixes stuff) to me, but that may be the going rate in your market. I live in a decently sized city so there are always opportunities for growth. If you're in a smaller area that may be a decent rate for that area.

Best bet is to use Google and try to research salaries in your area if you feel underpaid. I know that I am comfortable with my work atmosphere, rate of pay, and benefits despite the fact I could potentially be making more money if I looked around for other jobs in the area. The trade-off of my work environment and the stability is better to me than the potential extra earnings at this point in my career.

Desktop Support Tech in this case is a person that manages the hardware and imaging processes/image builds of 500+ computers in a mixed hardware (Mac/PC) call center environment with moderate AD/Apple Server management.

Cambiata

I agree, location matters a lot when it comes to the pay. In the smaller Texas town where I grew up, help desk jobs were only $15 an hour (and required more experience/education than I had)

Reznik

Thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up saying $18 so we'll see how that goes.

Cog

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.