Here's how much millennials are earning annually across the US

I am 33, make around 130k a year and live in Nashville, TN. Any friends that I have that are not high level IT are broke.

It sucks.

a reply to: waggz

that's why I'm getting a degree in IT and changing careers from carpentry, same exact reason

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: waggz

that's why I'm getting a degree in IT and changing careers from carpentry, same exact reason

Year 23 of my IT career and Im currently at the Principal level, getting ready for my first CCIE Lab attempt and making closer to $150k a year than $120k a year. Lots of family events missed, drama, pressure, long nights , take your pick of all the things that get someone to that level.

At Cisco Live a few years ago Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs was the closing keynote speaker and he said something I have always agreed with, "If you want to succeed, if you want to be elite dont say that it is better to work smarter than harder. People that truly succeed in life work smarter and harder than those they are competing with"

Figure out what your passion in IT is and dont think that just by switching career tracks you are going to make more. Automation is hitting this industry also. Find your passion , be it Collaboration , Infosec, Wireless, R/S , VMWare, whatever.

Just dont change cause you think its gonna make you more money unless you have something you are really interested in.

a reply to: opethPA

Oh I'm going after network automation, preparing for the CCNA and getting a degree thats heavy Cisco CCNA/S as well.

I'm actually hoping to find out in the next 2-3 weeks if I have an opportunity in a junior networking position. Hope it works out but may not who knows.

a reply to: toysforadults

My dad is a senior network analyst, I hope I got that title right. Anyhow, he's mid 50's now but he started out with a 2 year diploma in the 80's from college in electronics. He went on to IT fixing computers but as the industry changed so he had to as well. I'm in my early 30's but I still remember my dad getting home from a long day at work bringing home his giant study books for whatever certificate (fairly certain he has all those you mentioned) was necessary to keep up with the changing industry, while supporting a family of 5 on one income. He worked/works hard to get where he is, and he has a nice paycheck now compared to 25 years ago and paying down the mortgage of his house as quickly as possible before retirement.

My twin brother is in road construction, a foreman, and he never went to college but he makes nice money, he worked his way up from the bottom as well. Though I know they are completely different fields I would say with how much he works and overtime he makes nearly the same amount as my Dad. But at the end of the day even with him and his gf working they are finding it difficult to even buy a modest house/townhouse or anything in their city. And he works hard, but he just won't get the same crack at home ownership as my parents had. Times have changed.

I'm regretting that we sold our house in Nevada 2 years ago, I didn't know the prices would climb so much higher since then, but we didn't have a huge choice due to my SO's place of work shutting down and laying off 500 employees. We have been struggling ever since though this year is looking up as they finally reopened and hired him back on, but he regrettably had to give up his career in power due to the cost of living in California vs cost of living in Nevada and he got a significant enough pay raise over here, though the job is much more labor intensive. Hopefully we made the right choice but California was just...no financial hope for the future. I sure wish we had our affordable house still. Now we don't know whether to try and buy again or wait it out and see if prices come down in the future? There must be an end to it somewhere (rising house prices) because most of the people my age don't have amazing paying jobs. Or maybe we're all just destined to rent forever.

a reply to: toysforadults

I think technology culture and education is hurting this generation. Everyone goes to college for degrees that need more degrees to even get hired plus you need work experience. So you're loaded with debt and if you don't find a job in your field you have debt and two jobs just to survive.

originally posted by: toysforadults

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: toysforadults

What does Median Income mean? Do they go by center earning bracket or averaged over all incomes?

Because here in Ca. in silicon valley, the rent is godamn 3000 a month for a town house.

Homes around the new apple citadel are million dollar each and people are outbidding each other to get them.

You see, everyone here is a Software King.

Obviously median mean average meaning there is a higher and lower end of the spectrum. The thing you should be seeing in this is that there is a much much larger share of the population in this age group on the lower end of this spectrum dragging the entire age group down into what's essentially poverty from a macro perspective.

Median means MIDDLE. That means half of millennials who have jobs make less and half make more. It’s used instead of the average whenever you don’t want the numbers skewed because the top people make A LOT of money or the bottom make almost none.

a reply to: intrptr
Yes but you live in prob one of the top ten cities in the world that earn those sort of salaries from the tech boom.

a reply to: SR1TX

What sort of business you into?

a reply to: toysforadults

Yep. Lazy.

A lot of us are psychokinetic too.

a reply to: toysforadults

they want you to start as an apprentice no matter what which my take is garbage for years.

Do you know that as a fact? Have you spoken to the business agent in your area or going on hearsay and assumptions??

I only ask because I have been in the sheet metal workers union for 28 years and many guys with experience have "bought" their card. Meaning you pay the initiation fee and get your journeymans card. Lot's of guys have started in 2nd and 3rd year of our 4 year apprenticeship.

And after all of that the union only states the min. pay you get, you can always negotiate your own wage with your employer.

originally posted by: OtherSideOfTheCoin

Every single Millennial is lazy, they don't show up for work and they have degrees in liberal arts. I knew it. Lazy bastards.

Just a tad of a over generalisation there????

Honestly I could say the same about anyone born in the 70s, doesn’t make it true.

I know loads of people in their late teens early twenties who work hard and do loads, really pissed me of the way older generations take a dump on the kids of today like this. “Lazy bastards” you say..... well those lazy bastards are future doctors keeping your family healthy, the troops keeping you safe or the guy fixing your car.

He was being sarcastic, saying that it's not that they are lazy, it's a problem because that's the new median average.

Every single person born from 1981-1997 cannot be lazy. If they are averaging 20k, it's because that's all anyone is paying.

originally posted by: nOraKat
a reply to: intrptr
Yes but you live in prob one of the top ten cities in the world that earn those sort of salaries from the tech boom.

We don't tech boom here just surf (the internet). California is full of rich assholes, yet is far down that list as far as median income. The other bright spot (really full of assholes) is Hollywood.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: stormcell

I know a certain segment earns big here, but the rent and groceries is so high the median can't afford it.

Thats the problem,, inflation, deflation, shrinkflation, and price gouging.

The people making 150 k a year don't have to pay rent.

I saw it myself. 3K to 6K to buy a house in Menlo Park/Palo Alto/SF where other tech workers lived close to their campus building. Somewhere in Sunnyvale with aircon was $1400/month, but mostly Indians. Without aircon it was $700, but those were Mexican neighborhoods.

It's the same here in the UK. The housing situation around London is so bad that married couples are having to wait until they are in their 60's, when their parents die, so that they can get an inheritance and afford to buy a home. The solution would be a national house-building program, but as we don't have that many builders/joiners or electricians, we would have to bring them in from Eastern Europe, and they would be the ones buying the homes. Housing in the South East is so overcrowded, that what would be your garden anywhere else, is actually your neighbors parking space, and the driveway to your garage is the access road to their parking spot.

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: opethPA

Oh I'm going after network automation, preparing for the CCNA and getting a degree thats heavy Cisco CCNA/S as well.

I'm actually hoping to find out in the next 2-3 weeks if I have an opportunity in a junior networking position. Hope it works out but may not who knows.

Im assuming you have passed your CCENT already, it not that should be your priority since its the prereq for the NA.

Either way Good deal.

let me know if you ever want/need any advice that way..Have multiple NA's, 1 NP and passed IE written in my chosen track so always willing to pass experience or tips on.

a reply to: waggz

Just finished my BS in IT security focus, starting my certs in Comp Tia and Project management, once I'm working I plan to continue my education with a masters in Cyber Security.


Spent most of my life working on planes but that is not going to get my family where I want us to be so I am making a change.


Folks seem afraid of change now a days.

a reply to: stormcell

Used to be affording a home was a loan behind steady employment at a company that took care of its employees.

Start at the top to fix it.

a reply to: waggz

That seems to be my experience as well. Im younger than 33, my one friend that went into IT is doing far and away better than any other friend I have...and I can assure you he wasnt even the smartest or worked anywhere near as hard. Most of the people that went to college (for higher level degrees) are saddled with debt, and havent found any sort of amazing paying jobs.

a reply to: Irishhaf

just finished A+ and Net+ currently studying for the CCENT as my school wants it on the 2 test track not the single CCNA course, I'm ok with that thought because it allows me to dive deeper into the material and Wendell Odom does not mess around.

a reply to: opethPA

what's your home lab look like?

I have been using packet tracer for now but I picked up a 3750 and I think I'll be picking up a few 1811's and maybe 2 more 3560's.