How to determine salary worth when no salary guide quite fits your job role

farmingquestion

Should I speak to a career guidance expert to determine where I fit?

Is interviewing for other roles the only option?

I read salary reviews and there's one I am closest to but some of the skills for this job I don't have, but then there's other skills I have that are not listed.

The salary for someone with 5+ years experience is 70-90k. I am working 9 years and assume what I believe is quite a lot of responsibility and earn 57k which includes a bonus.

I have a hard time judging my own skills and experience and responsibility level.

Buddy Bubs

If its anything like the accounting surveys they are way too high.

Depends on a lot, company size etc what salary you earn, not everything is equal.

What job is it and in what type of company, some people here might have an idea

Mrs OBumble

Getting offered another job is the only realistic way of proving your worth.

SuperBowserWorld

I was getting paid the same as people with half or even less experience than me, so I stopped doing the management duties I had taken up for free. So ... it depends ...

I think the only way to figure out how much you can get ( Vs how much you are actually worth ) is to interview successfully at other places.

Also, recruitment agencies will have an idea of what you can get based on your CV and experience. So you could talk to a few of them and come up with a ball park figure.

NewClareman

Realistically, changing role and/or company is the only way most people will achieve a significant pay increase. In the majority of cases people also take on more challenging or more senior positions. Recruiters regularly trawl through LinkedIn profiles, so putting effort into this is a good first step. Next I suggest contacting a recruitment agency who has active roles in areas where you are qualified.

Getting to interview stage is down to the strength of your CV and references. Then it it is up to you...

In both cases, to get higher salaries, you need to demonstrate ongoing growth and openness to change. Despite what some think, length of time in a role does not always equate to any substantial increase in aptitude or capability. In some cases it can indicate reluctance to change and lack of ambition.

Staying in the one role is not always bad, but you need to show how you've grown and added more value in your current position, year on year. Describe the scope and scale of the extra responsibilities have you taken on. Try and show how they added business value.

Do your current responsibilities require specific skill sets that less experienced colleagues don't have? How did you develop these skills:

• did you attend any courses?
• did you get any additional qualifications?
• did you coach/mentor less experienced colleagues?

The whole idea is to show that you are updating your skills and capabilities on a continuous basis. Think this through before you updated your LinkedIn profile and CV. Once you have done this, it is time to talk to recruiters and reply to ads.

Xidu

Can u pls tell us what’s your job?

farmingquestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120056405#Comment_120056405

System Admin/Business Analyst

Xidu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064239#Comment_120064239

If your job is BA, then 57k is low.

depends on how big is your company

I know BA in Apple/Amazon could earn from 70k w 5 year’s experience

NewClareman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064239#Comment_120064239

Those are very different roles that I've never seen combined. A System Administrator is substantially a technical role while a Business Analyst typically has a business background, with limited technical knowledge.

in either case the target salary would depend on the level of qualification and the type of experience.

A junior business analyst might have a BA/BSc in a business related discipline and work on small projects, As they progress they would be expected to expand their qualifications either vertically (e.g. an MBA) or horizontally (e.g. process Management, business specific expertise etc.) Some business analysts will also do database modelling.

System Administrators are responsible for the upkeep, configuration and availability of computer systems. A junior systems analyst would typically have a BSc in IT, or related discipline and maintain PC's and LAN infrastructure. As they progress in their career they could work on larger computer systems, big databases etc. many also gain addition qualifications such as an MSc, or attend in depth training from vendors.

As you can see, a metric such as "5 years experience" means very little. A systems administrator maintaining the same infrastructure year on year could only expect a cost of living increase. One who developed a deep expertise, say in cloud deployments, could get a very large increase. As I said earlier you have to show how you've grown and developed in your role.

Flinty997

Its quite easy.

You only know what you are worth by applying for jobs and see if you get a job on a higher salary.

farmingquestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065292#Comment_120065292

The problem is I don't really know if my skills would get a BA role somewhere else. I'm not even sure if I'd class myself as a BA as I only have basic SQL (if even). But BA is probably the closest job title I can find that would be most suitable for me.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067581#Comment_120067581

If you get called for interview and offered a job you'll know.

eusap

Split your search into two groups, Systems Admin, small company IT roles etc.... and see what there willing to pay for those Skills

A BA normally doesn't need to do SQL, a BA would normally be looking at business processes and benchmark them against industry standard, then lead projects to improve the business and the processes

Flinty997

There are BAs and then there are technical BA with tech skills. Personally I've found BA with no technical skills useless in an IT environment. If not in IT then it's doesn't matter. Domain knowledge helps a lot.

Any company that has merged two roles into one is cutting costs and taking shortcuts. That mindset will pervade everything they do. Not a problem once you realize what your getting into. Some times it's more interesting.

farmingquestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067892#Comment_120067892

What do you mean not in IT?

I work with the BI group and my domain knowledge has been very helpful, so I've been told anyways. I was actually kind of surprised when I first started collaborating with them that they had little knowledge on basic way things operate, that I thought was mostly just logical.

Flinty997

Technical IT skills are a different thing to domain knowledge in a specific business area. Like finance for example.

farmingquestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065292#Comment_120065292

In your view, what would you say the job of a BA is?

I'd spend a lot of time in Microsoft Excel analysing data, providing specific data that's been requested, identifying ways we can improve things in how we manage the system and our people using current system functionality, modifying the system as per client requests (same as IT ticketing system where client might request new options to be added, change in messaging redirecting to elsewhere etc). It is a MNC so I'm not the one doing the really advanced stuff which developers would do, but I do things up to a certain level

farmingquestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068170#Comment_120068170

Ok I don't have technical IT skills.

What IT skills would you say are good to have?

Xidu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068174#Comment_120068174

Sorry then I misunderstood your role a bit.

normally a very experienced BA is expected to understand the business needs and bridge to the tech team to come up with a BRD plan. PM the whole projects from design to implementation to user testing to go live to warranty period.

I mean big project.

if you are doing it already you should worth at least 75-85k

if only small projects and few simple enhancements then I am not suprised w 57k either.

really depends on how much value the job adds

farmingquestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068251#Comment_120068251

Ok I don't do massive projects.

I make relatively minor changes but that's not all I do either.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068176#Comment_120068176

You can get great insight into a system or process by looking at the relationships between the data in the database. Form follows function. You can often extract all the business processes, rules and relationships from the database and functions, stored procedure, and data type, and keys.

It's a bit like the matrix. You've a deeper understanding than someone looking at surface appearance.

Unless it's but mostly a flat file database. Then the logic don't be in the database.

If a BA has three skills then they can converse with the technical people at their level. If not everything has to translated for them.