Hey all.
I’ve got a second interview scheduled on Wenesday at a local Application Service Provider. I got recommeded by a friend of a friend who’s their senior developer.
They’re looking for a network operations cum customer care guy who can a) read documentation, b) isn’t an ass, c) is willing to learn, and, most importantly, d) understands that at a small, growing company, specific job duties and requirements can sometimes be pretty nebulous.
I’m a technically-inclined dude in his first year of a four-year IT program. The only real experience I have in the field is a little bit of Linux administration, Perl, PHP, and SQL. I also have a BA in History.
Essentially, if they picked me, they’d be starting with a blank slate. It almost feels more like an apprenticeship than a job. Since I’m going to school nights, I’m not going to be able to do any other kind of internship.
So what am I worth? The Occupation Outlook Handbook states that entry-level network admin jobs go for $34k with a median of about $55k. But I assume that even the low end is for people with more formal training and experience than I have. They offered me between $25 and $28k at the first interview.
Am I selling myself short?
They are offering to “possibly” pay up front for my schooling, which comes to about another $6k, but since I’m currently paying for it with subsidized loans, it doesn’t quite feel like real money.
A couple of other wrinkles:
If I get the job, my commute will jump from less than four miles, round trip, to about forty. My car is a piece of shit, but I plan on taking the bus at least two days a week. I live downtown, and they’re in a suburban office park.
I’ve got a pretty good chance of being offered a non IT-related job with the State of Ohio that pays about $34k. After I got out of college the first time, I would have jumped all over it, but I’m wary about not being able to get my feet wet in my chosen field before I get out of school this time around. Should I mention the offer in my upcoming interview?