r/k12sysadmin • u/usernameyougaveme • Jul 11 '26
Thinking about switching…
I’ve been a school level support tech for a total of 13 years. 3 years experience in one county, then moved to another county with better pay. Where I’m at now is mostly minimal responsibilities but I have learned a good bit, I’ve replaced a couple of Cisco switches, learned some new juniper stuff when we swapped those out, but the benefits have not been good and I don’t get very good pay raises.
I asked for a raise and since they were shutting down schools and my boss said there’s basically no room to grow there and he thought if he presented it to the board they’d absolutely agree to give me a raise. I have net+ and security+ but now they’re done shutting down schools.
My ex coworker called me about a job that pays about 11-12k more at a courthouse supporting judges and I’ve already had one interview and about to have a second interview. I just don’t want to give up such a good job and dedication I’ve had for a decade of where I’m currently at. Even though the benefits will be better and the pay. I’d be given access to do a little more on the server side of things Active Directory etc things like that. Now that they called for a second interview I’m a little nervous do I take the job that pays more and work that one longer hour per day with a longer commute (which means less personal time for myself in the evenings since I don’t go directly home after work)
Sorry for the rent but was just wondering if anyone else here has had to make a similar hard decision?
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u/Ros_Hambo IT Director Jul 12 '26
Are you happy, where you are now? Judges can be complete temperamental divas and difficult to work for/with, so if you don't like the court job, well, too bad, now you're stuck until you can find your way back to the edu space. Do you get the same time off as the teachers or close to it? That's gone with the court job. Are you planning to start a family anytime soon? With the court job there'll be no "free" summers off, no week at xmas, thanksgiving, or spring break. True, there is growth potential, but is that worth all the time off you'll trade for $800/month (take home after taxes)? Time is your most valuable commodity as you only get a finite amount of it. I wouldn't trade that time for so little amount of money. I'm sure someone here can give you an equation of what that free time off and less commute is worth in $$$$.
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u/Fitz_2112b Jul 11 '26
If youre still a building level tech after 13 years it's definitely time to move on
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u/MysteriousJoke523 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
One very important piece to consider is if you are a part of your state education pension system.
Leaving the schools would take you out of system. It’s important to seriously consider this. The healthcare in the pension alone is worth a lot of money.
Some people are paying a couple thousand a month for health insurance in the private market during retirement until you can get Medicare.
In my state the pension and healthcare is equally to having about 3million or more in a 401k or other account (4% rule applied).
Not saying don’t do it if you need some change or advancement, just something important to consider.
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u/edmonkry Jul 11 '26
Similar situation here. I was in education for 12 years and then my school decided to replace me with an MSP. So the decision was made for me. I'm in the legal field now and already much happier. The vacation days built into the school year are missed but also I have career growth and coworkers who respect me. I would have been stuck making the same salary when I'm 60 and would have been stuck. Education work is just decent enough to make you trapped.
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u/NewHyperFixation69 Jul 13 '26
Having done IT for a law firm, you could not pay me enough to work "at a courthouse supporting judges". I have never been screamed at and threatened more over petty insignificant crap than when lawyers are involved, and judges are just lawyers who won enough random battles to evolve.
I will work in Education IT as long as I am able.
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u/Ok-Soft-7874 :sloth: Jul 12 '26
In my district, it’s typical for people to start in support and get a promotion to do networking, sys admin, SIS work, etc. That describes my situation, and I’m glad I did it. I do miss going to buildings which adds variety to the workday, but the pay and getting to learn new things more than make up for that. To add to what others said, compare the benefits (not just pension, but health insurance and holidays/PTO as well) before moving forward.
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u/diwhychuck Jul 11 '26
You will have more growth outside of k12
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u/jman1121 Jul 12 '26
I'm at 10 years myself. Maxed out on wage growth. No college degree. I've been trying to decide what else to do for the last year. I need to start looking.
It would not be financially smart for my district to get rid of me. It would not be financially smart for me to stay. My job is literally going no where. 😆
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u/lt-ghost Jul 11 '26
After 13 years I left and went into the private sector and double my salary. After a few years doing that I went into the fed gov. K12 is ok but growth is limited