IT Jobs in Ft. Laud., surrounding Miami (Fort Lauderdale, Coral Gables: for rent, employment)

[DenverLawGal]

So I've asked around but not a lot of info out there!

What are the salary ranges for desktop techs and network admins? Bachelor's degree in tech field and 10 years experience. Also, able to get into govt. contracts, with security clearances and the like. Anyone?

[djmanu]

I would say 100k$.

[DenverLawGal]

dj: For a desktop support job? That's a pretty low level job. I thought Miami jobs in general were paying less than the rest of the country. Thanks for your response though.

Anyone else?

[djmanu]

Not for a desktop support job, I was speaking for a Network project manager for instance.
For a desktop support job, I would say about 60k$ ...

[DenverLawGal]

oh I see. I was looking for desktop support or systems/network admin. Thanks for your post!

[illini84]

Economy is pretty poor in Miami/Fort Lauderdale and most of the time, you can make more money doing the same job in another area (and where the cost of living is much less). For that type of job, I'd say somewhere in the low $40K range.

[DenverLawGal]

Now that sounds a lot more like it! Seriously, that sounds about right compared to what you can make elsewhere. Now to figure out what a legal secretary/paralegal can get.

[illini84]

Just out of curiosity, I quickly checked a couple employment websites to see what the average going-rate is for a paralegal/legal secretary. $12/hr, which translates to approx. $23K/year, BEFORE taxes (assuming a 40-hour week). That's complete poverty in Miami.

I have read several budgeting websites that recommend spending 30% of your monthly income on rent/mortgage. If you were making $23K/year as a paralegal, you could only afford around $576/mo. for rent. I seriously doubt you could even get the shabbiest place in Liberty City for $576/mo.

That's the thing about Miami...low salaries, extremely high cost of living.

[DenverLawGal]

illini84: Aren't you the person who moved there and then moved right back to where you came from? Just checking if that is you.

So for my salary, can you answer these questions?

1. Do you work in law?
2. When you searched for jobs, what education level were you going by?
3. When you searched for jobs, what level of experience were you using?
4. There is a difference between the titles of paralegal/legal secretary. Usually, across the country, there is a pay difference between the two. Where I live, secretaries make more than paralegals. But in some cities, it's vice versa. So when you searched, did you find the same salaries?
5. Lastly, what areas were these jobs in? Downtown Miami, or outside like Ft. Lauderdale? This will help me in my job search.

I ask because these are all important determinators of what kind of job you'll get. Also, I am not on a single income, I am married. Just so you know. We both work, meaning dual income. I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks for your post!

[illini84]

wanttomoveeast-
No, I remain in Miami, and although I would like to leave soon, it's probably not going to happen for awhile. To answer your questions:

1. No, I do not work directly in law.
2. I did a general search for "paralegal" and "legal secretary" on major job sites, such as monster.com and craigslist.org and averaged the listed wages of 4 or 5 different listings.
3. Same as above.
4. I could not tell any pay different from the job listings I viewed.
5. From what I remember, the jobs were all in close proximity to Miami. Two of them were in Coral Gables and the others were in the Brickell and South Miami areas.

I'm sure if you could get hired with a large, highly respected firm, you would fare much better than $12/hour. My boss's assistant was a former paralegal for a large firm in Brickell and said she made somewhere around $45K, although she worked more than 40 hours/week. I guess it's like any job - just depends on what opportunities you can find.