Hey everyone,
I've been working at this startup for about a year as the only DevOps engineer, and it's honestly been quite a journey. Fresh out of college, I found myself diving into a ton of responsibilities like handling end-to-end deployments, maintaining infrastructure, managing production migrations, setting up monitoring and incident response, writing internal docs, overseeing SOC2 compliance, and even providing support for releases on weekends.
Currently, I report to the CTO, and it's just me in the DevOps realm. They've attempted to hire more experienced folks, but nothing has stuck. Despite my workload and responsibilities, my pay is unfortunately lower than what interns or freshers typically get in larger tech companies. I've enjoyed the learning experience, but I'm feeling the weight of it all.
As I prepare for my CKA certification and continue to upskill, I'm curious about what salary I should realistically expect given my responsibilities. How can I have this conversation about a raise without sounding entitled? Any insights from those who've been in similar positions or at early-stage startups would be super helpful!
Thanks!
4 Answers
Make sure you have research on industry standards for your role. You didn’t mention your location, but typically, the responsibilities you're handling are usually meant for a senior DevOps engineer. You definitely have leverage here when you talk to your CTO about a raise and possibly getting more support in the team.
I’d say aim for a salary around 10 LPA, but it heavily depends on your startup's financial status and size. It’s crucial they recognize your contributions before it’s too late. I'm with everyone else on this; don’t hesitate to apply elsewhere if they can’t meet your expectations.
Honestly, you need to push for a raise. You're holding down the entire department on your own, which is no small feat, especially right out of college. If they think they can keep you on peanuts, nothing will change until you advocate for yourself. Start looking for other jobs and be prepared to walk if they don't meet your value; they might just be taking advantage of your willingness to learn.
Exactly! Knowing your worth and being ready to move on is key. They don't want to lose talent; use that to your advantage.
You've shown incredible resilience managing all that work solo. This is the workload of a seasoned pro! Have a frank discussion with your CTO about your contributions and request both a raise and a title change. You deserve recognition for being the backbone of the team's infrastructure.
Yeah, leverage is key! Just prepare your case well and be ready to explain why you deserve that upgrade.