[arca_vorago]

The latter, hands down. I quit college to startup an IT support company, and despite going back in spurts, never finished. I got quite a few jobs after I left the startup though, and in retrospect I think the primary factor that got me those jobs, despite my many years of expertise, was the fact that since I didn't have a degree they could pay me less vs most of the other candidates. The most recent one, that promised 6 month pay raise, turned into a year, then more, and finally, having spent at least a year working late nights and weekends salary exempt (no OT), getting the infrastructure out of enough technical debt that I no longer needed to work the excessive hours, the company tried to make me go hourly...

Companies simply don't want to pay what they should for the level of talent they want. They are trying to find the edge case that can still get the job done but that they can also underpay so they have more money for the company/execs.

For what it's worth, I quit the sysadmin game and am now pursuing my degree in data science using my GI Bill, which I think will compliment my many years of senior sysadmin knowledge quite well. I'm there to learn, and am very excited about my classes, but I have to admit, a large part of me just wants the degree so I don't suffer the same poor pay not having a degree set me up for, mainly through weakness in the negotiation process.

[coredog64]

I generally agree with your premise, but wages are sticky, economically speaking. There might be a few people here who'd be okay with fluctuations of 10 or 20 percent in their salary on an annual basis, but by and large, most people would expect that there's not a decrease in their salary over time.

[arca_vorago]

I feel like I'm missing something here, could you elaborate more? I didn't say anything about wages decreasing over time, unless you are referencing the part of my comment about an employer trying to make me go hourly.

[humanrebar]

> ...most people would expect that there's not a decrease in their salary over time.

So why don't companies give more aggressive bonuses then? It would help with retention if nothing else.

[Eridrus]

Unless you have a good track record of awarding bonuses people are skeptical that you will actually pay bonuses.

[sage76]

> They are trying to find the edge case that can still get the job done but that they can also underpay so they have more money for the company/execs

That would be people eternally stuck in the Green Card queue.

[fred_is_fred]

You should have started looking after they reneged on their 6 month promise (which for the record is BS usually anyway, as you've discovered).