I'm hoping to land a job soon. Not comfortable giving out the details just yet. Here are some reasons:
1) CEO doesn't give raises at all. Human Resources told me this. People have worked there for 15+ years and the most they got was a +$200 XMas bonus, if even that much.
2) I do need a better work life balance. I get calls after hours on a daily basis. This includes weekends, emergency days off, as well as holidays. The struggle is real my friends.
3) Not gonna lie. I homelab every night and taught myself a lot. My passion is learning new technologies, deploying them, and maintaining them.
4) I am the only IT for the entire organization. I get pulled in so many different directions, it's not isn't funny. There isn't a chain of command. Ticketing / emailing requests aren't followed. Come right up to my desk and starts talking. There is no department. Budget is non-existent. Feel like a slave and nobody cares. HR is scared to do anything or they might lose their job. I can go on and on, but won't bore you.
5/6) There are no "promotions" unless it is in another department that is properly staffed. The only way this happens is if the existing managers quits. Since I am a 1ManMafia, there is nowhere for me to go.
Miscellaneous) Place is run like a complete circus. The bills aren't even paid on time and I have to trace the issue. For example Internet down? Phones down? Toner not being shipped? Oh haven't paid the bills in 3 months. I'll spare you the other 99%.
Values) I bust my ass on a daily basis. After work, I come home and sit in my homelab teaching myself new things. I sit on job boards over 45min a day. Landing a gig is super hard around here. However, I am determined not to give up because I can do better, I deserve to be happy, and will not be taken advantage of.
Other) I have 5+ certs and a masters. None of that is helping me. If anything, the masters hurts me. I don't do "skill assessment tests". I build in homelab. What I need to learn is taken from all the interesting stuff I read on reddit.com/r/sysadmin for the most part and loose ends that I might need to pick-up on when going on interviews. My interviews usually range from 2-3 hour mark combined between whoever needs to interview me.
Setting Salary) When I jump jobs, I usually aim for at least 7-10k over what I am making now depending on commute, how good the benefits are, etc. Regardless of how well the negotiations go, I always call back saying I got counter-offered and if they can do better. If they met my 10k requirement right off the bat, I will settle for +2k more to get me in.
Sorry for the wall of text.