While you may find PC specialist is a common label for educational purposes and institutions, there are seldom job advertisements asking for PC specialists. Rather, employers advertise positions such as junior network administrator, assistant systems analyst, computer technician, or technical support specialists. However, these positions are the jobs PC specialists are trained to assume. The education, certifications, and job skills taught to PC specialists provide the knowledge needed to carry out these job duties, no matter the size or scope of the computer systems used. Unfortunately, the varied job titles make it difficult to accurately determine median PC specialist salary information.

To illustrate, a computer technician working for a small company with less than 100 employees may only have a PC specialist salary of $33,000 per year. On the other hand, a junior network administrator for a large corporation with over 1,000 employees might enjoy a salary of $50,000 or more per year. Both IT professionals may carry the same educational background and industry certifications. In fact, they could be equal in every regard except day-to-day job responsibilities. Such situations make median salary information subjective. However, on average, professionals with PC specialist training can anticipate a salary range between $38,000 and $52,000, depending on job duties, company or system size, and local market factors.

Some factors that affect PC specialist salary rates include the local job market, company size and budget, specific job responsibilities, as well as the skills, certifications, experience, and prior job history of the candidate. How much weight each of these factors has depends on even more factors, including those in the position to make hiring decisions and determine job descriptions. The importance hiring managers, human resource directors, or IT department heads place on the skills they need and the responsibilities of the job will also determine what salary they determine best fits the job.

PC specialists, depending on their professional credentials and the job for which they apply, are normally thought of as entry-level professionals. Therefore, there is seldom much opportunity to negotiate a PC specialist salary as you might with more advanced job roles. However, that does not mean that pay rates and benefits cannot be negotiated to better serve the needs of both the company and the candidate. The likelihood of successful negotiations depends on the terms. Although, candidates should understand that few companies send out head hunters or place exurbanite value on candidates for PC specialist positions and therefore there is less room for negotiating than with higher skilled IT positions.

While PC specialist salary information may sound low to some candidates, it is a respectable income. Given that these positions are often entry level, many would consider them more than respectable. For example, to give comparative salaries, over the road truck drivers make less than $30,000 per year. Secondary education teacher salaries are likewise less than $35,000. In that light, a starting salary of $33,000 to $38,000 or even more is a very respectable level of income for most average families and young couples.