$60k is right around what it would cost to support a single individual comfortably where I live, so that sounds entirely reasonable, if not a bit low.
That's not how salaries are determined is it, otherwise McDonald's would also pay $60k for serving burgers
Well you're free to offer lower salaries and see how that works out.
I'm pretty sure McDonald's do. They don't pay based on living costs
Where in the US is that an unreasonably high amount for a good junior employee? In NYC metro area it sounds appropriate.
US median salary for full time workers is $56,000
Good help desk people are gold to a company. They please customers and shield developers from having to handle as many support issues.
That sounds more like a customer support manager than a help desk agent. One of these has actual power within the company to push stuff onto the roadmap and get fixes deployed and the other just follows a rote script.
The ones in the middle are the most valuable. The managers are not always technical or helpful — they are managers of people primarily. The useful support people can follow a script, get pertinent logs and information, and find the appropriate development resources to funnel the issue to if needed.
A CSM is not an actual manager of anyone, that's just what their title is. What you are describing is the role of a CSM, not the role of a help desk agent. The bar for getting hired as a CSM is much, much higher than that of a help desk agent, and their pay and impact are commensurately higher.
I was making 65k at 19 like 9 years ago in the bay. That still wasn't enough for a nice apartment near work. How is that too much for a good help desk person?
That seems like a pittance for the role, to be honest.