Dice’s salary report shows that it’s still a good time to work in tech

Despite the strong possibility of a recession, the average salary for US tech professionals is once again crossing the six-figure mark. Dice’s 2023 Tech Pay Report. This indicates that tech professionals with specialized skills are still in high demand.

The recession’s overall decline in hiring “will not necessarily impact core technology roles, given the importance of these skills in managing business operations, securing critical data and continuing digital transformation efforts,” the newly released report found.

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Dissatisfaction with salaries is greater

In 2022, the average US tech salary will increase by 2.3% to $111,348. At the same time, the respondents indicated greater dissatisfaction with their salary compared to 2021, almost half of them (49%) believed that they were underpaid.

“Together with 52% who are likely to change employers within the next year, organizations have a double-edged sword: more skilled tech talent is available, but retaining it will be even more difficult,” the report says. “Showing appreciation and value to technology professionals remains key to retention, across all industries and roles.”

Top Paying Tech Positions

As in previous years, IT management, which includes CEOs, CIOs, and CTOs, earned the highest salaries in 2022, earning an average of $164,814.

“This represents a whopping 8.4% increase from 2021 and is indicative of how many companies have rewarded their executives with budgets made up of profits over the past few years,” the report said.

Technical professionals with highly specialized skills performed nearly as well last year, especially in roles that impact corporate strategies and technology stacks. This includes:

• Solutions Architects, with an average salary of $155,934.
• Senior software engineers with an average salary of $153,288.
• Systems Architects with an average salary of $151,364.

Cybersecurity engineers, cloud architects and program analysts/managers also received significant salaries, according to the report.

The highest paying technical skills

Some of the highest tech salaries this year went to data technicians, such as:

• Elasticsearch ($143,619).
• Apache Kafka ($142,764).
• Teradata ($141,515).
• Redis ($140,290).

“For organizations that require highly specialized technology professionals, such talent remains at a premium; however, the expense is likely to be worth it given how important data management and security have become to the success of most organizations,” the report concluded.

Tech cities and centers with the highest salaries

While average tech salaries nationwide did not change much between 2021 and 2022, there were significant shifts in how salaries were determined by location, the report said.

The top five cities for average tech salaries were:

• Silicon Valley.
• Boston.
• Seattle.
• Portland.
• New York City.

“High-tech salaries are no longer limited to the coasts, as the top 25 cities for tech compensation all boast average salaries [of] over $100,000 and these locations are spread across the country,” the report said. “However, the average increase in the top 25 was 4%, given that there were some declines and many modest increases year-on-year.”

At the city level, the highest paying nodes saw a steady increase in technology pay in 2022. For example, Tampa, FL (+19%), Portland (+16%) and Charlotte, NC (+11%) all doubled. single-digit wage growth over the year, while others in the top 10 had more modest increases, according to the report.

Outside of the more established tech hubs, areas like Columbus, OH, where average tech salaries grew 16% year-over-year, and Phoenix, AZ, where salaries grew 26%, also saw significant salary growth.

Top Tech Salaries by State

Statewide, Massachusetts earned the highest average tech salary at $128,690. Rounding out the top five were Oregon, California, Washington and Connecticut, with median salaries above $120,000.

They were followed by New Jersey, Colorado, Virginia, Arizona and the District of Columbia. Notable states outside the top 10 were New York at 15th with an average tech salary of $109,901 and Texas at 16th with an average tech salary of $109,819. Led by significant growth in Phoenix, Arizona had the highest state growth at 20%, followed by Oregon at 12%.

Tech salaries by industry

In 2022, established industries have demonstrated that they are willing to pay for talent with the necessary skills and experience. Consulting ($131,995), medical and pharmaceutical ($129,118), and banking and finance ($128,571) industries rounded out the top five, followed by traditional technology industries, software ($124,071), and along with aerospace and defense ($121,560).

On the flip side, retail and e-commerce and marketing and advertising all saw double-digit percentage declines in average tech pay in 2022.

Better benefits and flexible work options are key

What do technical professionals want? A better work-life balance through benefits, according to the report.

“Employers who can offer remote and flexible work schedules for technology professionals and encourage them to take their allotted vacation days will continue to attract talent,” Dice’s report said.

Forty-five percent of tech respondents said they want to take all their vacation days in 2022, compared to 39% in 2021. In addition to telecommuting and flexible work schedules being classified as critical, non-traditional benefits, according to the report, the opinion of technology professionals regarding the importance of wellness programs as a benefit has increased significantly year over year: from 49% in 2021 to 58% in 2022 .

Survey methodology

Dice said this survey was conducted online among registered job seekers and site visitors between August 16, 2022 and October 17, 2022. A total of 7,098 completed surveys are included in the report, and this number does not include unemployed respondents, students and non-completers. responses and those who work outside the United States

Read the following: Global tech salaries are rising in almost every role (TechRepublic)