February 03, 2016
The future is looking bright for the average technology salaries in the United States. According to the Dice Salary Survey, there was a 7.7 percent increase to $96,370 annually in 2015. With bonuses becoming more common in the workplace, more tech professionals receiving a salary increase, and upward mobility, we are seeing some of the common indicators of the salary peak. Also, even better, salaries for technology in seven metropolitan areas reached six-figures for the first time! Keep reading on as we recap the Dice Tech Salary Survey below.
Competition and Satisfaction
“The competition for tech talent today is undeniable. Demand for skilled talent and low unemployment rates for tech professionals aren’t making the hiring landscape any easier. Employers realize offering competitive pay is a necessity,” said Bob Melk, President of Dice. “What’s promising is the tech industry recognizes the need to fill open seats as well as to reward tech talent for their hard work.” (DiceTechSalarySurvey2016)
Even salary satisfaction began to bounce back after a decline for two years from 52% in 2014 to 57% in 2015 as opportunities continue to rise for top tech talent.
Top Metropolitan Areas First Annual Reach and Top Paying Skills
Experience and specific skillsets are just a few qualifications sought after by organizations as they continue to build their tech infrastructures. Minneapolis ranked amongst the top seven metro areas for six-figure salaries, with Chicago close behind with an average salary of $95,656 for tech professionals. Big data and cloud serve as the highest earners for 2015, and HANA, OpenStack, CloudStack, and Puppet are ranked for the first time within the top 10 highest paid skills! The top paying skills in 2015 included:
- HANA $154,749
- Cassandra $147,811
- Cloudera $142,835
- PaaS $140,894
- OpenStack $137,579
- CloudStack $138,095
- Chef $136,850
- Pig $132,850
- MapReduce $131,563
- Puppet $131,121
Also, average salaries for consultants in 2015 were $120,822, with a year-to-year change of 8.9%.
What insights did you take away from the Dice survey? Tech professionals with high experience and specialized skillsets are in demand as competition increases in the marketplace, and may demand higher salaries. The Dice salary showed a strong rise in salaries, and that trend is expected to continue into 2016.
To view the complete Dice Tech Salary Survey, please download here.
Share with us what you found most interesting about this year’s survey below!
Posted By: Anastasia Hoosman