Highest paying IT jobs in the nation? Where?

Is it still generally DC? I'd just like to know. I know that the answers will be subjective based upon what you do, but I still want some ideas. Forget about cost of living in the area...just wondering about raw pay.

Thanks

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

jibbajabba

IT Salary Survey 2012 - Computerworld

ukiltmybrutha

Good start, thanks. I'd also like to hear from folks in different areas that feel they get paid exceptionally well as compared to other areas.

jibbajabba

Don't see the value in comparing if you want to forget the cost of living ... That is essential.

I can only talk about England but in London the highest techy salary is probably £55k-65k ... Average rent for 1-Bed Room Apartment per month : £1,700.
Cambridge salary is for the same job between £35-45k with an average rent of less than half that ..

Salaries are tight to cost of living so I really don't see a point ....

dave330i

If you have a clearance, DC area can be very lucrative.

networker050184

The places with the higher cost of living pay the higher salaries.

Snow.bros

dave330i wrote: »

If you have a clearance, DC area can be very lucrative.

Does that apply at the US or any where in the world?

Asif Dasl

Snow.bros wrote: »

Does that apply at the US or any where in the world?

Mostly in the US although I believe the UK also has clearances too - I suppose wherever there is a big military.

Also it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep that matters.

phdillard

That survey shows a technician making over double what help desk makes in the Mountain area. That can't be right, can it?

tpatt100

I am sure I could make more in NY if I don't mind paying rent to live in a closet.

SteveLord

NYC, LA, SF, DC. Take your pick.

SephStorm

Dont forget to calculate taxes, as well as the unemployment rate, crime...

ITcognito

Robert Half International - Salary Guides

ukiltmybrutha

jibbajabba wrote: »

Don't see the value in comparing if you want to forget the cost of living ... That is essential.

I can only talk about England but in London the highest techy salary is probably £55k-65k ... Average rent for 1-Bed Room Apartment per month : £1,700.
Cambridge salary is for the same job between £35-45k with an average rent of less than half that ..

Salaries are tight to cost of living so I really don't see a point ....

You don't see the point, but obviously I must have a reason beyond the scope of this post why I don't care about including cost of living? Yes I have lived in the UK and already know that London already pays the most.

ukiltmybrutha

dave330i wrote: »

If you have a clearance, DC area can be very lucrative.

Yep, I am cleared and live in DC. I just want to see if there are other places that can outdue DC with or without a clearance.

ukiltmybrutha

I heard rumors that certain oil cities in Texas pay the highest. The cost of living in those oil cities seems lower than DC. South Florida also has a VERY high cost of living (although you may not see that on paper). The pay is generally terrible though!

networker050184 wrote: »

The places with the higher cost of living pay the higher salaries.

ukiltmybrutha

UK has clearances as well, but also US jobs that require clearances. From what I have seen of cleared US jobs in UK they don't trump what you can make in DC (given the exchange rate) even in London.

Asif Dasl wrote: »

Mostly in the US although I believe the UK also has clearances too - I suppose wherever there is a big military.

Also it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep that matters.

ukiltmybrutha

Making double where?

phdillard wrote: »

That survey shows a technician making over double what help desk makes in the Mountain area. That can't be right, can it?

ukiltmybrutha

You could, but wondering if NY pays more than DC in general. I think the answer is no.

tpatt100 wrote: »

I am sure I could make more in NY if I don't mind paying rent to live in a closet.

ukiltmybrutha

That is common sense, but those cities are very close in pay. Which one takes the cake generally? I think of those it might just be SF.

SteveLord wrote: »

NYC, LA, SF, DC. Take your pick.

SteveLord

Why are you then asking a question you already know the answer to? And when you've also already admitted they will be subjective to at least some extent?

jibbajabba

Asif Dasl wrote: »

Mostly in the US although I believe the UK also has clearances too - I suppose wherever there is a big military.

SC Clearance being the lowest one, then it goes up to DV (Top Secret) with several possible top-ups ...

WafflesAndRootbeer

ukiltmybrutha wrote: »

Yep, I am cleared and live in DC. I just want to see if there are other places that can outdue DC with or without a clearance.

It depends heavily on the kind of work you do and the environments you work in. Cleared IT workers who go overseas on demand make A LOT of money with minimal living expenses because it often gets footed by someone else. The people making the real money in IT in the DC area aren't the workers but the people behind the contracting companies and they make several times what the average worker makes, with many in the $150-$400K range. Most of the cleared workers around here are making $60-$80K if they are in on-site support roles not requiring extensive travel outside of the region. The software development guys might be making more but truth be told, there are many IT niches when it comes to Defense, and that stuff requires specialized experience and degrees like Geospatial Intelligence Programming or whatever they call it these days. I've seen many job titles and descriptions that would make you scratch your head and think about what the heck it is that they are paying that person to do.

sieff

Surprisingly, salaries in the DC metro area were higher than NYC. I interviewed for a position in NYC and when we negotiated salary I was trying to figure out where I'd live. I would have had to move to New Jersey or an outer borough. A nice 2/2 in Manhattan, NYC was going for around $4-5K/month. It was like pulling teeth to get this NY company to bump the pay up. I ended up passing on the position.

aaron0011

sieff wrote: »

Surprisingly, salaries in the DC metro area were higher than NYC. I interviewed for a position in NYC and when we negotiated salary I was trying to figure out where I'd live. I would have had to move to New Jersey or an outer borough. A nice 2/2 in Manhattan, NYC was going for around $4-5K/month. It was like pulling teeth to get this NY company to bump the pay up. I ended up passing on the position.

Similar experience. My wife is from NY and we considered relocating there from NC recently. I was offered two mid-senior level Voice engineering jobs that barely paid more than I made in NC. We're talking 5-7K more. I ended up taking a new position in Raleigh for more than what NYC was offering me for similar skills and work.

You need 200K combined at minimum to live in Manhattan if your married and want to live a decent life.

sieff

i checked indeed.com just a few days ago and I did see a role for a Sr. Architect, which is described as competent in Voice, Wireless, R&S and Data Center. the pay was $175-190K in NYC. Ideally, this is the type of pay and role I'd want.

About7Narwhal

Stay away from Tennessee.. The pay is no more than ****. I hear everything is bigger in Texas, though.

Legacy User

tpatt100 wrote: »

I am sure I could make more in NY if I don't mind paying rent to live in a closet.

You could live in jersey and commute via train, bus, or car. Thats what many people that work in ny do.

ukiltmybrutha

SteveLord wrote: »

Why are you then asking a question you already know the answer to? And when you've also already admitted they will be subjective to at least some extent?

I don't have the answer, but I am getting the answers to it. Look at some of the posters indicating that through REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE they are at least noticing to a degree that you can make more in DC than NYC. You mentioned a city that I already lived in and advised that it was a choice. It is obviously a choice...I already LIVE there. You started off by rolling your eyes when my question was a fair one. Please don't post in my thread if you can't positively contribute. Thanks

ukiltmybrutha

WafflesAndRootbeer wrote: »

It depends heavily on the kind of work you do and the environments you work in. Cleared IT workers who go overseas on demand make A LOT of money with minimal living expenses because it often gets footed by someone else. The people making the real money in IT in the DC area aren't the workers but the people behind the contracting companies and they make several times what the average worker makes, with many in the $150-$400K range. Most of the cleared workers around here are making $60-$80K if they are in on-site support roles not requiring extensive travel outside of the region. The software development guys might be making more but truth be told, there are many IT niches when it comes to Defense, and that stuff requires specialized experience and degrees like Geospatial Intelligence Programming or whatever they call it these days. I've seen many job titles and descriptions that would make you scratch your head and think about what the heck it is that they are paying that person to do.

Lol, exactly. I hear that I am being billed at .5 million/.yr because they can't get anyone to work my shift e.g. night/weekend. I guess it is good job security. I don't know what it is about OCONUS work in UK though. It seems like you can't make the money you do here but you can exceed what you make in other OCONUS locations.

ukiltmybrutha

dmarcisco wrote: »

You could live in jersey and commute via train, bus, or car. Thats what many people that work in ny do.

That is essentially what is done in the DC area too. It comes down to what sort of commute you can handle.