Professionals working in the tech sector – and especially those working with big data – have seen their salaries increase once again, this year by almost three percent, to $87,811 from $86,619 the year before.  According to employment researcher Dice Tech, 45% of individuals surveyed reported receiving a merit pay increase.  Across the entire tech sector, bonuses and salary hikes are increasingly being used to hold on to valued employees with one to five years’ experience.

According to the survey, “employers are using selective and strategic increases in compensation to hold onto experienced tech talent….While the overall average salary increase was smaller than the previous year’s historic jump of more than five percent, employers offered more frequent merit increases.”  34% of those asked reported receiving a bonus, with bonuses averaging north of $9000.  

While salaries continue to rise in one of the most well paid industries, a growing number of survey respondents felt dissatisfied with their level of compensation, down three percentage points to 54%.  This may well be linked to the large amount of work demanded with continuously tighter budgets set aside for IT.  Of those surveyed, a vast majority felt they could find another job in the sector where unemployment remains far lower than the national average.

According to the survey, of the skills found most valuable, big data topped the list with nine of the top ten salaries connected to big data technologies.  The largest salaries went to those working with big data related programming languages as well as those with database experience.  “Companies are betting big that harnessing data can play a major role in their competitive plans and that is leading to high pay for critical skills,” said Dice President Shravan Goli.  “Technology professionals should be volunteering for big data projects, which makes them more valuable to their current employer and more marketable to other employers.”

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(Image Credit:  Christian Rondeau)