The 2008-09 Annual Salary Survey from Dice reveals that the average technology salary in Boston exceeds $84,000.
Dice.com is the leading career site for technology and engineering professionals.
The survey analyzes responses of more than 19,000 technology workers and was conducted between August and November 2008.
Average Salaries
The average salary nationwide for a technology worker exceeds $78,000. Salaries are higher, on average, in larger metropolitan areas. Four metropolitan areas command higher average salaries than Boston. They are as follows:
- Silicon Valley | $97,259
- Washington D.C. | $86,841
- Los Angeles | $86,766
- New York | $85,452
- Boston | $84,627
Salaries by Job Title
Here are the average salaries nationwide for selected job titles:
- IT Management | $111,998
- Project Manager | $103,424
- MIS Manager | $93,318
- Software Engineer | $90,031
- Database Administrator | $89,742
- Developer: Systems | $87,211
- Security Analyst | $86,778
- Business Analyst | $85,933
- Developer: Applications | $84,672
- Developer: Database | $84,176
- Developer: Client/Server | $78,560
- Programmer/Analyst | $74,851
- Technical Writer | $73,762
- Network Engineer | $72,496
- Systems Administrator | $70,307
What Worries Technology Workers?
The top worries for technology professionals, according to the survey, are as follows:
- keeping skills up to date | 22 percent
- job elimination | 20 percent
- lower salary increases | 14 percent
- cancelled projects | 12 percent
- increased workload due to staff cuts | 10 percent
Keep Skills Up-to-Date
According to a Dice spokesperson:
"... over the long-term, updating and broadening one's skill set is the key to continued salary gains."
If your salary falls below the average for your metropolitan area, consider developing a plan to upgrade your technology skills in 2009. What skills should you focus on? Check out the Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston in the right-hand column.
Currently there are nearly 200 Web-related postings on the Dice job board for the Boston metro area. As part of your skills upgrade plan, check out these postings and compare your skill set with the skills that employers are currently demanding.
A press release summarizing the Dice Annual Salary Survey is available at the Dice website.
