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2019 Tech Salary Report: Mind The Gap: Employers and
2019 Tech Salary Report: Mind The Gap: Employers and
Salary Report
Released January 29, 2019
68%
Higher compensation
States were flat in 2018 with average annual salary
AVERAGE SALARY $80,925
of $93,244, a slight 0.6% increase from 2017. The
47%
Dice 2019 Tech Salary Report mirrors static wages Better working conditions
in technology across the U.S., but finds compelling AVERAGE SALARY $84,516
options beyond pay for employers looking to impress
34%
top tech talent and attract skilled candidates. More responsibility
AVERAGE SALARY $85,144
In 2018, as with previous years, when asked why
22%
Anticipate losing current position
they’d anticipate changing employers, the vast majority
AVERAGE SALARY $100,675
of tech professionals (68% in 2018) said they’d change
18%
employers to receive higher compensation. While this Shorter commute
sentiment continues to trump other satisfaction factors AVERAGE SALARY $83,751
for tech professionals, it is also clear that they are
13%
seeking more than that coveted paycheck. Relocation
AVERAGE SALARY $81,192
SALARY SATISFACTION
YR/YR YR/YR
JOB TITLE 2018 CHANGE JOB TITLE 2018 CHANGE
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
AVG. AVG. AVG. AVG. AVG. AVG. AVG. AVG. AVG. AVG.
SALARY SALARY SALARY SALARY SALARY SALARY SALARY SALARY SALARY SALARY
$78,845 $79,384 $81,327 $85,619 $87,526 $88,479 $93,328 $92,081 $92,712 $93,244
YR/YR YR/YR YR/YR YR/YR YR/YR YR/YR YR/YR YR/YR YR/YR YR/YR
CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE
1.0% 0.7% 2.4% 5.3% 2.2% 1.1% 5.5% -1.3% 0.7% 0.6%
6 Elasticsearch
1 Golang Big Data
Programming Languages
$132,827 $123,933
YR/YR CHANGE -0.6%
YR/YR
YR/YRCHANGE
CHANGE N/A
7 RabbitMQ
2 Kafka Programming Languages
Big Data
$123,777
$127,554 YR/YR CHANGE 5.3%
YR/YR CHANGE 4.3%
3 Amazon 8 MapReduce
Big Data
DynamoDB
Cloud
$123,001
$125,609 YR/YR CHANGE -1.9%
YR/YR CHANGE 1.3%
9 PaaS
4 Amazon (Platform as a Service)
Redshift Cloud
Cloud
$125,090 $122,967
YR/YR CHANGE 0.4% YR/YR CHANGE -3.3%
10 HANA
(High Performance
5 Cassandra Analytical Application)
Big Data Cloud
SEE MORE: For additional
$124,152 $122,907 salary info on skills, see
YR/YR CHANGE 1.1% YR/YR CHANGE 3.7% pages 12 and 13
HAVE 40%
71
%
31
%
GAP
In 2018, 71% of tech professionals said that training
and education are important to them, but only 40%
currently have company-paid training and education –
Remote work/Flex hours
24%
that’s a 31% gap between what’s desired and what’s
IMPORTANT 73%
GAP offered. This gap is further illustrated by the fact that
HAVE 49 %
far more tech professionals (45%) who are satisfied
Stock programs with their job receive training, while only 28% of those
IMPORTANT
HAVE 19
%
43%
24% GAP
who are dissatisfied with their job receive training.
“Offering skill-enhancing training keeps employees
401(k) matching at the top of their game and could ease the minds
IMPORTANT
HAVE 61 %
82%
21% GAP
of professionals wanting to feel motivated and
invested,” said Zeile.
HAVE 63%
79%
16
%
GAP
In addition to training and education, tech professionals
overwhelmingly noted remote and flexible working
options as important (73%). In contrast, only 49%
Never 2% 23%
A few days a month 15% 26%
One day a week 19% 12%
Half of the time 20% 6%
More than half of the time, but
not always 18% 6%
11 – 20% 11%
21 – 30% 5% 10% Internal
promotion 3% Higher commission
or bill rate
31%+ 3% * Dice Snap Poll, Dec. 2018
Obtained
8% Cost of living 1% certification or
new skills
Mandated
currently have these options. This 24% gap is the 6% company-wide
increase
1% More hours
(overtime)
second-largest between a desired benefit and what
employers broadly are offering, which ties into overall 4% Became employed
(full time, first job, etc.) 1% Counteroffer
employee satisfaction; 55% of people who said they’re
Changed work
satisfied at their job have remote and flex options, 3% type (contractor
vs. permanent)
2% Other
WHERE DO TECH SALARIES GO THE FURTHEST? AVERAGE SALARIES ADJUSTED FOR LOCAL COST OF LIVING.
Cost of living adjustment data sourced from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
68%
SEEKING HIGHER SALARY
47%
SEEKING BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS
34%
SEEKING MORE RESPONSIBILITY
19%
52% of tech pros would 12%
take a pay cut to work HALF THE TIME 20%
remote more often. 6%
MORE THAN HALF THE TIME BUT NOT ALWAYS 18%
6%
ALWAYS 21%
12%
TRAINING
30% of those without
certifications say their
71%
employers don’t pay or
40%
allow time for them.
MOTIVATORS
17% Increased
compensation 15% Flexible work
location/work remote 10% Flexible
work hours
At the same time, not all employers have the cash to Certifications: Great for Many, But Not All
load up on lots of outside talent. While mega-firms Not every employee necessarily needs or wants
such as Apple and Google have literally billions to certifications, which are a key goal of many educational
spend on the world’s best developers and researchers, pathways. Over half of respondents told Dice they
smaller companies must stretch budgets in order to didn’t have any certifications. Most of those without
hire the tech professionals they need. certifications (45%) said they were not needed for their
role. Some 16% said they didn’t think certifications
For tech professionals, this paradigm creates several would be valuable. But 15% said their company didn’t
opportunities. Although an employer might not prove pay for certifications, and 15% said they didn’t have
very willing to offer a massive salary bump, they might the time to earn one.
prove more amenable to negotiating a flexible schedule,
remote work opportunities or even a series of classes. Looking at it from another perspective, though, a
healthy percentage of employees are potentially open
When it comes to education, tech professionals might to earning certifications, provided their employers give
need to work a bit to convince their employers to them the necessary time and funding.
pay for classes and other training. Although 71% of
employees rated training and education as “important,” Based on the Salary Survey’s data, it’s clear that tech
only 40% said they had access to those kinds of professionals want more than money; they want to
opportunities. That 31% gap between “importance” keep their skills sharp, and their work-life balanced.
and access was larger than those for remote work and Fortunately, the things that most concern employees
flexible schedules (24%), stock programs (also 2%), are things that managers are often willing to negotiate
401(k) opportunities (21%) and paid sick leave (16%). over — provided employees ask for them.
NOTE: Several new tech skills were added to the 2018 survey, therefore, yr/yr change is not available.
$100,000+ $90,000+
$80,000+
Utilities/Energy
$106,780
YR/YR CHANGE:
6.1%
Entertainment Media
$103,608 Retail/ Marketing/ Transportation/ Distributor/
YR/YR CHANGE: E-Commerce Advertising Logistics Wholesale
9.6%
$80,580 $80,320 $78,162 $76,716
YR/YR CHANGE: YR/YR CHANGE: YR/YR CHANGE: YR/YR CHANGE:
-4.4% -3.8% -9.6% -4.2%
Construction/ Hospitality/
Home Building Travel Non-Profit Education
Medical/Pharmaceutical
/Biotechnology $74,547 $73,859 $71,911 $68,586
$100,539 YR/YR CHANGE: YR/YR CHANGE: YR/YR CHANGE: YR/YR CHANGE:
YR/YR CHANGE: N/A -9.2% -3.1% -2.2%
0.0%
AL* $ 86,071 12.8% IL $ 92,447 1.4% MT* $ 69,582 -8.8% RI* $ 78,285 5.4%
AK* $ 160,528 71.1% IN $ 83,773 9.8% NE* $ 82,284 -6.5% SC $ 85,306 6.6%
AZ $ 90,704 0.1% IA* $ 78,483 -10.0% NV* $ 96,225 24.3% SD* $ 62,544 20.5%
AR* $ 78,504 -8.2% KS* $ 80,187 -3.2% NH* $ 106,357 19.3% TN $ 89,722 13.1%
CA $ 105,953 1.4% KY* $ 77,490 -4.0% NJ $ 101,459 2.9% TX $ 89,277 -1.4%
CO $ 95,543 1.0% LA* $ 82,203 2.3% NM* $ 92,905 0.2% UT $ 82,323 -5.4%
CT $ 89,796 -9.1% ME* $ 67,907 -12.1% NY $ 98,219 -6.6% VT* $ 82,616 0.4%
DE* $ 86,838 -22.6% MD $ 94,015 -5.5% NC $ 89,555 5.6% VA $ 101,935 4.4%
DC $ 102,394 7.2% MA $ 103,260 -2.6% ND* $ 84,909 7.3% WA $ 101,704 4.0%
FL $ 86,139 3.9% MI $ 84,642 5.8% OH $ 80,723 -3.2% WV* $ 61,834 -9.3%
GA $ 84,471 -5.8% MN $ 99,191 3.3% OK* $ 75,429 -5.9% WI $ 82,025 -7.6%
HI* $ 76,784 -4.7% MS* $ 67,645 7.7% OR $ 96,928 6.5% WY* $ 113,746 46.2%
ID* $ 92,544 4.5% MO $ 81,060 -1.6% PA $ 89,721 0.6%
* Sample size less than 100 respondents, therefore, not statistically valid, but presented for continuity purposes only.
About Dice
Dice is a leading tech career hub connecting employers with skilled technology professionals and providing tech
professionals with career opportunities, data, insights and advice. Established in 1990, Dice began as one of the first
career sites and today provides a comprehensive suite of recruiting solutions, empowering companies and recruiters
to make informed hiring decisions. Dice serves multiple markets throughout North America. www.dice.com Dice is a
DHI Group, Inc. (NYSE:DHX) service.
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Dice 2019 Tech Salary Report 15
TECH PROFESSIONAL