Salaries comparison
Ok, as an IT professional (MSCE, CCNA, A+,12 years exp) employed by a school district, I am earning 65,000 + benefits (health,dental, vision, Calpers pension), so close to 100K with all the benefits.
So are these surveys including additional compensation or just the cash they are getting paid? Curious.
Most people would assume I am grossly underpaid but in public employment we generally get what is considered "deferred" pay in the form of pension contributions etc.
We are organized as well, so at least we have representation at the bargaining table. Although the last 5 years we have had to make a lot of concessions in order to help the district manage it's fiscal situation.
I am glad to be working at all these days, and not out seeking new employment. Of course I do have to manage a somewhat large enterprise, that includes the networking infrastrcture, servers, and about 1500 client machines. All I can say is, "Automation is my best friend!"
Let me add one thing, too, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where the cost of living is sky-high and the basics like housing, transportation, food, entertainment are all significantly higher than elsewhere in the country.
Most privately employed people with my experience and creds are making closer to 100k or more, so relative to my closest neighbors in IT, I *am* not paid at the average level.
I have several friends working for Cisco, Genentech, Oracle, who are working in support roles and they are all earning close to 125k, but none have a pension, or union representation, when the boss says "your job is now located in Bangladesh, therefore you are no longer with us", they are gone, in to the ranks of the "self-employed consultants".
The way I make ends meet is by doing a fair amount of freelance work on evenings and weekends. Not that bad if you think about it.
