Salaries for technology professionals in the United States were flat in 2017, according to the annual salary report from tech career platform Dice. But all is not lost, when it comes to attracting tech talent.
The Bait
Dice finds that over the years certain employers have been offering tech talent motivators and benefits to remain competitive when the highest pay isn’t an option.
Beyond Salary
In fact, employers have increasingly been offering tech professionals incentives beyond salary since Dice began tracking this category in its annual report—and incentives are on the increase.
In 2009, approximately half (53 percent) of companies offered benefits such as paid trainings, more vacation, flexible work hours or the option to telecommute. Today, that has jumped to 71 percent, a testament to employers using creative recruiting tactics to secure top talent when they may not have the budgets to compete with other companies hiring tech talent.
Bonuses are also popular. In 2017, one-third of tech professionals received a bonus, earning on average $10,254.
Paying for Certain Skills
Nevertheless, while salaries have remained steady for most tech positions, demand for very specific IT skills is driving salaries upward as employers compete to attract hard-to-find talent. Categories where skills outpace the national average include cloud, big data, and process management.
Top 10 Highest Paid Tech Skills
| Skill | 2016 Salary | 2017 Salary | |
| 1 | PAAS | $120,403 | $127,171 |
| 2 | MapReduce | $125,009 | $125,378 |
| 3 | Elasticsearch | $120,002 | $124,650 |
| 4 | Redshift | $119,197 | $124,640 |
| 5 | Cloudera | $118,896 | $124,221 |
| 6 | DynamoDB | $118,119 | $124,054 |
| 7 | CMMI | $119,466 | $123,970 |
| 8 | webMethods | $111,892 | $123,578 |
| 9 | ISO 27000 | $112,556 | $123,575 |
| 10 | Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) | $122,094 | $123,192 |
“There’s a perception that the technology field is the Wild West with outsized compensation and lavish perks. While not true across the board, salaries for skills where employers have to compete for a limited supply do come with a premium,” said Michael Durney, president and CEO of DHI Group, Inc., parent company of Dice. “This disconnect is partly what creates frustration among employers or tech pros when the recruiting process yields a gap between salary expectations and true market trends.”
What Tech Pros Want
The Dice report suggests this gap may be problematic for employers going forward. Forty-two (42) percent of tech pros anticipate changing employers in 2018, and 63 percent are looking for higher compensation.
Still, even though compensation is the top reason for a move, it’s not the only one. Employers should take note that 45 percent of tech pros seek better working conditions.
In addition, 30 percent want more responsibility; 23 percent will look for a new position because they expect to lose their current job; 16 percent want a shorter commute; and 13 percent are interested in relocation.