Government IT Salaries Lag Behind National Average

Salaries for government IT workers were slightly below the national average in 2011, giving agencies less of a competitive edge when it comes to recruiting top notch IT skills, according to a new survey by Dice.

Dice's 2011-2012 salary survey found that salaries for government tech workers averaged $79,605 in 2011, slightly below the average salary for tech workers in all industries, which came in at $81,327.

Government and private sector IT professionals in the aerospace and defense industries, however, fared far better than average when it came to pay in 2011. Those workers earned an average of $88,232 in 2011, the survey found.

"Defense spending is down from where it's been in previous years, but it's still enormous," said Tom Silver, senior vice president of Dice, on Wednesday. "But there may be a perceived risk of working in a government position that perhaps wasn't there before."

Meanwhile, tech jobs in all sectors in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metro area are also down significantly, Silver said. For example, jobs in the area were up 50 percent in 2010, but in 2011, jobs were actually down by 17 percent, he said. But the area still is the second biggest tech job market in the nation with more than 7,500 jobs posted last year, Silver added.

With government IT salaries below the national average, Silver stressed that government must focus on career development in order to recruit and retain critical IT skills going forward. "I think the government has to position itself in a place that provides an environment for tech workers to grow, develop and evolve their skills around the latest and greatest technology," he said. "Tech workers today are concerned about any job they take, not only about what they will be working on today, but what will keep their skills up to date going forward."

Despite tight budgets, Silver argued that federal IT workers, particularly those with in-demand skills, have a bright future. "Although there are things that are changing from what a government job used to be, as a skilled tech worker, you're still in a pretty good spot," Silver said. "Budgets are still enormous, even if they're down from where they've been, and I think that's what tech workers should focus on."