Defense IT contractor pay (Colorado Springs: calculator, salary, living)

[greened]

My wife and I are considering a move out to the Springs maybe next spring or summer if the right job comes along. I've been doing Unix Systems Administration for 12 years now and I am currently a defense contractor with a clearance in Montgomery, Alabama. Is there anyone on the board that is a contractor in a similar position that can give me an idea on what to expect as far as pay goes. In Atlanta,where we are from, a senior level position would pay 85k to 100k (more in some cases) and the same goes for Montgomery. The cost of living is a little higher out there. I just want to set my expectations so that if I get an offer I don't the hiring manager but I don't want to short change myself either. Thanks in advance!

[bashep]

You know that is a good question. Have you tried doing Monster.com relocation calculator? It gives you a good idea of what you would be looking for as in pay. I am not familiar w/ Unix developers, my husband does .net and other stuff. But he was not making that much when he was doing the DOD work outa Peterson. Not sure if that helps. bashep

[mthawki]

I've been looking at SysAdmin jobs in the Springs too and I believe there's a Unix Admin job opening at Peterson or Schriever AFB right now. Do a Monster.com search and you should find it.

[greened]

Thanks for the replies. I'll take a look for sure. It can sometimes be hard to trust the salary surveys because it seems that a lot of people are less than truthful when filling them out. I did see that CSC has a couple of openings out there right now but I'm hoping to hold off until spring because my daughters are about to start scholl and I'd rather them transition in the summer. Thanks for the advice!

[greened]

I just hit monster and it according to them I'm somewhere around the 80th percentile for my field in Montgomery and it looks like I could expect a decent raise in Colorado Springs.

[mthawki]

Not too shabby then!!!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by greened

I just hit monster and it according to them I'm somewhere around the 80th percentile for my field in Montgomery and it looks like I could expect a decent raise in Colorado Springs.

OK Guys, I just checked:

Information Technology, Systems Administrator with a major company (low, average, high, region):


$71898 $106214 $133976 Birmingham
$72044 $105678 $132876 COS
$77123 $112989 $142763 LA

(These numbers are slightly "adjusted")

Note how LA gives you this "tremendous" increase to offset the higher cost of living.

[greened]

Good Lord. I need to send that link to my boss!

[FlypSyde]

Presumably you have a security clearance and that can make a difference. But DoD contracting pay scales can differ from company to company, contract to contract, and project to project. Typically, having a security clearance means you make more than your equivalent peers in the private sector.