Expected salary for Software Engineer, 5 years experience, no clearance? (statistics, area)

[sullyguy]

Originally Posted by tsuric

While the job has been great in almost every other regard

Since you may be deciding to leave because of the low salary, it literally does no harm to approach your boss(es) and frankly say "I am underpaid w.r.t. the local industry, how about giving me a significant raise?".

[Opacy]

OP, I was just in a very similar situation as you. Had spent the last four years (with good performance reviews at each one) with a company doing web development, found out I was severely underpaid, and tried to get them to bring me up to market rate at my last performance review. I was happy with everything else at the job, but no one wants to be WAY underpaid. They wouldn't budge, so I went out and got a job offer within two months that increased my salary by 20% /humblebrag

The point is, if you've got five years of experience, and are a good Java dev, DEFINITELY start sending out job applications and testing the waters, if you haven't already. I suspect that if you have a decent resume, and interview well, you would get quite a bit of interest, in the 80,000-100,000 range (although the higher end of that would likely need a clearance)

[metclubin]

Originally Posted by tsuric

Thanks for the replies all.

Yeah I'm at 70k with good benefits. I'm really ticked off that the salary is THAT low.

While the job has been great in almost every other regard, it seems like the salary issue has finally crossed the line.

When I graduated with MS Comp. Science 7 years ago and moved to this area I started with 65k. After coming here I realized I was at least 10k underpaid. Next 3 years I hit 73k with annual increases. Then I jumped ship and got a 25% raise with my current company. First year got a decent raise around 7% and since then 3 - 3.5% annually. I still feel a bit underpaid but the benefits we get are probably one of the best in the area. If you are looking for new offers do consider the benefits in your total package calculations. Good luck!!

[tsuric]

Originally Posted by metclubin

When I graduated with MS Comp. Science 7 years ago and moved to this area I started with 65k. After coming here I realized I was at least 10k underpaid. Next 3 years I hit 73k with annual increases. Then I jumped ship and got a 25% raise with my current company. First year got a decent raise around 7% and since then 3 - 3.5% annually. I still feel a bit underpaid but the benefits we get are probably one of the best in the area. If you are looking for new offers do consider the benefits in your total package calculations. Good luck!!

That's enough to tell me that I still need to switch.

You got me beat quite hard as it took me 5 years to hit 70k (I have just a bachelor's). With that 25% raise plus you say the benefits are ALSO really good with that higher salary, that tells me that I really got to leave. This angers me a lot but thanks so much for letting me know as this is GREAT information.

I also consider benefits too but thanks for the reminder. What counts a lot for me is health insurance. Even though I'm young and healthy, I also play a lot of sports and it's nice to know I have great health insurance if I get any injuries. Of course, I could just "grow up" with nearly every one of my friends, stop playing sports, and become a fat#%@. But I'm not that smart I guess. * shrug *

[mshan242709]

how much would you expect in a raise for a promotion? - AnandTech Forums

[sullyguy]

Here's a recent survey - nationwide but you can expect Northern Virginia to be at LEAST as good as the averages: IT Salary Survey 2013: 11 Career Insights - Global-cio - Executive

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by tsuric

That's enough to tell me that I still need to switch.

You got me beat quite hard as it took me 5 years to hit 70k (I have just a bachelor's). With that 25% raise plus you say the benefits are ALSO really good with that higher salary, that tells me that I really got to leave. This angers me a lot but thanks so much for letting me know as this is GREAT information.

I also consider benefits too but thanks for the reminder. What counts a lot for me is health insurance. Even though I'm young and healthy, I also play a lot of sports and it's nice to know I have great health insurance if I get any injuries. Of course, I could just "grow up" with nearly every one of my friends, stop playing sports, and become a fat#%@. But I'm not that smart I guess. * shrug *

I would echo what others said and if you enjoy your job and company, approach them about a raise before just leaving. I've moved on from several jobs in the past due to wanting more money and also more responsibility. It's pretty normal nowadays. But if your unhappiness is solely due to money I'd talk to them. It costs alot to hire/train people. It's much cheaper to retain good employees. You may be surprised how much they'd be willing to increase your salary to keep you. Figure out what you want and then get some support for that salary perhaps from some of the websites other people have posted in this thread and show it to them.

[Cardiff Kook]

70k with no clearance doesn't sound THAT low

[tsuric]

Thanks again for the replies all and even the late replies. I'm still working the old job. I'll admit I've gotten lazy about it because I'm in a situation where I'm not doing bad at all, but I'm not totally thriving either.

I'll probably start applying soon and then maybe ask for more money from the job I have now if I find an offer I like.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Salary.com is pretty accurate in that regard.

Dont worry - you will probably get very good raises -