January definitely seems to be the month for the Federal Government as it relates to IT jobs is in the news. A couple of weeks ago I read about the upswing in Federal hiring as it relates to IT workers. Two examples:
- U.S. Customs & Border Protection’s Office of Information Technology will expand from 1,500 to 2,500 employees by the end of fiscal 2011.
- Department of Veteran Affairs plans to hire 705 IT pros by the end of April.
Last week, its Federal IT jobs in the news again. Now, it’s the release of a report that indicates Federal IT workers earn more pay than their counterparts in the private sector:
- Dice.com’s 2010-2011 salary survey found average salaries for federal IT workers stayed pretty flat in 2010 — down 0.1 percent to $83,292 — but that’s still higher than the overall average salary for tech workers which was $79,384.
This week’s Federal IT news story? Who knows – the work week has just started. I’ll keep my eyes peeled, and let you know what I find out.
As far as the weeks ahead? Well, let’s just say the fact that Federal employees may likely have a 2 year pay freeze, along with other budget cuts, says something about Dice’s research that 40% of IT folks believe they can make more money if they change employers this year. If this comes to fruition, my prediction is the outcome could very well mean that federal government may lose a little of its competitive edge with the private sector for IT talent.
I’d sure like to know where Dice got its demographics from! I’ve been an USAF Civil Service IT troop for over 13 years and my pay level is in the mid-50’s. Maybe they need to get out of the major metropolitan areas.