Nearly 2 Million High-Tech Employees Are Underpaid

January 11, 2017 by Paul Ausick

A recent study by analysts at Paysa, released on Tuesday, pointed to a 10% gap between the actual pay and the market value for more than a third of professionals in the technology industry. Those software engineers aren’t suffering too much, however, with an average annual salary of $112,000, but that’s at least $11,200 that employees are contributing to the companies they work for.

The Paysa study also noted that within the next six months, 7% of all U.S. tech and engineering employees are coming due for a promotion and average salary increase of more than $17,750.

So what should technology employees do? Hunt up a new job. Overall more than three-quarters of tech and engineering employees may be underpaid relative to the market for their services; may have missed a promotion window; have been at their present company for two years or more; or are working for a company in “serious decline.” The Paysa research indicated that 6% of tech and engineering employees are working for a company “with a depth of technical talent that is declining,” as indicated on Paysa’s CompanyRank indicator.

CEO Chris Bolte said:

In 2017, the shift in power from the employer to employee will accelerate, tipping the scales in favor of the employee — at least in the technology sector. Data transparency and awareness around salaries, career advancement, available jobs and other compensation and benefits will drive this shift. … That means employers need to be prepared to have these conversations — the kind that are strongly in favor of relying on what the data says as the key decision factor in salary and offer negotiations.

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