(About to show my age . . .)
Using inflation as a benchmark for survival, which we know it is
actually lower than reality, I present the following data:
Data Point #1: When I was in college studying Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science, in 1979, the expected starting salary was $20K
for either field. Using the rule of 72, with the inflation that we
have experienced since that time, that same starting salary should be
about $75K.
Data Point #2: The last two jobs I interviewed for in Phoenix gave me a
speech about paying employees well to keep them around, then informed
me the positions paid $45-55K for senior people with 5 years of
experience. (Did not keep up with inflation.)
Data Point #3: Digital Wokan and I applied for the same job just to
find out it was entry level paying $25-35K. (Did not keep up with
inflation.)
Data Point #4: My wife made over $40K as a customer service supervisor
in a Fortune 500 company, and once she gains experience within any
given company here, will make the same again. (Non-IT benchmark).
Data Point #5: I made over $50K as an enlisted military member, and
this was considered low. There were people on food stamps that were
the same rank I was. (Non-IT benchmark).
Data Point #6: 10 years ago, I was applying for IT jobs in Phoenix
that paid $35-40K. (Historical data.)
Data Point #7: I have seen several jobs that prefer MCSE certification
or three years experience that pay under $30K. (Did not keep up with
inflation.)
Conclusion: IT Salaries are becoming inverted. We are entitled to
make the same money with our degrees as those without. The jobs now
are paying what they were 10 years ago, yet inflation has cut your
spending power by $30-40% while taxes have increased.
Projection: In Hawaii, it is common for both husband and wife to
work, and they usually have working parents living with them. This
is what is required to make ends meet. I predict that over the next
20 years, we will see the same thing become commonplace here in
mainland America.
George
P.S. It still beats the living conditions in Afghanistan.
Trent Shipley wrote:
>
> Are computer geeks (outside of webdom) having more unemployment troubles than
> the rest of the population? The economy sucks for everybody.
>
> Maybe its just that this is the first time that computer geeks have really
> been in sufficient supply relative to demand that they are feeling a
> recession?
>
> Another part of it may be that the computer-geek community really rode the
> internet bubble in the late 1990's and there are jobs but the pay has come
> back down into the realm of sanity. The result is that much of Geekdom needs
> to find salaries that sadly no longer exist.
>
> (I am pretty certain that the Pointy Haired Managers and Evil Queens of HR
> have yet to discover that bright high-school kids can be hired part time to
> do 50% of the IS/IT workload! [and next 45% can be done by the same kids
> after they have three to five years of experience]).
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