2010 Salaries Revealed

Curious what you're worth on the open market? Datamation's annual salary survey is out for 2010. Find out what you can expect, should you decide to look for a new gig in the new year.

Below is salary info for a sys admin position. For other positions, check out the complete article.

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Job Title: Systems Administrator

2010 average salary range: $51,250 - $80,250.

• The 2010 salary range is a 2.8 percent decrease under this job's 2009 salary range, which was $52,750 to $82,500.
• The 2009 salary range is an increase of 3.6 percent over this job's 2008 salary range, which was $51,750 to $78,750.

Add a salary increase for the following skills:

• 9 percent for Cisco Network administration skills (down from 12 percent in 2009)
• 8 percent for Linux/Unix administration skills (down from 10 percent in 2009)
• 6 percent for Windows 2000/Windows 2003/XP/Vista skills (down from 8 percent in 2009)

Plus, add a salary increase for the following skills, which are additions to the list for 2010:

• 7 percent for Basis administration skills
• 7 percent for Windows Server 2008 skills
• 7 percent for virtualization skills.

Note: Since these numbers are national averages, they must also be adjusted based on your area of the country.

Salary levels are approximately 10 percent to 30 percent higher in the Northeast; about average in the South Atlantic (Florida to Delaware); average to modestly lower in the Midwest, Mountain west, and South; and 5 percent to 30 percent higher on the West coast.

IT salaries in large metropolitan areas are higher than the national average. For example, in the following cities they are:

City	Deviation
Boston, Mass.	30% higher
Stamford, Conn.	31% higher
New York, N.Y.	41% higher
Washington, D.C.	30% higher
Philadelphia, Penn.	15% higher
Atlanta, Ga.	15% higher
Miami, Fla.	10% higher
Chicago, Ill.	23% higher
Dallas/Houston, Texas	5% to 6% higher
Irvine, Calif.	24% higher
Los Angeles, Calif.	24% higher
San Diego, Calif.	14% higher
San Francisco, Calif.	35% higher
San Jose, Calif.	32% higher
Seattle, Wash.	18% higher

Check out the complete article at Datamation.

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