Are These Developer and IT Salary Figures Accurate?

Glassdoor generated a tempest of controversy the moment it launched. Many sites list IT salary levels – here’s 2009 IT salaries and 2004-09 IT salaries – describing pay by job title and national average. But Glassdoor goes one very risqué step further: it purports to post the actual salary levels of staffers at specific companies.

It invites tech employees (and staff from other industries) to anonymously post their salary. In return they get access to a trove of anonymously posted salaries. The site averages the data together and applies a statistical filter that, in theory, tosses out the outliers.

Last year, Glassdoor chief executive Robert Hohman, told me the site takes great care to check its user-generated pay figures.

“We’ve got a bunch of technical and procedural mechanisms to vet the data,” he said, though when pressed on details, he deferred. “We’re not really talking about the specifics we’re using.”

Critic pounced on Glassdoor. Forbes dubbed it “workplace porn.” Prominent tech headhunter Nick Corcodilos dismissed it as “salary gossip” and called it a negative for tech professionals. Building an information source using data gathered anonymously over the Internet is like trying to build a solid wall from Swiss cheese.

Still, curious wage slaves flocked to gawk at the naked data. In fact they did more than gawk – they contributed their own pay numbers, sans ID, of course. Glassdoor now claims to have salary figures, reviews and interview questions from a whopping 26,000 companies.

What’s your view? All that user-generated data makes Glassdoor a Wikipedia of salary information. But is the information worth the pixels it’s printed on?

Peruse the following IT salaries – all data is courtesy of Glassdoor – and comment below. Given your industry experience, do the pay levels seem accurate? (When you comment, it’d be helpful if you list your industry background. Thanks.)

Software Developers

Software developers see some good pay levels, yet this survey of developer salaries between 2004 and 2009 indicates that raises aren’t automatic. Mood changes in the tech market can be tough on paychecks.

Microsoft Software Development Engineer

Average: $90,608

Range: $56k to $145k

IBM Staff Software Engineer

Average: $83,361

Range: $62k to $125k

Google Software Engineer

Average: $95,566

Range: $61k to $150k

Oracle Software Engineer

Average: $87,879

Range: $60 to $123k

Yahoo Software Engineer

Average: $97,010

Range: $70 to $128k

Intel Software Engineer

Average: $81,456

Range: $50k to $145k

Hewlett-Packard Software Engineer

Average: $88,959

Range: $61k to $140k

eBay Software Engineer

Average: $91,938

Range: $76k to $140k

Symantec Software Engineer

Average: $80,785

Range: $56k to $110k

Next Page: Tech retail workers’ pay levels

Tech Retail Salaries

I’ve always wondered what the Mac Genius bar folks make. I’ve dealt with some really talented ones that truly know the Mac inside and out. Others, perhaps less so, but most are pretty talented.

Mac genius bar:

Average: $18.07 per hour

Range: $11 to $25 per hour

Best Buy, Geek Squad Agent

Average: $11.92 per hour

Range: $9 to $16 per hour

Mac Specialist, Apple Store

Average: $11.43 per hour

Range: $9 to $17 per hour

PC Technician

Average: n/a

Range: $10 to $12 per hour

Project Manager Salaries

From my many conversations with tech hiring experts, being a project manager is a ticket to career safety. They seem to always be in high demand.

Infosys Project Manager

Average: $79,276

Range: $50k to $140k

Dell Project Manager

Average: $83,064

Range: $60k to $110k

Sprint Nextel Project Manager

Average: $81,052

Range: $46k to $109k

Sapient Associate Project Manager

Average: $59,571

Range: $52k to $69k

Wipro Technologies Project Manager

Average: $83,208

Range: $68k to $108k

IT Consulting Salaries

Accenture Consultant

Average: $81,052

Range: $46k to $109k

Bearing Point Consultant

Average: $73,078

Range: $45k to $123k

Bearing Point Consultant

Average: $73,078

Range: $45k to $123k

Chevron IT, IT Business Analyst

Average: $65,485

Range: $50k to $81k

Tata Consultancy IT Analyst

Average: $60,775

Range: $52k to $65k

Capgemini Senior Consultant

Average: $85,088

Range: $70k to $110k

Database Salaries

AOL: Senior Database Administrator

Average: $112,250

Range: $100k to $120k

Expedia: Senior Database Administrator

Average: $97,595

Range: $93k to $103k

Next Page: more IT salary levels

Systems Engineers

Raytheon Systems Engineer II

Average: $73,016

Range: $62k to $80k

Lockheed Martin System Engineer

Average: $74,428

Range: $60k to $124k

Network Engineers

General Dynamics Network Engineer

Average: $89,362

Range: $74k to $104k

Nortel Network Engineer

Average: $75,643

Range: $42k to $105k

Verizon Network Engineer

Average: $72,985

Range: $42k to $103k

IT Salaries: Miscellaneous

HP Solutions Architect

Average: $110,838

Range: $70k to $143k

TEKsystems Technical Recruiter

Average: $36,675

Range: $30k to $40k

Akamai Technical Sales Engineer

Average: $109,464

Range: $99k to $120k

Siemens IT Solutions, Technician

Average: $23.85 per hour

Range: $20 to $25 per hour

Lenovo Product Manager

Average: $86,300

Range: $65k to $130k

ALSO SEE: IT Salary Levels, 2004-2009

AND: IT Expert: IT Hiring has ‘Stabilized’