Presented below are
some thoughts on how to determine your value in the defense and intelligence
marketplace.
Datapoints for determining your value:
Nr. 1 - Do other folks like yourself
exist in private industry or government?
If the answer
is yes then you need to find a relevant salary survey. For example,
if you are a network administrator go to Google and put in the following
keywords: "salary survey network administrator" -- you'll get plenty
of information. Search for something current within the last year.
* Technologist
shortcut http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/filters/salaryzone/welcome/
* Salary surveys
almost NEVER include information about the value of security clearances
so the survey will shortchange you. A "Secret" clearance
may add 5% to your value but only if the employer doesn't generally
help new hires get a secret clearance. A "Top Secret" or
"Top Secret SCI" should add 10-15% to your salary survey
value. If a polygraph is required as a prerequisite for employment,
but is not provided prior to hire, then boost your value to 20% over
the salary survey. If provided as part of the employment process then
there is no extra value.
* A reliable
salary survey will present findings across a spectrum of at least
two major variables: skill level (junior, mid-level, senior) and location
(region or major city). Any survey without these variables should
be considered dart board material -- if a salary is reported as an
average then subtract 15% if your skills are junior and add 15% if
you are among the best.
* Be honest
with yourself about your skill level. Do not think of yourself as
senior unless your skills are matched by only a few peers. These things
have a way of catching up with you.
* Be mindful of where your job will be located. It doesn't matter
if you live in the country as long as the job is in a major city.
Your job should be valued based upon its location. For example, the
bulk (75.32%) of network administrators surveyed by ZDNet make between
$29-60K (those making over $50K are rarer). Less than 5% make more
than $70K. Honest self analysis is essential. (The MANY radio commercials
about how much network administrators can make are very misleading).
* Look at the
cost of living differential (locational pay) if you work in a nearby
city. A very good cost
of living calculator will come in handy -- example: I live near
to Woodbridge, Virginia which is only 19 miles from Alexandria, Virginia.
The difference in the cost of living between the two cities is very
stark. If I made $50,000 per year in Woodbridge then I would need
to make $80,820 to have an equivalent lifestyle in Alexandria. Your
job should be valued where your job is located.
Nr. 2 - Are you unique:
intelligence analysts, linguists, market & competitive intelligence,
etc.?
There are several ways to
approach this. Do you have a government equivalent? For example, if
you are an imagery analyst - what grade of government employee would
normally perform the job that you are undertaking? If the answer is
an E-7 or GS/GG-12 then the answer is pretty straightforward: Add 15%
to the salary of the relevant government employee. Many contractors
receive contract awards with the understanding that they are essentially
replacing a government employee on a temporary basis. (If you are working
onsite with "the customer" then this is almost always true.
Some snooping or accurate guestimating should determine the relevant
government employee grade. Companies really do not have a lot of leeway
in salaries under these conditions. You should also factor in whether
the government employee would normally be entitled to a cost of living
allowance for that location. If so then factor the allowance into your
own salary calculation:
Formula:
================
Government employee grade $alary
+ 15%
+ location cost of living allowance (if any) -- aka locality pay
--------------------------------------------------
= $alary negotiation starting point
No
allowance for security clearance was made because the assumption is
that the relevant government employee would have the same clearance.
* Linguists:
your value is extremely relative. Primarily only the government
employs linguists as a primary careerfield and skillset. You need
to reposition yourself as an 'Intelligence Operations Specialist'
that also has language skills in language A, B or C.
Nr. 3 - No government or
industry equivalent job position?
Then your salary
will be relative and relevant only to select employers. I will write
about strategies for folks like yourself more in the future. However
for now you may want to consider using something like the formula below.
$37,000 base
salary (national USA average)
+/- cost of living // see footnote below
+/- education (HS only -$5K, AA/AS=$0, BA/BS +$5K, MA/MS +$10K)
+ experience ($2K x years of relevant experience, max 10 years)
+/- skill expertise (junior -$5K, midlevel=$0, senior +$10K)
+/- contract basis (replacing government employee? = $0, R&D or
product focused company +$5K)
+/- desperation factor (recruiter says folks like you are hard to
find! +$5K)
-------------------------------------------------
= $alary negotiation starting point
TIP!
Find
out how your Zip Code compares to the average American's cost of living:
http://list.realestate.yahoo.com/realestate/neighborhood/main.html
-- add or substract the difference between your area and the average
American. If the average (or median) income in your zip code is $55,000
then add $18,000 (55K - 37K = 18K)
Does this work for you?
If you are an
intelligence professional please use this formula and let me know how
close it comes to your own current income -- newsletter@IntelligenceCareers.com -- also include your thoughts as to what may influence
the differences in my formula and your income.
