[dsolomon]

You're "facts" are far from that.

The developers we have onsite with the customer (Department of Defense with Top Secret clearances) are paid roughly $40-50K/yr USD.

If there were companies that actually paid the salaries you're quoting there would be a line of people at the front door every morning wanting to get hired.

[droithomme]

Please see the following salary survey:

http://www.clearancejobs.com/files/CompensationSurvey2012.pd...

It is:

> A comprehensive earnings survey of security-cleared professionals, with 11,436 respondents from November 2011 to January 2012

> Key Findings: Earnings for professionals with an active federal security clearance increased over two percent since the 2011 ClearanceJobs Compensation Report, with an average total compensation of $90,865.

Based on this empirical evidence, it is clear you are a bullshitter who doesn't know what he is talking about as your stated numbers are not even remotely close enough to the real numbers to have the least bit of credibility. Or perhaps you would care to provide a citation to your own 11,436 person survey of those with clearances.

The survey cited here includes low skill stuff like IT support. Breaking out actual developers in one of the report's table we have the following total compensations:

IT - Engineering (Software or System) $113,098

IT - Software (Programming or Web Dev) $101,809

[dsolomon]

Your reference is like citing Ms Cleo - pathetic actually.

If companies actually paid those amounts listed there'd be a line of applicants at the front door every single morning wanted the job.

[Locke1689]

...There are. Google, Microsoft, and all the rest get tons of applications. People just can't develop software.

P.S. My Google intern salary would beat that if it were scaled up to full-time levels (and in actuality full-time is much higher).

[ebiester]

What?!?

Maybe they're in their first year, or something, but I wasn't on site and I didn't even have clearance and I was paid significantly more than 50k. In Arizona. (I was doing support work.)

When I said $$$ to BigCo in Silicon valley, they didn't blink, and I don't have the big names on my resume either.

[dsolomon]

I've worked for 4 companies within http://washingtontechnology.com/toplists/top-100-lists/2011....

The rates that I've seen has actually gone down, Back in 2001 a developer with a TS/SCI/FSP would get around $45K with about 5 years experience (company is in the top 10). Today that same developer gets $40K with the same clearances (company within the top 50).

[mturmon]

Your salary numbers are very low.

I think you're claiming it's because of the peculiar type of job (DoD or DoD + clearance). This is not the explanation. I know several people who are doing DoD contract work for software development (cleared and not), in various places across the US, and their rates are perhaps 2x higher than what you're quoting.

And I'm astonished to read your claim elsewhere on this thread that you or people in your organization are not being reimbursed for travel for work. I've never heard of such a policy -- it may not even be lawful.

Sure, they will try to chip away at the edges (Was that cab ride necessary, given that you have a rental car? and, Your breakfast was included in the registration fee). But that's all second-order stuff.

[sparsevector]

His numbers may be high but $40-50k/yr is pretty low. My impression is that software developer positions at top companies (Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc) pay about 2x that.

[devs1010]

2x $40-50k? You are definitely off base, that would be maybe a starting salary for an entry level developer, if that.

[dsolomon]

Top companies? LOL - I remember being contacted by Google (whatever division they have in the Washington DC area). They wouldn't commit to providing the hardware or software to do the job, or even keep the benefits the same when you move from project to project - so f*ck 'em.

[marcusf]

I'm sure he means self-employed.

[huggyface]

>The developers we have onsite...

I'm not sure what in particular you are saying, but that is a terrible rate of pay that only the worst (or most naive) developers must stomach. Six figures is not at all uncommon.

[dsolomon]

Haven't seen, or known, anyone close to that in 10 years of being a DoD contractor.

[huggyface]

Haven't seen, or known, anyone close to that in 10 years of being a DoD contractor.

But weirdly this discussion had absolutely nothing to do with being a DoD contractor. I don't know, or honestly care, what a DoD contractor makes. The numbers you have indicated, however, are very low in the general market. That you are oddly holding them as exceptional is extraordinary given that they are exceptionally low.