What is your Marketplace Salary Value?

$$ — HOW MUCH ARE YOU WORTH in the marketplace?

Government service provides a very predictable path for promotion, career advancement, salary and compensation, as well as regular pay raises.

Being a defense contractor provides generally good job stability predictability … and freedom to move as opportunities arise … YOU even can self-promote by going for jobs with higher skillsets as you grow in capabilities.

However, strange things can happen at the oddest moments: … buyouts, corporate acquisitions, federal budget battles, program cancellation, failure of other contractors to complete their part on time or functionally.

If you are competent, have expertise and keep your clearance in good order then rarely will you have problem finding a new position when bad happens.

How money finds its way into your wallet can be a mystery in the DoD and IC services support marketplace.

Compensation and incomes are not tied to market shortages nor always the going market rate for skills.

How Much Am I Worth?

You are worth what you negotiate AND your perceived value in your skillset.

Rarely are you worth what a job does NOT require. If you have 12 years of experience and a master degree, you will be paid for 8 years of experience and a bachelor degree if that is all is required to be hired.

Negotiation can also be a challenge because the defense contractor market can be like a three layer system:

Basic services and keeping the lights on: Hello, Bell Curve! Good income, maybe not great … but life is good in the middle of that Bell Curve. Usually.

Those that decide, influence decisions (on a higher level), create ideas and make ideas happen: often earn in Top 25% of the compensation Bell Curve.

Deciders, directors and people that are at the top of their game. “Critical fills” earn Top 10% of the income Bell Curve and can earn at higher levels that cannot be accurately determined by any survey.

Compensation Bell Curve?

Bell Curve may not be the best word, but the concept is relevant.

You can view compensation distribution on websites such as Salary.com

The Department of Labor (DOL) categorizes jobs at seven levels of expertise. Many DoD and IC defense contractors define their jobs in terms which match DOL expertise and education descriptions.

Understanding the Compensation Bell Curve

We can accurately predict paychecks because we know how much people get paid for doing different kinds of jobs.

Your paycheck is reported to each state’s Department of Labor each month. You exist within a labor caregory, and a variety of parameters. Numbers and circumstances get collected and crunched. We have tracking numbers going back to 1939.

Compensation estimates for Levels 1-5 are considered very accurate.

Predictability of compensation at the high-end is an art, not a science.

Compensation estimates for level 6, 7 and CXO jobs can be more challenging. Those earning in the Top 10% of their peers should consider salary estimates as a firm starting point for discussion.

What Should I Ask For?

You are going to run into a recruiter or program manager that looks you in the eye and asks: So what (how much) are you looking for?

YOU need to have an answer.

If the income distribution for your level of expertise shows $60-85K with $72 being the median then ask yourself: Am I truly a stellar performer? Are there only a few like me? Very few? If yes then shoot for $85K. When they ask how much you are looking for, say $90K would be nice … =^) … this answer gives you room to negotiate because you know your market value.

HOWEVER, if you are just ‘good’ then chances are that your probable income will be around $70-75K … so ask for $80K and negotiate from there.

ABOUT Intelligence (IC/ISR) professionals: have found that the salaries shown for consultants or business services professional is usually a solid number for you. You ARE fish of the day!

Negotiate With Confidence – It Gets You More

Negotiating helps when you speak from confidence! Have found it both OK and even advisable that when someone tries to talk you down in $ to say: Gosh, that is a bit less that what the current market is earning. Salary .com shows that the median is $___, and for a strong performer like myself, the upper 10% are earning $___.

Do your homework. Let potential employers know that you know your value. Have a source for your information.