As demand for tech jobs in the DMV region rises, salaries are stagnant

Cybersecurity, data science and full-stack software development are some of the most in-demand tech skills in the DMV region right now.

At its peak, the national unemployment rate last year hit a record 14.7% due to the coronavirus pandemic. Even so, CompTIA reported that companies were unable to fill 60% of their open tech jobs in 2020.

As the economy continues to evolve, Motion Recruitment shared some D.C.-specific tech employment and salary data in a recent report for recruiters and job seekers. Motion Recruitment is the company behind Tech in Motion, the national network of technology events. These recent findings pull from proprietary data, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CompTIA and other reliable sources.

‘The gap between tech talent supply and increasing demand has been widening, but the economic impact of the pandemic may be changing the course,” Motion Recruitment President Matt Milano said in a statement.

Read the report

Motion Recruitment reported that the demand for specialized skills like cybersecurity jumped by 70% in the region last year due to coronavirus-related phishing and cyber threats to government agencies. Demand for data scientists and data analysts increased by 45% while there was a 25% increase in the need of full-stack developers. Last March, Motion Recruitment said there was a 25% increase in job applications from mid and senior level tech professionals but since then, there has been a great decline.

While demand for tech professionals has increased nationwide, tech salaries only increased by 1.45% in 2020, compared to a 4% average increase year over year in past years.

Milano said the impact of 2020’s challenges will continue into this year, “leaving many with more uncertainties and questions than answers when it comes to salaries and compensation,” so Motion Recruitment shared some specific data in the report for mid-level and senior-level tech salaries.

Below are salaries for some of the more common tech roles you might come across in the DMV region. Motion Recruitment gathered the base salary ranges from mid-level (two to five years) and senior-level (five plus years) experienced tech professionals, including low and high ranges for each experience level:

Front-end developer

• Mid-level (low): $83,432
• Mid-level (high): $112,285
• Senior-level (low): $118,478
• Senior-level (high): $148,096

Full-stack software developer (Node React)

• Mid-level (low): $113,365
• Mid-level (high): $127,955
• Senior-level (low): $130,237
• Senior-level (high): $158,673

UI/UX designer

• Mid-level (low): $90,759
• Mid-level (high): $118,001
• Senior-level (low): $123,839
• Senior-level (high): $130,616

Application security engineer

• Mid-level (low): $93,649
• Mid-level (high): $98,578
• Senior-level (low): $112,133
• Senior-level (high): $142,939