By Chelsea Babin

For technical professionals, there’s been a slight uptick in salary satisfaction this year. According to a recent survey by Dice, 54% of tech pros reported being satisfied with their current salary. This recent uptick could be a result of more employers providing motivators for their technical employees to stick around. Are you a part of the 54% of satisfied technical professionals? Should you be satisfied with your current salary? Answer these 6 questions if you’re unsure whether or not you should be satisfied with your current salary.

1. Do you have access to training incentives or free training? If you have access to training incentives like tuition reimbursement or your company offers free training, factor this in to your overall compensation. After all, most technical professionals need to stay up to date with the latest technology and continuously learn and, if your company didn’t offer this in-house or didn’t offer incentives, you’d have to pay out of pocket for these opportunities.

2. Are you happy with your current company’s work culture? Placing all of the value on your salary and not factoring in your day-to-day life at a company may cause you to jump ship when you shouldn’t. If you have potential to grow and learn at your current company and you love the work culture, your coworkers, and your daily duties you should hesitate to look elsewhere for a new job simply because your salary is less than ideal.

3. Is there room for salary growth or promotions at your current company? If you’re not satisfied with your current salary but you’re in an organization that regularly promotes from within or offers raises, that lack of satisfaction can be easily remedied! Show your worth, prove yourself, and work hard so you can be up for the next big promotion or get a hefty raise that you’ve earned.

4. Have you had a raise in the past three years? Regular raises are a common practice at many companies, particularly for technical professionals. Employers see technical professionals as more of a flight risk so they don’t want to undervalue you or offer you less than you deserve. However, this isn’t the case at every company. If you haven’t had a raise in the past three years and there are no clear reasons why this is a clear indicator that you should be unsatisfied with your current salary.

5. What other forms of compensation are you offered? From profit sharing to bonuses to stock options, it’s important to factor in every form of compensation when you’re evaluating whether or not you’re satisfied with your current salary. After all, some of these additional forms of compensation can be more beneficial to you than you might think. Even a generous match on a 401k is an added bonus you should factor into your total evaluation of your salary.

6. What value have you added to the company since your last raise? Most importantly, you need to ask yourself this question before you ask for a raise, promotion, or start looking for a better salary elsewhere. If you haven’t added any value through improving your skills or taking on more responsibility you may not be satisfied with your salary but you also may not deserve the raise or promotion you’re looking for. If that’s the case, focus on skill building, taking on more responsibility, and improving your productivity. This will lead to the increased compensation you want and you’ll have the pleasure of knowing you earned it.

After answering these 6 questions you should have a better idea of whether or not you should be satisfied with your current salary. If you’re not and you’re ready to look for a new job elsewhere, check out our latest job openings here.