[geeks] the everpresent salary question

[alex j avriette]

so i find myself in the job market again.

i am poking around and looking at salary surveys. the first one that 
popped up on google was:

http://www.itclubusa.com/survey.htm

this may shock some of you, but the publicized salaries are all around 
45% higher here in the DC/MD/VA Metro area than they are on that survey. 
(all positions below are senior)

I'm seeing help desk making between $52k and $83k, project managers 
making between $108k and $166k, unix SA's making between $82k and $133k, 
dbas between $109k and $166k as well.

cost of living here is quite a bit more than you might expect, I pay 
$2k/month for a 2br apartment in the city. but still, this seems a 
little high. can people in the DC area (or outside) corroborate these 
rates for me? i'm trying to figure out what i should be asking for as I 
begin to interview again.

alex