Guess what? Software jobs are still very much in demand in the Washington DC. Microsoft SharePoint 2007 MOSS Developers and Architects are hot in the DC area. Recruiters and high-tech companies cannot find enough of them. This information was recently announced and discussed by top tech company representatives and recruiters at the SUGDC SharePoint conference (June 27-28).

So, if you are a top flight developer for SharePoint, what should you be getting for a salary in the DC area? Of course, many will tell you that you should get what ever the market will bare based on your skills - but that does not give most people a framework to base their compensation request on. If you are into SharePoint development and implementation, then now is your time and you should seize the moment.

But be aware that most companies have managers and administrators that not only do not have a clue as to what it takes to be a software architect or sharepoint developer, but they also do not have the slightest clue what they should be paying someone with the skills they typically ask their recruiters to find and hire.

So, let me try in my way to educate those that are looking and those that are hiring.

First, forget the average salaries hiring managers. As I said, these skills are hot. If managers are offering average compensation, my advice is to the qualified job seeker is to walk away - because they are either cheap bastards, or not smart enough to know that there is a tremendous shortage of skilled SharePoint developers, and either way you don't want to work for them.

Anyone getting hired based on or below the average salaries for 2007 is one of the following:

• Not aware of what their skills are worth.
• Not really skilled in the area of MOSS SharePoint development but willing to get their foot in the door based on some skill set which is either not development or not SharePoint development. Good luck.

Now - if you can justify your skill set, then you should be getting the best salary you can because companies are going begging for software developers. And, another interesting trend is that this demand is not (nor cannot) be satisfied by off-shore development companies. To do the best job of developing and implementing SharePoint, companies need their developers on site and/or in town. So, this demand cannot be satisfied by outsourcing. That is another good trend for local developers.

I based the below salaries using the indeed.com's salary search for the Reston, Washington DC, and Vienna areas (enter SharePoint Moss and a Zipcode to find a range). In addition, I have projected what jobs with clearances should go for based on an increase in compensation for the clearance type (5% for Secret, and 20% for TS) using relationships and information from ClearanceJobs.com's white paper on salaries.