Salary for a Security System Technologist
- Security system technologists earned an average salary of $70,930 as of May 2009, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the 10th percentile, technologists earned less than $41,940 a year and in the 25th percentile, wages were under $52,940 a year. The median salary was $67,710, with techs in the 75th percentile earning over $85,830 and those in the 90th percentile earning over $105,970 annually.
- The computer systems design industry employed the highest number of security system technologists as of 2009, offering an average salary of $75,280, according to the bureau. Technologists working with the management of companies and enterprises on their security systems earned an average of $72,920 a year, and those working for wired telecommunications carriers earned an average of $71,870. Colleges and universities employed security system techs for an average salary of $62,440 annually, and elementary and secondary schools offered a lower average at $59,920.
- The District of Columbia had the highest concentration of employed security system technologists as of 2009 and offered the fourth-highest salary average at $79,170, according to the bureau. California ranked second with an average salary of $79,830 and, in San Jose, the average for these techs was the highest in the nation at $98,570 a year. Maryland offered a salary average of $80,100 for security system technologists, and the top-paying state overall was New Jersey with a salary average of $81,160.
- Security system technologists find work with a bachelor's degree, but a master's degree brings in higher wages. In some organizations these technologists move up into supervisory positions, such as chief technology officer. Others seek a higher salary in more competitive industries, such as securities and commodity exchanges or computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing, both of which offered salary averages of over $89,000 a year as of 2009, according to the bureau.
