But Watkins says he was disappointed when he received a 3 percent raise earlier this year, particularly after he felt he'd gone above and beyond his job responsibilities by creating, documenting and testing a disaster recovery plan for the company's customer data collection system.
"I understand the national averages on IT pay, but that goes to the economics of companies," says Watkins. "Most companies are downsizing, but [Dantom Systems] is thriving right now. They're having their best year ever."
Watkins says he was recently contacted through one of his LinkedIn connections about an opportunity to become a senior systems analyst at a Detroit-area law firm. After interviewing for the position and receiving an offer, he decided to take the job, since it included a 20 percent salary increase and good benefits, including profit sharing after two years of employment.