The most recent Annual Salary Survey from Dice found that technology professionals in North Texas saw their salaries increase by 4 percent over the year, reaching an average of $81,579 per year. The Dallas-Fort Worth area in particular had an average salary of $78,438 during 2009.

Nationwide, salaries for tech pros remained pretty flat over the year, increasing by only about .7 percent over the year. However, the survey found that 49 percent of employees received a raise during 2010, while 29 percent of employees received a bonus.

In addition, about 50 percent of survey respondents said they were somewhat or very satisfied with their salaries, which is up from 46 percent who said so during 2009. About 24 percent of tech employees said they could make more money if they changed employers this year.

"Companies can no longer get away with paltry salary increases for their technology staffs based on the demand we are seeing for talent," Tom Silver, senior vice president of North America for Dice, said in a statement. "The moderate increases in satisfaction levels indicate that tech professionals' concerns are being heard by some companies, but certainly not all. Retention is the key to driving additional contributions to the business from technology staffs. Employers that are reluctant to increase compensation or step‐up retention efforts will likely pay for their unsatisfactory ways."

Other highlights of the survey include:

• Tech pros with less than two years of experience experienced salary declines for the second year in a row.
• Employees of companies with more than 5,000 workers earned an average of $88,075 per year.
• Employees of companies with fewer than 50 employees earned an average of $69,658 per year.
• The skills most requested by employers are: Oracle experience; J2EE/Java; C, C++, and C#, project management; and SQL.

Huawei Technologies U.S.A. recently opened a new headquarters in Plano, a nearby suburb of Dallas. The company, which specializes in revolutionary wireless communications, has created close to 900 jobs throughout the country and more than 590 jobs in Texas alone.

Gov. Rick Perry said the low taxes, reasonable regulations, and skilled workforce in Texas continue to help attracting companies like Huawei Technologies U.S.A. to the state, in turn bringing much-needed jobs to the local economy.

"Huawei has a strong, worldwide reputation as an innovator of quality telecommunications technology, with facilities spread across the globe," Perry said. "Since 2001, Huawei has been a strong presence and job creator in North Texas, and this facility represents an investment in the quality of our workforce and the continued strength of Texas' economy."

The thriving economy in Texas continues to draw national attention:

• A well-noted analyst recently listed Texas as the national leader in state financial health
• National Journal and The Atlantic named Texas as the leading state for economic recovery
• CNBC named Texas as America's Top State for Business
• CEO Magazine named Texas as the "Best State to Do Business" for the sixth year in a row
• Forbes and Moody's Economy named four Texas metro areas as "America's Recovery Capitals"

Texas is home to more Fortune 1000 companies than any other state in the nation and continues to export the highest number of goods for the eighth consecutive year. In addition, the state has created more jobs than any other state since the beginning of 2010, and has created the most jobs during the last 10 years.

Veterinary technologists and technicians generally work in a laboratory environment to perform medical tests on the treatment and diagnosis of animal diseases. They may be responsible for preparing tissue samples, taking blood samples, executing laboratory tests, cleaning and sterilizing instruments, and maintaining equipment and machines.

Candidates for vet tech jobs should pursue a two-year degree for veterinary technicians or a four-year degree for veterinary technologists. Most employers prefer to hire applicants that graduate from a school accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

In addition, all states require vet techs to pass a credentialing exam after graduation, which is composed of oral, written, and practical portions regulated by a state board or agency. Many states opt to use the National Veterinary Technician exam.

Employment in Dallas is expected to increase from 900 workers during 2006 to 1,300 workers by 2016, accounting for 400 additional jobs and an overall growth rate of 44.4 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

In Texas, employment is anticipated to grow from 6,700 workers during 2006 to 9,400 workers by 2016, making for 2,700 additional jobs and an overall increase of 40.3 percent.

Employment throughout the United States should increase from 71,178 workers during 2006 to 100,373 workers by 2016, accounting for 29,200 additional jobs and an overall growth rate of 41 percent.

The other professional, scientific, and technical services industry employs 91.2 percent of vet techs - the majority of workers in the occupation. The federal government, except education, employs about 3.72 percent of vet techs.

During 2009, the average wage for vet techs in Dallas was $14.23 per hour, while the average wage throughout Texas was $13.18 per hour and the average wage across the country was $14.70 per hour.

Infosys Technologies Limited, which is the second-largest outsourcing firm in India, recently announced that it will launch Infosys Technologies Inc., a subsidiary based in Dallas. That branch will be responsible for garnering information technology contracts from state and local governments.

It is estimated those contracts could reach about $59.5 billion through 2012. While the company has not yet disclosed the exact number of people it plans to hire, experts predict that number could initially be in the hundreds and grow over time.

"If you're going to have a service industry in the United States, Dallas is one of the places you're going to have it," Peter Bendor-Samuel, chief executive of Everest Group, told The Dallas Morning News.

Dallas has a historic legacy in the outsourcing business, which dates back to Ross Perot's founding of Electronic Data Systems Corporation in 1962. Since then, the area has been capable of producing the skilled workers that companies need in order to succeed in America.

In addition, many experts believe it is crucial for companies to maintain a presence in America if they want to land government contracts. In some industries, such as healthcare, many providers and federal agencies are hesitant to send work overseas, while law dictates that defense and homeland security contracts be handled by United States citizens.

Infosys is not the only company that has brought some of its operations to America. Most recently, Tata Consultancy Services, the largest outsourcing firm in India, opened a facility in Cincinnati, while Wipro Technologies, another Indian-based outsourcing company, is hiring hundreds of workers in Atlanta.

Bendor-Samuel said these expansions are good news for the national and local economies. The companies should have no trouble finding qualified workers, he said, but they may have some trouble adjusting to work practices in the United States.

"It's not so much about wages," Bendor-Samuel said. "It's how they treat people. It's not so much they're putting people into a dark room feeding them bread and water. It's as subtle as expense reports when you travel. They're very, very careful with expenses, to the point that they make their own people pay for much of the stuff."

"Well, that's not going to work here," he added. "People don't cheat, but they expect to be treated with more trust and the company to be picking up those expenses."