After seeing a meager 1% increase in average salaries, tech professionals asked how they felt about it responded negatively. In the 2009-2010 Annual Salary Survey from Dice (www.dice.com), a career site for technology and engineering professionals, tech professionals said they are dissatisfied with their pay and disappointed with their noncompensation rewards.

Also, 47 percent of the surveyed workers said their employers are doing nothing to keep them motivated. A small minority of them, 19%, is being offered more interesting or challenging assignments, and 14% are enjoying more flexible work hours.

Some of the job dissatisfaction can be traced to bonuses. Just under one-in-four tech professionals said they received a bonus last year and, among those not receiving a bonus, 42% reported dissatisfaction with their compensation. Of tech professionals who did receive a bonus, 27% reported dissatisfaction.

“The new war for technology talent is coming, and the battle is retention,” said Tom Silver, Dice’s senior vice president, North America. “With job and salary dissatisfaction at its highest levels in years, technology professionals should be willing to go fight for career advancement. HR and technology managers can win by identifying new motivators to keep staff on board, including compensation, training and career growth.”

Technology professionals in government and defense enjoyed the greatest average salary increase, 4.4%, which came close to the prior year’s 4.6% increase. Tech pros in Washington, DC saw their salaries increase to an average of $89,014 annually. In Seattle, they earned $84,144 on average, up almost 2% from the prior year. And technology professionals in Austin earned an average of $81,503 per year. These were among the highest-paying cities for tech pros.