What are typical configuration manager salaries?

Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

In the Mid-Atlantic region, judging by my salary and some postings I’ve seen, annual CM Manager salaries run between 85-115K. I'm sure there are folks managing bigger groups, or with long-term status making more in this area. I know a CM Manager on a year-year contract getting about 130K, but there are no benefits involved. And a friend in CA gets about 145K, but he manages a whole west coast group and does a lot of traveling.

Of course there are lots of companies who try hiring CM Managers for much less. These companies normally wind up getting a CM Manager in title only. And, unfortunately, these lower paying firms typically have little appreciation for or understanding of CM - in some cases they might have a won a contract that requires configuration management. They hire a warm body and check off the list. This condition gives the poor person hired to this role little chance of success. And of course, in my experience, these are the same companies that eventually need to hire the 75-100 hour guy to bail them out, which never turn out well.

I described some basic skills and knowledge requirements in an earlier CM thread. Getting regular certifications for NDIA or DCMA will help you understand what you need to keep learning. ISO training is also a good, not-to-costly, endeavor. ISO is one of those requirements which tries to bring many functional area requirements together....even though ISO is not the end all and be all...it is one of many management tools.

I would say @ 100 $ / hr for a capable (and for short time) is not too much on East coast, in normal economy.