“Attention CIOs: Looking for an opportunity to serve your country in a post-9/11 world? For the incredible challenge of defining IT infrastructure that will support FBI investigations into terrorism, espionage and international crimes?”This is the ad the FBI ran in The Wall Street Journal. The $4 billion agency at the forefront of homeland defense is seeking a successor for Bob Dies, a career IBM executive who took the bureau’s top IT job in July 2000. Applications closed in April. It could take until later this summer to fill the post, the FBI says.The description posted on www.fbijobs.com makes it sound like Superman’s cape would be a good thing to bring to the interview. To qualify, the website suggests that you be a proven leader with financial management know-how. You should possess the political savvy to build coalitions. You must manage a $109 million IT upgrade and a $59 million IT security and information assurance project.And you’ll do all that for a salary between $125,972 and $138,200 a year. If that sounds low, that’s simply what public servants make at that level, according to the Federal Office of Personnel Management. CIOs at comparably sized companies such as MGM Mirage, the casino owner, and Hormel Foods, maker of Spam lunch meat, earn more than twice as much on average ($281,768), according to a recent CIO survey.The kind of top-flight talent sought by the FBI would earn five or six times the government salary in a private sector job, says Robert McHale, managing director at Korn/Ferry International. McHale, who helped the FBI’s recruiting effort, says low pay didn’t stop applicants. “Here’s an opportunity for them to give something back and to create their own legacy. So compensation has not been a major issue,” McHale says.And, of course, they might get a badge. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Palo Alto Networks x Accenture Making sense of zero trust - why a managed SASE solution is the ideal option for enterprises Security leaders are turning to SASE as their preferred network security solution amid a new era of cloud-powered businesses working from anywhere. By CIO Contributor Nov 28, 2023 4 mins Network Security feature 8 tips for unleashing the power of unstructured data For most organizations, data in the form of text, video, audio, and other formats is plentiful but remains untapped. Here’s how to unlock business value from this overlooked data trove. By Bob Violino Nov 28, 2023 10 mins Data Mining Data Science Data Management opinion What you don’t know about data management could kill your business Organizations without a solid data management strategy are on a collision course with catastrophe. Unfortunately, that’s most businesses, judging by the fundamental disconnect on the importance of strong data foundations. By Thornton May Nov 28, 2023 6 mins Data Architecture Data Governance Master Data Management brandpost Sponsored by Dell Technologies and Intel® Gen AI without the risks Demystifying generative AI: Practical tips for cost-effective deployment in your organization. By Andy Morris, Enterprise AI Strategy Lead at Intel Nov 27, 2023 6 mins Artificial Intelligence Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe