I started my first cs job as a data engineer about a year ago for a place that mainly works with government contractors. I'm not satisfied with the raise I got after almost a year, and I want to look into other employment opportunities that pay better. I'm hoping to get a job somewhere else and be paid 70k or higher, but I do not know how realistic that is. The client I worked for loved my work, and I know he will vouch for me as a good reference. However, I know that the cs job market has been hell to varying degrees. I like the stability of government work but would rather look into private sector jobs for my own reasons. In addition to that, I'm hoping to stay remote and not have to move, but I have no idea how competitive those positions are at this point in time. I could look around job posting sites but I know how misleading it can be to use those to gauge the current job market, so I wanted to get input from some of you. Would it be worth the time to pursue better paying employment opportunities for someone with just 1 year of professional experience? And how much time would I realistically have to spend to get a new position?