By April Karbowsky
  ComputerSchools.com Editor & Staff Writer
  December 5, 2004

ComputerSchools.com has newly reviewed several salary surveys for the computer and information technology industry, as published on the Internet, and has found that times have definitely changed for individuals in this field.

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In our original article, "The Computer Industry Salary Guide" published in February, 2001, tech professionals were considered to be in the "driver's seat" when it came to landing high-paying jobs, or negotiating for higher pay and better benefits.

A slump in the economy over the past few years, coupled with the bust of the dot-com environment, caused high pay, great compensation packages, and the ever present signing bonuses to become a thing of the past. In addition, the industry has faced steep layoffs and a growing trend whereby many companies are now outsourcing mid to low-level computer jobs to workers in foreign countries.

Though this information may sound dismal for the IT professional, work-place analysts are now projecting that the IT sector has stablized for the most part and a hiring increase in some positions will be seen in the near future. In addition, salary levels, which had stagnated or declined over the past few years, are increasing but at a much slower pace than they had during the dot-com boom.

The surveys consulted are listed below and provide a general idea about the current state of the computer industry. When reviewing these industry surveys, it should be kept in mind that they are not always in agreement about the range of salaries for particular positions and job descriptions. This can be attributed to several factors: the way in which information was collected, who was polled, variables in job titles (especially in those with overlapping responsibilities), experience levels, certifications acquired, age and gender differences, and even job location can play into the surveys' results.

Rather than trying to reinterpret the data found in these reports and cull it into one source, we have provided links to the resources and have included highlights of each survey as well.

Published in July, 2004, this survey shows that after several years of salary freezes due to budget cutbacks, IT professionals can expect income growth - though marginal - in the upcoming years. The article also offers several great charts representing different IT jobs and their associated average incomes, job satisfaction levels, staffing issues, and income levels by national location.

Highlights:

• The average salary reported this year was $83,651, down from $87,385 as reported in mid-2002.

• Middle management wages dropped more than 4 percent from $84,075, as reported last year, to $80,467, while salaries for IT staff declined by 7 percent from $71,493 to $66,547 in the same period last year.

• A growing number of individuals reported that bonuses were still paid out by their respective companies, however the amounts of the bonuses were worth less than they had been in previous years.

DataMasters Salary Survey

Last compiled and reported in 2003, this survey is broken down first by region (Northeast, West Coast, etc.) and then by job type, providing a range of pay scale from high to low with median incomes represented as well.

Highlights:

• This survey shows that in the Southeast region of the United States, for example, LAN/WAN Managers reported a median income of $96,234. Looking across the regions, the same position garners a median income of $95,941 in the Northeast, $92,134 on the West Coast, $88,718 in the Midwest, and $80,130 in the Southwest area.

• The site includes links to several other salary/wage and cost-of-living sites that help sort out the value of an income level based on where one chooses to work and live.

Using the IT Salary Advisor, which pulls results based on InformationWeek's 2004 National IT Salary Survey, individuals can compare salary levels for various job functions. Position level and geographic area can be incorporated into the search to pull more accurate results, however, the geographic areas covered are limited to major markets (Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Philadelphia, New York City, etc.) or to a broader search by "United States."

The information in the survey is based on responses from approximately 15,000 IT professionals and excludes (in most cases) unemployed, freelance, and part-time IT workers. Respondents from outside the United States were excluded as well.

Highlights:

• The best paying information technology sector for managers is in Enterprise Application Ingegration with an annual median salary of $110,000* and general staff in the Wireless Infrastructure sector report in at $91,950 per year.

• The lowest paying sector for managers is as Help Desk/IT Support professionals with an annual median salary of $71,980 and for general staff its under the General IT sector with jobs averaging out at $61,929 annually.

*Amounts shown are for total compensation including bonuses, stock options, etc.

Robert Half Technology 2005 Salary Guide

Robert Half's annual salary survey is based on an in-depth analysis of thousands of job orders managed by the company's U.S. recruiting specialists which include job searches, negotiations and placements conducted each year.

According to this company's study, a projected increase of 0.5 percent in starting salaries overall will be realized in the coming year, with greater increases being offered to employees in high-demand sectors (ex.: quality assurance and information security).

Highlights:

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in preparing its Occupational Outlook Handbook, references Robert Half's Salary Guide as an official source.

• Strong demand for IT professionals in 2005 include the following industries: financial services, real estate and business services.

• The greatest starting salary increases of any single job classification in 2005 will be for Systems Auditors, according to the 2005 Salary Guide, with base compensation expected in the range of $63,250 to $81,750 annually.

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