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Some of the more interesting findings:
- ComputerWorld.com reports that entry level salaries are now between $40,000-$50,000 and salary bonuses are up as much as 35%.
- ComputerJobs.com reports that MCSD is by far the most lucrative certification, with MCSDs earning an average salary of $73,000
- MCP Magazine reports that certification raises salaries an average of about 4 percent, but fewer and fewer employers are paying for their employees to get it.
- InformationWeek Online reports that the best paying sector of the industry was Computer Hardware Manufacturing.
- Heuristics reports that "Internet and Web" professionals who have 10 or more years experience are commanding an average of more than $127,000 per year.
Not all of these industry surveys are in agreement about the range of salaries for particular positions and job descriptions. As a matter of fact, some of them appear to vary quite greatly. That might be because there are subtle (or sometimes obvious) differences in how the information was collected, who was asked what questions, etc.
There are a thousand different ways to organize and interpret the same data. For us to step into these surveys, try to reconcile the differences, and present a uniform view of the industry salary structure would greatly risk misinterpreting the results of each survey. There are hundreds of job titles with overlapping responsibilities; there are dozens of variables, including experience, location, certification, age, sex, and gender; there are more charts and graphs floating around than you can shake a mouse pad at.
There's so much information readily available about salaries that there would really be no point in our conducting yet another "Computer Industry Salary Survey."
So, in this article, we take the middle road: Below, we offer a brief review of the best surveys we could find, along with a link which you may follow for the full results.
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More Salary Resources for the Computer/IT Industry
The eight salary surveys which we reviewed for this article are by no means the only salary guides you'll find on the web. There are many others - some more specialized, some more general. Here are a few more links for your review...
- ComputerUser.com's Interactive Salary Guide, which allows you to select geography, industry, experience and position title to find average salaries. No explanation of the data used is given in this dialogue, although it might be found elsewhere on the site.
- Midrange Computing's AS/400 Salary Survey includes salary figures for managers and programmers/analysts, broken down by job title, region, education, and company size - but it includes no explanation of the methodology, and the organization may be a little confusing. However, there is a form to complete for a free analysis.
- CNET Builder.com includes a very good analysis of industry salaries based on research done by the Association of Internet Professionals. The write-up includes sections on Compensation, Benefits, Years Experience, Education Level and Geographic Region - but to get the full report and analysis from AIP, you'll have to pay up to $400.
- At Salary.com, you can do a little selecting of your own to tailor a report geared for your field of interest.
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ComputerWorld's 14 Annual Salary Survey, September 2000
This survey was derived from the responses of more than 750 IT/Computer companies in the US, employing almost 800,000 IT professionals. It starts off with a snappy, well-written article which is easy to understand, analyzes the results, offers great quotes from professionals, and uses excellent illustrative examples. Salaries are presented by job title, and the article includes an excellent section on job descriptions; salaries are also broken down by regions in the US, broken down into nine geographic areas, compared to five for all other salary surveys reviewed here.
Highlights:
- Entry level salaries are between $40,000 and $50,000, with this figure representing as much as a 15% to 25% increase for some companies from the previous year.
- Bonuses are also up, as much as 5% to 35% of salary, compared to 5% to 20% in the previous year, and sometimes including perks ranging from DVD players to new cars.
ComputerJobs.com: Salary Survey 2000
The results of more than 43,000 respondents are shown in an easy-to-read and understand format, with simple graphs and explanations. The survey examines earnings based on age, certification, company size, education, experience, gender, location and skill, and it distinguishes between the salaries of permanent employees and contractor hourly rates for all categories. A brief but excellent description of the survey methodology is also included.
Highlights:
- If you're investigating certifications, then this survey clearly shows the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) as the most financially-rewarding, with an average salary of $73,000 and an average hourly rate for contractors at $61/hour.
- Regionally, the highest salaries are found in the West and Northeast ($57,000); the highest paying state is Connecticut ($65,000); and the highest salaried "city" is Silicon Valley ($66,000). For IT/computer contractors, the highest hourly rates are found in the Midwest ($54/hour), Oregon ($75/hour) and Chicago ($56/hour).
MCP Magazine's U.S. Salary Survey
This survey offers by far the most detailed analysis of any of the salary surveys, including dozens of charts and graphs, and it is based on the responses of more than 6,500 professionals. Sections include the hottest Certifications, the Value of Experience, Who's Paying the Bill, Hours worked, Self-Employed, Does Education Pay off, Gender Bias and more. However, it's not organized particularly well, and can be perhaps even a little confusing at times.
Nevertheless, if you want to find out lots of nitty-gritty details about salaries in the IT/Computer industry, then this is the survey to read. Take your time; let it sink in. There's a brief but helpful section on the methodology used, too.
Highlights:
- There was an across the board increases in salary for the IT/Computer industry, with certification found to raise salaries by about 4% and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers being the hottest certification to get.
- The number of companies paying for certification has plummeted from 59% two years ago; MCP speculates that this may be due to management fears of losing trained employees in a competitive market.
InformationWeek Online: IT Salary Advisor
The IT Salary Advisor uses InformationWeek's 2000 National IT Salary Survey of about 25,000 IT professionals to create easy-to-read graphics on comparing pay by job title, job function, the top raises, the best paying locations, and the best paying IT industries. It further breaks down each of these categories into pay for Management and Staff positions, and also considers years experience.
The FAQ section offers some explanation of how the survey was conducted and how it can be interpreted, but for the most part, there is no meaningful analysis of the data presented. The best part about this particular survey (as mentioned in the FAQ section) is that it is updated every two to three months as new information is submitted, and you can easily submit your own to take part in it.
Highlights:
- The Best Paying Industry for both management and staff was Computer Hardware Manufacturing, for which the Salary Advisor reported $100,000 annually for management and $74,000 for staff.
- The Best Pay Raises went to both management (12.5%) and staff (10.9%) working in the Internet/Intranet field.
Heuristics Salary Survey: 2nd Quarter 2000
This survey, conducted in the second quarter of 2000, includes a brief explanation of how the survey was conducted and presents the results with no analysis of the numbers. It is arranged by general job description and responsibilities and by years of experience, and it includes the range, average and percentage change since the previous salary survey.
Highlights:
- The biggest winners were those categorized under "Internet and Web" who have 10 or more years experience in fields ranging from Java and HTML to e-commerce application development and security. Heuristics reports that these folks are commanding an average of more than $127,000 per year.
- For those just entering the field (with 0-2 years experience), the best paying specialty, according to Heuristics survey, is in "System Software" dealing with issues such as real-time and basic operating systems, system tools and device drivers. These people are earning an average of almost $80,000 annually.
DataMasters
& EDP Staffing Services: 2001 Computer Industry Salary Survey
These surveys appear to draw on the same information, using identical job titles, with mostly identical salary figures and brief write-ups. DataMasters offers a more complete explanation that comes in a pop-up window when you enter its site includes a brief explanation of the survey, how it was conducted and very detailed answers to a few FAQs.
Assuming that the explanation on DataMasters applies to both surveys, then the data were collected from more than 900 employers, including companies of every size, sector of the industry, and region in the US, and it reflects only the base figures for salaried employees. However, there is no analysis provided for the numbers.
Both surveys are organized by "Job Titles," although EDP does not make the distinction between management and professional staff as DataMasters does, and they include the median salaries for each region of the US, as well as the median high and median low (terms are explained in DataMasters FAQ).
Highlights:
- The Northeast captured the highest paying management position, according to the Region Median, at $218,000 for the "CIO/Vice President/IT" and also the highest for a staff position at $92,500 for a "Web Developer."
- The highest "Median High" staff position was for a West Coast "Security Specialist" at about $123,000.
- The EDP page also includes a very brief section on bonuses, which cites "projected averages" as ranging from 25% for upper management and 4% to %20% for technical staff.
2000 Computer Industry Salary Survey
This survey is organized the same way as the DataMasters/EDP surveys, by region in the United States with largely the same job titles, and no distinction between management and staff. However, there is no analysis of the data presented and no explanation of how it was collected.
For a current look at salaries in the computer and information technology field, see "Salary Guide for the Computer & Information Technology Industry" updated in 2004 with new information and research resources.
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