Saturday, March 08, 2008

2008 IT Salary & Skills Report

The national average salary for an information technology (IT) worker with a college degree is $76,400. The national average salary for an IT worker with a certificate or degree from a technical school is $65,700.

The average pay for an IT worker in Boston, regardless of education or training, is $75,500.

This data is presented in a newly released survey of more than 7,000 IT professionals coordinated by Global Knowledge and TechRepublic.

In addition to salary, nearly 50% of respondents receive a bonus and annual bonuses average nearly $4,000.

Average Salary by Job Function

Here are the average salaries by job function for Web-related professionals:

  • Project Leader | $90,800
  • Database Manager | $87,300
  • Database Administrator | $78,500
  • E-business Specialist | $77,400
  • Database Analyst | $70,000
  • Web / Internet | $62,700

Certifications

The most popular certifications are offered by Microsoft, as selected by 34% of respondents.

Those Web professionals who hold a CIW (Certified Internet Web Professional) certification earn, on average, $71,000.

Demographics

Here are a few demographics from the survey:

  • average age | 43
  • years in IT | 14
  • male vs. female | 3:1 ratio

Nearly 80 percent of respondents were either "very" or "mostly" satisfied with their career choice.

Concerns

What concerns IT professionals the most?

  • "Keeping up with skills" | 57%

Experience

By far the single most important factor in determining salary is experience within the field. Survey results broken down by experience reveal the following salary data for those workers transitioning into technology with less than two years of experience:

  • 25 and under | $39,800
  • 26 - 35 | $45,600
  • 46 - 55 | $46,100
  • 56 and over | $44,700

Turnover

Nearly one in four respondents stated they are considering changing employers within the next year. The full cost to replace a professional is 150% of annual salary. Therefore, a company will have to invest $110,000 to replace a worker valued at $74,000. These costs include recruiting, vacancy costs, productivity losses and training.

Conclusion

The survey concludes as follows:

"The level of your success in satisfaction and in salary is a direct result of your investment in yourself. The demand for the IT professional is increasing, but since critical technical skills are constantly changing, long-term success is achieved by broader education and experience."

A full copy of the report is available from TechRepublic. Registration is required and it is free.