Microsoft Salary Survey

The average salary in the greater Boston area for information technology (IT) professionals skilled in the implementation of Microsoft technologies exceeds $71,000, slightly above the national average. The average IT worker has 12 years experience. Where does your salary fit into the range? [see Chart 2]

These are just two of the findings released this month in Redmond magazine's 11th annual survey of compensation for Microsoft IT professionals. Nearly 1,300 tech workers responded to the survey. A summary of the results is available online. A FREE comprehensive report is also available.

Experience is one of many factors determining salary as the following list indicates:

• 1 to 2 years ($47,000)
• 3 to 5 years ($56,000)
• 6 to 9 years ($66,000)
• 10+ year ($81,000)

Job title is another factor determining salary. For example, here are a few job titles along with average base salary:

• Webmaster/developer/producer ($69,000)
• Programmer/analyst ($75,000)
• Database administrator/developer ($80,000)

Expertise in a specific Microsoft skill is also a factor as indicated below:

• SQL Server ($75,000)
• Visual Studio ($78,000)

Certification is less of a factor. Obtaining a Microsoft certification can help you gain or maintain expertise, which in turn can get you hired. Once your foot is in the door, experience appears to carry more weight than certification. None-the-less, compensation for individuals with selected Microsoft-specific, web-related certifications were reported as follows:

• MCP+Internet ($74,000)
• MCTS: SQL Server ($92,000)
• MCITP: SQL Server ($125,000)

Of those who held non-Microsoft certifications the compensation results are still quite respectable:

• Macromedia ($64,000)
• Apple ($67,000)

Lastly, the survey reveals that traditional education plays a small factor in compensation. Only slightly more than one-third of those surveyed obtained a four-year degree, but at least half said they attended some college.

Conclusion: Web designers and developers can increase their earning potential by developing expertise in Microsoft-centric technologies to complement their design skills. The following two web-related areas offer the most promise:

• programming (ASP.NET 2.0)
• database (SQL Server)

The Boston Market -- May article provides guidance on getting started with these technologies.

IT Job Search Survey

Nearly 60 percent of all information technology (IT) workers are currently looking for a new job. Four out of five of these workers say that their campaign is somewhat or very active.

Here are the top reasons for this high percentage of job search activity (percentage of respondents):

• higher pay (73%)
• no current advancement opportunity (66%)
• looking for a new challenge (58%)

This survey of nearly 1,000 IT workers was conducted by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). A press release is available summarizing the findings.

These survey results reveal a double-edged opportunity/challenge for active job seekers. The opportunity lies in the fact that job turnover is likely to increase leading to increased availability of positions. The challenge lies in the fact that you will likely be competing with many more highly qualified candidates.

Finding a new job can be simple -- but not easy. The best advice is to consistently implement proven job search strategies. The Boston College Career Center offers the following three solutions as a starting point in structuring your career advancement campaign:

1. Know what you want
2. Use a variety of job search strategies
3. Have as much personal contact with real people as possible

If you are currently in the job market (nearly 60% of you are), then rate yourself on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) on the following three questions:

1. Can you articulate the work you are looking for in an "elevator speech?" (1-2-3-4-5)
2. How many job search strategies are you currently using? (1-2-3-4-5)
3. How many personal contacts have you scheduled a meeting with this week? (1-2-3-4-5)

Setting aside one hour today to formulate a career advancement strategy based on answers to these three questions can help give you an edge against your competition and move your career one step forward.

Boston Market -- September

The Monster Local Employment Index for Boston declined for the second month in a row in July. However, it is likely that the Boston area slide is seasonal and temporary. Next month's Boston Market analysis will provide a clearer picture.

However, the Monster National Employment Index for August rebounded sharply and stands 22 percent higher than this time last year.

"After dipping in July, demand for management workers rebounded strongly while online recruitment activity for workers in business and financial operations and IT-related occupations continued trending upwards, suggesting a solid hiring environment for white-collar professionals," according to a Monster press release.

This month's market analysis focuses on the area of "content management." According to Wikipedia content management is "a set of processes and technologies that support the evolutionary life cycle of digital information." Content management is a collaborative process and often consists of the following basic roles and responsibilities:

• author
• editor
• publisher
• administrator
• consumer, viewer or guest

A content management system (CMS) is "a computer software system for organizing and facilitating collaborative creation of documents and other content." The system can be a web application used for managing websites and web content. A comparison of content management systems is available from Wikipedia. This comparison provides links to technology options in three categories:

• free & open source software
• commercial medium (under $15,000)
• commercial expensive (over $15,000)

As you will see from the listing of well over 100 vendors, many of which are open source, knowledge of scripting languages (PHP, ASP.NET, etc.) and database management systems (MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, etc.) is helpful in customizing the content management system.

With so many options how does one decide which CMS to use. The first place to start is by reviewing a survey of five open-source CMS applications and then downloading and installing one of your choice.

Because of the abundance of options available in the marketplace, the number of jobs that list a specific content management system is minimal. However, a general search on "content management" reveals the following listings [ BostonWorks.com ][ Monster.com ]:

• content management [ 40 ] [ 143 ]

The best training option for September is to focus on developing skills in the underlying technologies that comprise many open-source content management systems: PHP and MySQL. Check out PHP and MySQL: Building Web Applications available from the HP Learning Center. The six-lesson class is FREE and begins Thursday, September 14.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Online sales are growing five times faster than store sales according to a benchmark study that reveals new trends in online shopping sites. As more companies turn to the Web to generate revenue, web designers and developers should review this study and develop skills to help organizations generate revenue.

"Leading retailers understand that 'customer experience' is the next competitive battleground," according to the study's author. "Ultimately, a company fosters a more loyal customer base, and customers are inclined to spend more." A press release is available from the Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group. A more detailed analysis entitled Enhanced Customer Experience: A Benchmark Study (pdf) is also available for review.

The study concludes with four suggestions to help internet marketing executives stay ahead of the curve in the battle for the future. These recommendations offer sound advice for any Web professional regardless of whether or not the website currently offers products and services for sale:

• Keep a vigilant eye on what competitors are offering
• Stay close to customers to understand their unique needs and preferences
• Constantly look for better ways to improve the site's ease of use while providing deeper, richer multimedia content
• Create meaningful ways for shoppers to interact with the company and each other when on the site
  

Twenty websites were evaluated in the benchmark study including the Top 10 U.S. Web retailers by revenue. Links to each site along with an analysis of the Web technology used at each website are listed below:

• Amazon.com (?)
• Best Buy (jsp)
• Blue Nile (asp)
• Cabela's (jsp)
• CDW (asp.net)
• Costco (asp.net)
• Dell (asp.net)
• JCPenney (asp.net)
• HP Shopping (Java)
• Home Depot (jsp)
• Netflix (?)
• Newegg (asp)
• Office Depot (Java)
• QVC (asp.net)
• Sears (Java)
• Sony Style (?)
• Staples (Java)
• Target (?)
• REI (?)
• Wal-Mart (Java)

In summary the majority of the largest online retailers utilize one of two competing technology clusters as follows:

• JSP/Java (8)
• ASP/ASP.NET (7)
• unknown (5)

[Note: Many technologies are easy to detect by their file extension (for example, .jsp, .asp. aspx, etc.) The five sites marked "unknown" may use Java or some other technology I am not familiar with.]

Web designers and developers who wish to position themselves for career opportunities as online retailing continues to expand at a rate of 20 percent per year would do well to learn one of the four technologies listed above. Access Boston Market -- July for links to job opportunities for Web professionals with knowledge and experience using these skills.

Oracle & Open Source

A survey of more than 250 companies using Oracle's proprietary database reveals that open source software is being used at 60% these companies. The most popular open source database software at these locations is MySQL. A press release (pdf) and a detailed survey results document (pdf) are available for review at the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) website.

While MySQL is gaining ground Oracle remains king of the database world. According to an analysis of the database market released by IDC, the Big Three database vendors are as follows (percentage of worldwide market):

• Oracle (45%)
• IBM (DB2) (21%)
• Microsoft (SQL Server) (17%)

The study finds that Microsoft is the big mover in this market and is gaining momentum with the release late last year of SQL Server 2005. "Microsoft is not the only vendor that the two giants -- Oracle and IBM -- are worried about," according to the study's author. "Alternatives such as the open source RDBMS [relational database management system] vendor MySQL are also attracting a good deal of attention and loyalty from a new generation of database developers."

As we saw in the Boston Market -- July TACK analysis, listing database knowledge and experience on your resume can open the door to more than ten times as many opportunities as listing design skills such as Dreamweaver and Flash. So, how can you learn about Oracle's proprietary database software when this software can cost tens of thousands of dollars (pdf) to purchase and install?

Here's the inside scoop: Oracle supports the open source community. In particular, Oracle and PHP are two compatible technologies. While PHP is free to download and use, Oracle is not -- at least not until recently. Oracle has followed the lead of Microsoft in developing an Express (FREE) version of its popular database software. An now, like Microsoft's SQL Server 2005 Express Edition before it, books are starting to appear on how to use the Oracle Database 10g Express Edition.

Strategy #1: If you are new to databases and PHP programming, then start by downloading PHP, MySQL and Apache, all FREE open-source software. Quite a few books are available to help get you started, including Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL and Apache All in One, 3rd Edition.

Strategy #2: If you want to upgrade your skills (and your market potential) into the Big Leagues, consider an investment in Oracle Database 10g Express Edition PHP Web Programming. This book will be available on September 8.

More than 500 Oracle jobs are currently available in the greater Boston area. Can you afford not to add Oracle database knowledge to your resume?

Emerging Technologies

An analysis of 36 key technologies has been released evaluating their potential impact on business over the next ten years. The technologies were classified into three major themes as follows:

• Web 2.0
• Real World Web
• Applications Architecture

The technologies in each category were given one of three "impact" ratings: transformational, high or moderate.

Key technologies in the Web 2.0 category along with their impact rating are listed below. Each of these technologies are expected to hit mainstream adoption in less than two years:

• Social Network Analysis (high)
• Ajax (high)
• Mashup (moderate)

The evaluation was conducted by Gartner, Inc. and is part of a series of studies called 2006 Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle. The analysis is an attempt to determine if a technology is a wave of the future or simply hype.

A press release offers details including the following definitions of key terms in the Web 2.0 category:

• Social Network Analysis (SNA) is the use of information and knowledge from many people and their personal networks. [LinkedIn is an example of a social network for professionals.] SNA involves collecting massive amounts of data from multiple sources, analyzing the data to identify relationships and mining it for new information.
• Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a collection of techniques that Web developers use to deliver an enhanced, more-responsive user experience in the confines of a modern browser.
• A "mashup" is a lightweight tactical integration of multi-sourced applications or content into a single offering.

So, what are the implications for web designers and developers? The time is now to begin developing solid skills in the technologies that underlie these emerging trends. In the area of Social Network Analysis, the key skill is database knowledge and expertise focusing particularly on Structured Query Language (SQL), the language used to move information into and out of databases. Ajax, of course, requires knowledge and expertise in JavaScript and XML.

SQL, JavaScript and XML. These skills are in high demand today as evident by the Boston Market -- July TACK analysis. Web professionals with expertise in implementing these technologies in a web environment will be in demand as the web continues to evolve and Web 2.0 goes mainstream.

Boston Market -- August

The summer ushered in a minor slowdown on the employment front in the greater Boston area. The Monster Local Employment Index (pdf) for June dropped slightly. This decrease appears to reflect a seasonal slowdown that Monster.com has experienced each of the last three summers. However, online demand for computer and mathematical (IT) positions reached a new high "suggesting an upbeat third-quarter hiring outlook for local technology professionals," according to the company's press release.

This continuing demand for IT workers is also reflected in the IT Employment Index (pdf) for July calculated by National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB).

This month's market analysis explores the demand for professionals with the title of webmaster. According to Wikipedia, "a webmaster (some women prefer webmistress) is a person responsible for designing, developing, marketing, or maintaining website(s). A broader definition of webmaster is a businessperson who uses online media to sell products and/or services. This broader definition of webmaster covers not just the technical aspects of overseeing website construction and maintenance but also management of content, advertising, marketing, and order fulfillment for the website."

So, a webmaster needs not only technical skills, but also, analytical and marketing skills. A search on keywords at job posting sites reveals that as the role of a web designer/developer expands from the expense side of the company's ledger (How much money will this website cost?") to the revenue side ("How much money will this website generate?") the number of job opportunities also expands.

Here is a listing of keywords commonly associated with "webmaster" along with the number of job listings posted for that keyword at two popular job search sites [ BostonWorks ] [ Monster ]:

• webmaster [ 9 ] [ 14 ]
• SEO (search engine optimization) [ 6 ] [ 19 ]
• web analytics [ 9 ] [ 22 ]
• e-marketing [ 5 ] [ 29 ]
• e-mail campaigns [ 24 ] [ 37 ]
• e-commerce [ 84 ] [ 268 ]

The bottom line is that web designers and developers who position themselves as valued members of the revenue-generation (e-commerce) team will experience more and better job prospects in today's marketplace.

The first step in positioning your skills for e-commerce opportunities is to demonstrate the basic ability to measure website traffic, referred to as web analytics. For an overview of web analytics, access a 13-minute podcast entitled Startup Guide to Website Analytics.

The market leading software company in this space is WebTrends. A basic open-source version of this software is available for FREE from Google. Google Analytics is offered by invitation only; however, you can request an invitation. My experience is that you'll only have to wait a few days to receive instructions for getting started.

Adding "web analytics" to your tool kit is an easy first step in developing the analytical skills necessary to position yourself on the revenue side of any company's balance sheet. And once you can demonstrate that your expertise pays for itself, what company wouldn't hire you?

The 90 / 90 Rule

Over the next five years state and local governments will lead the push toward open source software, according to an analysis conducted by market research firm Government Insight. The report estimates a 30% compound annual growth rate in open source software spending through 2009.

Combine this trend with the shift toward Internet-based software (Software as a Service) in the form of Web applications and the future looks bright for Web designers with "back-end" programming and database skills.

Let's look at the data. According to Netcraft's July 2006 Web Server Survey, Open-source Apache Web server hosts approximately 60% of the world's web sites. Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) hosts approximately 30%. And Microsoft has experienced a resurgence in the past six months capturing market share from Apache. This growth spurt corresponds to Microsoft's release of Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and ASP.NET 2.0.

The practical implications are the following:

• Web developers in the government, not-for-profit and small business sectors should position themselves for future growth by investing training time in learning "LAMP stack" technologies (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)
• Web developers in the large-company, for-profit world should consider developing Microsoft-specific Web application technology skills centered on ASP.NET and SQL Server

Here's the 90 / 90 Rule:

"Ninety percent of the world's 90 million websites are hosted on two technology platforms: Apache and Microsoft."

Implication:

Web developers proficient in open source (PHP & MySQL) and proprietary (ASP.NET and SQL Server) technologies will be best positioned for career security for the remainder of the decade.

Time for a Redesign?

How big is the Internet? According to Metamend, a search engine optimization (SEO) firm, when Bill Clinton was first inaugurated as President in January 1993 there were 200 hostnames in use and only eight of them ended in .com or .net! According to the Netcraft July 2006 Web Server Survey, during the first six months of 2006 an estimated two million hostnames have been added to the Internet -- that's 2,000,000 per month!

So, there is plenty of new work out there for web designers and developers. What about old work -- reworking sites that are already up and running?

According to Best Website Services, a Chicago-based consulting firm, here is the one question you can use to initiate a dialogue with a client about the potential for a site redesign:

"Is the basic design of your Web site more than two years old?"

If so, the potential client should consider a redesign. Here are seven follow-up questions you can use in your discussion with that client that will help clarify the need for a redesign:

1. Was the site built on a tight budget?
2. Does the site look dated?
3. Has the client's business changed?
4. Has the competition gotten ahead of the client?
5. Has the client gained a better understanding of its customers?
6. Is the content difficult or costly to keep fresh?
7. Does the client need to increase the site's visibility?

For a detailed explanation of each talking point access "Seven Signs You Need a Web Site Redesign."

Ajax Workshop

As we read in last week's post, Web 2.0 means different things to different people. But the one Web 2.0 buzzword that may add value to your resume right now is Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML).

A FREE AJAX Workshop is now available online. The first class starts Friday, August 4. One new class session will be posted each week for a total of ten weeks.

The workshop is offered by a technology architect at Sun Microsystems. While the course is designed as an overview there are prerequisites as follows:

• Some HTML experience helpful but not required
• Some JavaScript experience helpful but not required
• 1 month Java programming experience
• 1 month web application programming experience

The course creator offers links to tutorials to help you gain experience with technologies you may not feel comfortable with. In addition, several software packages and components need to be downloaded and installed in order to participate fully. Check out the Course FAQ for details to help you decide if the training is right for you at this time -- the workshop will be offered several times throughout the year.

To register simply join the Ajax Workshop Yahoo! Group or send an e-mail to ajaxworkshop-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

If you decide to make a commitment to Ajax training, additional materials are available to assist with your development. In particular, check out the following books available from Sams Publishing:

• Sams Teach Yourself Ajax in 10 Minutes
• Sams Teach Yourself XML in 10 Minutes

If you have more than ten minutes to devote to your career development, then check out the following:

• Sams Teach Yourself JavaScript in 24 Hours, 4th Edition

The "10 Minute" books will set you back $15 each. The "24 Hour" book costs $25. When you become a Sams Publishing member -- which is FREE -- you'll receive a 30% discount on your first order.

So, for a maximum investment of only $40, plus a consistent time commitment over a ten-week period, you could become one of the first kids on your block to put Ajax to use. Wouldn't that make your mom proud?

Dale Carnegie Skills

"The only way candidates can win that next coveted job is to distinguish themselves from the other hundreds of job seekers vying for the role," according to Gary Lust, a senior technology recruiter. "Everyone . . . can do the tech stuff. To get to that next level you have to provide both the tech and the business skills necessary today," continues Lust in an interview in Information Week.

Lust suggests technology professionals should consider developing "Dale Carnegie" skills to help distinguish themselves from their equally qualified peers. The most valuable non-technical skill for technology professionals to develop may well be sales skills.

No matter where you are in the life cycle of your career, sales skills can make a difference when attempting to . . .

• land that first job
• land a better job
• land a consulting assignment
• convince a client they should use your services over your competition's

One of the best ways to learn about sales skills, and begin practicing proven sales techniques, is to follow the lead of business executives who are constantly looking for that competitive advantage. BusinessWeek magazine offers insight each month with the publication of The BusinessWeek Best-Seller List (pdf). Sitting in the four and five positions are the following:

• The Little Red Book of Selling
• The Little Red Book of Sales Answers

In an earlier blog article I reviewed The World is Flat, the long-standing #1 on this popular list of business books. I outlined why technology professionals should read this book to help understand how to position themselves in today's global economy.

In these companion books sales expert Jeffrey Gitomer provides insight into the sales process. Like many technology professionals I find myself a bit uncomfortable in my current roll as "salesman" as I attempt to advance my career by landing a new job. What I found most refreshing about Gitomer's approach is that many of the manipulative sales techniques we've all been exposed to from time to time (think: used car salesman) are actually counterproductive. Successful long-term sales is more about relationship-building and adding value up front before the sale is made.

If you are looking to land that first job, make more money, or otherwise advance your technology career, then The Little Red Book of Selling and The Little Red Book of Sales Answers might be more valuable than any technology book on your shelf today. Buy them, read them, study them, master them -- profit from them!

Web 2.0 Update

According to one viewpoint, Web 2.0 is a vague buzzword with no fixed meaning that incorporates whatever is new and popular on the Web (blogs, podcasts, social networks, etc.).

According to Wikipedia, "Web 2.0 refers to a second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate and share information online."

According to the majority of Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Web 2.0 is a combination of promise and hype. The results of a recent poll of 184 CIOs reveals how they view Web 2.0:

• a promising new business model (9%)
• marketing hype (20%)
• a combination of promise and hype (56%)
• unsure (15%)

An analysis of the current job market confirms the viewpoint of the majority of CIOs. Listed below are a few of the buzzwords commonly associated with "Web 2.0" along with the number of job listings mentioning that keyword [BostonWorks.com, Monster.com]:

• Ajax [ 22 ][ 68 ]
• RSS [ 1 ][ 17 ]
• blog [ 4 ][ 1 ]
• wiki [ 3 ][ 2 ]
• mashup [ 0 ][ 0 ]
• podcast [ 2 ][ 0 ]

Clearly, Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is the one Web 2.0 technique that has value in today's marketplace. However, knowledge of the technologies that are used in the Ajax technique (JavaScript and XML) carry even greater market weight as follows:

• XML [ 212 ][ 618 ]
• JavaScript [ 140 ][ 314 ]
• Ajax [ 22 ][ 68 ]

By this measure XML is a full order of magnitude (10 times) more valuable in the marketplace than Ajax. If you want to place a bet on Web 2.0, it makes sense to place it on XML.

To learn more about XML, sign up for XML: Introduction, a FREE course offered at the HP Learning Center. Class begins Thursday, July 13.

Boston Market -- Third Quarter, 2006

The Monster Employment Index hit another all-time high in June -- its eighth new high in the last 12 months -- indicating strong job demand. "Higher demand for white-collar occupations such as management, finance and IT suggests continued momentum of U.S. economy amid increasingly tight labor market," according to a Monster press release.

Beantown Web monitors IT jobs (Web-related jobs to be specific) on a monthly basis via the "Boston Market" series of postings. Beginning this month, and continuing on a quarterly basis, Beantown Web will conduct a more thorough TACK analysis. Acronyms abound throughout the technology industry and TACK is Beantown Web's contribution to the naming confusion. TACK stands for Tools, Acronyms, Containers, and Knowledge.

• Tools -- software programs used in Web design and development
• Acronyms -- languages used in Web design and development
• Containers -- database programs used to store information
• Knowledge -- certifications that indicate proficiency in a specific technology area

One way to gauge the current job demand is through a keyword search on specific technology skills at selective online job sites. Beantown Web monitors two sites: BostonWorks and Monster. Keywords are then grouped into one of the four TACK categories.

A few of the common keywords associated with Web design and Web development jobs are included in the listings below.

Note: the numbers in parentheses indicate the number of job postings that list that keyword in the job description. [ First number: BostonWorks.com ][ Second number: Monster.com ]

Tools (software)

• Photoshop [ 92 ][219]
• Flash [ 44 ][ 38 ]
• Dreamweaver [ 46 ][ 81 ]
• Visual Studio [ 29 ][ 116 ]

Acronyms (languages)

• SQL [ 538 ][ 1000 ]
• HTML [ 269 ][ 605 ]
• XML [ 221 ][ 632 ]
• ASP [ 165 ] [ 383 ]
• JavaScript [ 141 ][ 324 ]
• ASP.NET [ 116 ][ 206 ]
• JSP [ 99 ] [ 190 ]
• CSS [ 63 ][ 187 ]
• PHP [ 34 ][ 77 ]

Containers (databases)

• Oracle [ 501 ][ 1000 ]
• MS Access [ 244 ][ 447 ]
• SQL Server [ 193 ][ 488 ]
• MySQL [ 33 ][ 108 ]

Knowledge (certifications)

• The demand for certified professionals varies by discipline. All things being equal certification helps to distinguish you from your competition. An appropriate certification entry point for Web design and Web development professionals is Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW). For a complete listing of all technology certifications, along with links to the appropriate certification Website, be sure to check out the Web Apprentices Career Center.

A few quick observations:

• Monster.com consistently lists twice as many opportunities as BostonWorks.com
• Acronym (language) skills are in greater demand than Tool (software) skills
• Container (database) skills are in greater demand than Tool (software) skills

Web designers and developers who want to maneuver their careers (TACK through the winds of constant technology change) should focus on one Acronym (language) and one Container (database) and set a near-term goal to obtain additional training and experience.

Recommended training courses for July are as follows:

• XML: Introduction
• JavaScript: Web Programming Basics
• Access 2003: Introduction

All three courses are available for FREE compliments of the HP Learning Center. Classes begin Thursday, July 13.

The 86 Best Places to Work

Computerworld has identified the 100 Best Places to Work in IT in America. Three of them are in Massachusetts:

• Partners HealthCare System, Inc. (Boston)
• Raytheon Company (Waltham)
• State Street Corp. (Boston)

The Society of Human Resource Management has identified the 50 Best Small and Medium Businesses to Work in America. Three of them are in Massachusetts:

• Digital Federal Credit Union (Marlborough)
• Grand Circle Corporation (Boston)
• The Brattle Group (Cambridge)

The Boston Business Journal has identified the 80 Best Places to Work in Massachusetts in four categories as follows:

Emerging Companies (10-24 Employees)

• Aloft Group, Inc. (Newburyport)
• ath Power Consulting (Andover)
• Cafco Construction Management, Inc. (Boston)
• Capstone Partners (Boston)
• cm&b (Lynnfield)
• Corporate Project Partners (Boston)
• Costantino Richards Rizzo, LLP (Wakefield)
• GVA Thompson Doyle Hennessey & Stevens (Boston)
• Harris Williams & Co. (Boston)
• Interactive Supercomputing, Inc. (Waltham)
• KGA, Inc. (Kathleen Greer Associates) (Framingham)
• King Fish Media (Salem)
• Lighthouse Placement Services, LLC (Bradford)
• LIKARR Maintenance Systems (Foxborough)
• Michael Page International (Boston)
• Nantero, Inc. ( Woburn)
• Radius Financial Group (Quincy)
• SwervePoint (Middleton)
• Talent Retriever, LLC (Burlington)
• Tangosol ( Somerville)

Small Companies (25-100 Employees)

• AccuRev, Inc. (Lexington)
• AllergyBuyersClub.com (Waltham)
• BlueNote Networks (Tewksbury)
• Bullhorn, Inc. (Boston)
• Cresa Partners (Boston)
• Eliassen Group (Wakefield)
• Everon Technology Services (Boston)
• G.W. & Wade, Inc. (Wellesley)
• Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP (Westwood)
• Longfellow Benefits (Boston)
• Mazu Networks (Cambridge)
• Professional Staffing Group (Boston)
• Pyxis Mobile (Waltham)
• Salesnet (Boston)
• StreamBase Systems, Inc. (Lexington)
• The Castle Group (Boston)
• Thrive Networks (Concord)
• TolerRx, Inc. (Cambridge)
• Vestmark, Inc. (Wakefield)
• XOsoft (Waltham)

Midsize Companies (101-500 Employees)

• Aspect Medical Systems (Newton)
• Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP (Boston)
• Commonwealth Financial Network (Waltham)
• Consigli Construction Co., Inc. (Milford)
• Cubist Pharmaceuticals (Lexington)
• Danversbank (Danvers)
• Enterprise Bank (Lowell)
• Gentle Giant Moving Company (Somerville)
• ITA Software (Cambridge)
• Kforce Professional Staffing (Boston)
• Mt. Washington Bank (South Boston)
• Sentillion (Andover)
• Suffolk Construction Company, Inc. (Boston)
• TransForm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Lexington)
• Triumvirate Environmental (Somerville)
• Vitale Caturano & Company, Ltd. (Boston)
• William A. Berry & Son, Inc. (Danvers)
• Winter, Wyman & Company (Waltham)
• Wolf & Company, P.C. (Boston)
• Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C. (Boston)

Large Companies (500+ Employees)

• Arnold Worldwide (Boston)
• Bingham McCutchen (Boston)
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions (Watertown)
• Comcast (Manchester, NH)
• Deloitte & Touche USA LLP (Boston)
• Digitas, Inc. (Boston)
• Ernst & Young, LLP (Boston)
• Genzyme Corporation (Cambridge)
• Hallmark Health System (Malden)
• Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (Wellesley)
• International Data Group (Boston)
• Kronos Incorporated (Chelmsford)
• Mount Auburn Hospital (Cambridge)
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Boston)
• Seaport Companies (Boston)
• Sepracor (Marlborough)
• Shawmut Design and Construction (Boston)
• Shields Health Care (Quincy)
• SolidWorks Corporation (Concord)
• Winchester Hospital (Winchester)

The Business of Blogging

On average a new blog is created every second of every day -- that's 75,000 new blogs a day, according to Technorati, a website that tracks the blogosphere. Many of these blogs are personal, but increasingly, they are seen as valuable business tools. In fact, . . .

"Blogs will make or break your business." This opening sentence sets the premise for a new research report published by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. The study surveyed 74 well-known and established bloggers in their respective fields.

From a business perspective blogs can act as "huge ongoing focus groups providing feedback and ideas." So the question that researchers asked was "how does a business enter and thrive in the blogosphere?"

The two primary reasons for starting a business blog are as follows (percentage of respondents):

1. marketing / promotional use (31%)
2. public relations / communicate with customers (27%)

Here are a few blogosphere truths outlined in the report:

1. Blogs take time and commitment
2. Blogs must be part of a plan
3. A blog is a conversation
4. Transparency, authenticity, and focus are good. Bland is bad.

For complete details access, Behind the Scenes in the Blogosphere: Advice from Established Bloggers (pdf).

Once you launch your business blog, consider providing a link to the iBlog Business Directory. Billed as the World’s First Business Blog Directory Solely Dedicated to Business and Corporate Blogs, your submission is free and the service could help put you in touch with potential readers for the business topic you are writing about.

What are the implications for Web designers and developers? That's easy. We possess the tools and information to help guide business leaders in establishing a presence on the Internet. A business blog is another tool designed to help businesses communicate and we are uniquely positioned to advise business leaders on the process. Download this report today, study it, and use it to open a dialogue with current and prospective clients.

IT Labor Market Update

New online job ads increased in May according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series™. The number of new online job ads in May was slightly lower than the record levels in March. New England remains the region with the highest number of new online jobs. For every 100 workers there were 2.38 job ads.

A closer look at the technology marketplace reveals that U.S. tech employment is near an all-time high while unemployment is around 3.0%, near its record low. According to a WashTech/CWA report unemployment is underreported and is actually around 3.6%. Any number less than 4% is below the national average for other sectors and suggests a healthy tech employment environment.

So where are the IT jobs? According to a quarterly survey of Chief Information Officers (CIOs), 13 percent of executives polled plan to add IT staff in the next three months and three percent anticipate cutbacks. The net 10 percent hiring increase is up two percentage points from the previous quarter’s forecast.

"As the employment market becomes more competitive, technology executives will need to focus their efforts on sound retention strategies," according to the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.

When asked which technical skill sets were needed most within their IT departments, CIOs responded as follows (percent responding):

• Microsoft Windows administration (Server 2000/2003) (79%)
• network administration (Cisco, Nortel, Novell) (76%)
• database management (Oracle, SQL Server, DB2) (69%)

The implication for Web designers and developers is clear: to improve marketability formalize your training and expand your experience in the following two areas:

• Web server administration
• database-driven Web applications

One class to consider is Firewall Basics available for FREE at the HP Learning Center.

Offshoring Update

Are technology jobs moving offshore? Research suggests that concerns are overblown. If fact, "IT positions requiring advanced degrees and business knowledge are growing at a pace on par with the boom years experienced in the 1990s," according to a newly released research study.

However, low-level technology jobs are most at risk for moving offshore. These jobs generally meet the following criteria:

• labor intensive
• easy to codify
• requires little face-to-face contact

A press summary and a detailed report (pdf) of "Offshoring of Information-Technology Jobs: Myths and Realities" is available from American Sentinel University.

So, what are some of the high level technology jobs that are likely to continue to be in demand?

According to Money Magazine's Best Jobs in America two of the Top 10 jobs are the following:

• Software Engineer [ average pay: $80,427 ]
• Computer IT analyst [ average pay: $83,427 ]

How does your job compare? Check out the statistics on The Top 50 jobs, as well as, 166 additional job titles.

Boston Market -- June

Average IT workers are doing well financially in America. Average is good enough to earn $73,000 as an IT staffer. If you have management expertise then average is good enough to earn $99,000 as an IT manager. These figures represent salaries (and bonus, if applicable) and do not reflect the value of benefits which can add an additional 30% beyond salary. These findings are summarized in the InformationWeek Research's National IT Salary Survey, an annual query of more than 10,000 technology professionals.

The lowest-paying IT jobs are in the following categories:

• networking
• training
• IT support

Job titles matter. If you want to earn a six-figure income work your way into a job title that includes one of the following:

• architect
• sales support engineer

If you are manager the largest pay packages includes that following job functions:

• data mining and data warehouse
• human resources IT
• Web infrastructure
• ERP
• enterprise application integration

Charts are available to graphically represent the compensation for staffers and managers in the most common IT functions. Compensation for Web design and development averages $64,000 for staffers and $88,000 for managers. How does your pay check compare?

So, what do you do if you want to enjoy a bigger pay day? Here are three options to consider:

• acquire additional technology skills
• prepare for a move into management
• acquire business skills

"Technology is integrated into all aspects of business, which means technical aptitude alone will not suffice for IT candidates," according to a representative of Robert Half Technology. Their national poll of more than 1,400 CIOs from large companies reveals that forty-one percent said they are placing greater emphasis on job candidates’ knowledge of business fundamentals. To be competitive in today's IT marketplace technology workers need basic business proficiency in finance, marketing and management.

So, here's the training recommendation for June:

• Learn higher level technology skills
• Learn to manage projects and people
• Learn more about business

In order to earn more you have to learn more. What you learn this month will be reflected in what you earn next month and beyond.