Tuesday, June 17, 2003


From InformationWeek

Outlook Brightens For Tech Staffing June 16, 2003


More companies plan to hire I.T. staffers; compensation has stopped falling
By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee



Since the end of the war in Iraq, IT salaries have stabilized and more companies are planning to hire tech staff, according to a new study by management consulting firm Janco Associates.

IT compensation that had been on a "deflationary, spiraling fall" over the last four quarters has stopped its decline since the end of the recent war, says Vic Janulaitis, CEO of Janco, which conducted its most recent semiannual survey of 300 companies at the end of March.

"I think this shows that most companies have realized that there aren't any more places to cut," in terms of IT and tech talent, Janulaitis says. The end of the war as well as positive business outlooks regarding tax cuts seems to be fueling a bit of new confidence for IT investments, particularly in E-business, object programming, security, and voice and wireless technologies, he says.

CIO pay, which had been falling since 2001, has leveled off at about 1998 rates, with mean salaries of about $375,000. Mean salaries for all IT positions in large companies increased to $80,030 in the second quarter of 2003, up from $78,687 in the last quarter of 2002.

Among IT professionals seeing the biggest jumps in total compensation, including bonuses and salaries, were Internet-related managers at midsize companies. Their mean pay rose more than 17%, from $82,500 in the last 2002 quarter to $96,628 in the second quarter of 2003, says the Janco report.

Benchmark pay for Internet managers has been on a bit of a roller coaster: $109,749 in June 2002, sliding to $94,875 in January 2003, now rebounding to $149,259 in March of this year. Janco defines benchmark pay as the total compensation needed to obtain and retain top talent for a particular post.

Also, those in voice and wireless communication and security positions are seeing their status rise--the ranking and seniority of those jobs have been upgraded within many companies. Before 2002, IT professionals with those skills mostly held lower to mid-level positions, but this year those jobs are filled by mid- to senior-level people.

People in the highest IT levels are staying put, particularly executives nearing retirement age, according to the report's findings. Individuals who had planned on retiring in 2003 and 2004 have seen their retirement portfolios shrink in the last two years, so they're deferring retirement. Janco also found that many of these individuals have focused on staying in their current jobs, versus looking elsewhere for increases in compensation.

Janulaitis sees some soft spots, particularly in IT training and infrastructure. "If you have jobs in those areas, I wouldn't try looking for new ones right now," he says. But, "as long as there aren't any terrorist attacks or other negative events," Janulaitis is hopeful that the positive signs in this quarter's survey indicate the beginning of an overall upward trend.

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