It may be impolite to talk about how much money someone makes. But it’s valuable information to have at your fingertips.
As IT is called on to wear more and more hats and take a larger role in the business, salaries also seem to be on the rise – to an extent.
According to a survey of 1,711 IT pros by Tech Target:
- 55% of respondents saw a raise last year (an average of 5.5%)
- 33% received a bonus, and
- 53% expected to get a raise in 2014.
Breakdown by position
The survey also ranked average salaries by the position titles. Some of the most common include:
- Senior IT executives – $164,090
- CSO/CISO – $147,934
- Project manager – $116,933
- IT manager – $104,278
- Programmer/developer – $98,763
- Network manager – $71,390
Things aren’t picking up for everyone
Even with salary increases and bonuses, there are some companies that aren’t feeling quite so generous. While 38% of respondents expected their department’s budget to grow this year, an equal number expected them to stay stagnant and 24% expected a decline.
And 28% expect the department to cut personnel or are in a hiring freeze.
Keys for negotiating
For those who didn’t see a salary increase this year for themselves or their employees, you may want to consider:
- Breaking down budgets. Talk with higher-ups about how much of your department’s funding goes to equipment and maintenance v. personnel and salaries. Readjusting this balance may be in order to avoid costly turnover.
- Establish staffing levels. Give decision-makers in the budget process an idea of just how much staff is needed to maintain current productivity and establish a baseline for how much you can get by on. Giving realistic expectations for your staff levels could help decision-makers see at what point getting by with less is no longer realistic or possible
- Review the figures. Compare the survey’s figures (or other salary measurements) with what your company is offering to make sure you’re able to retain and attract the best talent in IT.
