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Pay Rates in the Information TechnologyCompensation in the Information Technology Field by Skill Sets - 2001PUBLISHED: August 2001 Summary of the 391-page Compensation in the Information Technology Field by Skill Sets - 2001 survey report of 36 benchmark jobs from Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc. The following describes the highest and lowest paid job characteristics, the national median total cash compensation for 11 benchmark jobs, and the factors affecting salary (Geographic Area, Type of Employer, Size of Organization, Level of Education, Length of Experience, Hardware Environment, Primary Operating System Environment, Primary Network Operating System Environment, Primary Computer Language/System, and Primary Database Development/Maintenance Environment).
While the median Senior Systems Analyst/Applications Programmer makes $62,951 per year, the lowest-paid individuals reported in the group make under $29,000 annually, 10% make under $50,001, 10% over $80,476, and the highest-paid individuals reported in the group make over $99,000. This is a range of over 249% in starting salaries for the same basic job.
This information represents the briefest possible "boil-down" of part of the voluminous data gathered regarding the current salary, salary ranges, bonuses & profit-sharing, and numerous demographic variables provided by 129 organizations for over 1,200 employees in the Information Technology field by skill set. The end results of the survey appear in Compensation in Information Technology by Skill Sets, 2001. Copies of the 391-page report are available for $995.00 through our On-Line Order Form or from Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc., Dept. NET, 548 First St., Crete, IL 60417 (telephone 708/672-4200; fax 708/672-4674). Overall Compensation In addition to the income of the job already discussed, the median total cash compensation of some of the other 34 jobs included in the survey report are:
The apparent anomalies in the list above tend to "wash out" when consideration is given to the various demographic variables for which statistics are reported separately in the complete survey report. Geographic Area Most Information Technology jobs are compensated best in the Pacific and Midwestern states and least well in the North Central and Southwestern/Mountain states, with the Northeastern and Southeastern states falling between. The overall difference in pay between the best-paying and worst-paying regions is 39%. Type of Employer Looking at specific industries, the highest-paying employers tend to include automobiles and trucks manufacturers, consulting firms, and producers of food/beverage/tobacco and building materials products. The lowest-paying employers usually include the following: nonprofit organizations; hospitality organizations; transportation services; communication services; and health care organizations. The "spread" of median salaries between the best-paying and worst-paying industry is 127%. Size of Organization This factor is generally a good predictor of compensation in the Information Technology field, whether it is in terms of fiscal size, total number of employees, or total annual IT budget. Median income is highest in firms with total annual revenues of between $250,000,000 and $499,999,999 and lowest in firms making under $250,000,000, resulting in a 43% spread. The spread is 34% between organizations with an IT budget of under $500,000 and those with an IT budget of $2,500,000 or more. For organizations of 10,000 employees or more and organizations of under 500 employees, the spread is 24%. Level of Education Higher educational attainment is generally rewarded by higher income in Information Technology jobs. Overall income rises regularly with increased education (rising 24% from the median income of those with less than a BA/BS/BBA to the median income of those with a graduate degree, and 12% from the median income of those with a bachelor degree to the median income of those with a graduate degree). Length of Experience As could be expected, length of experience is directly related to the income of Information Technology employees. The median income of those with 15-19 years of experience or more is 44% higher than those with under five years of experience. Hardware Environment Working in a large-computer environment brings a premium of 27% in income over the earnings of those working with single-user computers. Primary Operating System Environment In a micro environment, those working with Windows 3.x/95/98 (the bulk of those in this environment) earned 3% more than the average in the field, with Windows NT making about the average, with UNIX 4% less than the average, and with Apple Macintosh making 23% less than the average. In a mini environment, those working with UNIX earned 21% more than the average in the field, with OS/400 5% less, and with VMS 11% less. In a mainframe environment, those working with MVS (the majority) earned 1% more than the average in the field, with VM 19% less. Primary Network Operating System Environment In a network environment, those working with UNIX earned 36% more than those working with Windows NT, 18% more than those working with Novell, and 19% more than those working with OS/2. Primary Computer Language/System Compensation was investigated on the basis of fifteen computer languages/systems. Those working with UNIX Shell (ic) earned most (with a median income of $79,246), followed by those working with: Java, C, SQL, PL/1, and COBOL (all between $71,121 and $60,000). C++ was the worst-paying field (with a median of $51,084), preceded by Visual Basic, RPG III/RPG400, and Power Builder (all between $53,950 and $59,748). Primary Database Development/Maintenance Environment In a database development/maintenance environment, those working with Oracle fared best (with median annual incomes of $63,739). They were followed by those working with Sybase, DB2, and SQL Server (all between $63,166 and $50,000).
See other salary and benefits survey reports in information technology |
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