IT Salaries Leveling Off, Survey Finds

Salaries are flat but bonuses are down, Janco's latest benchmarks show.

Janco Associates, a management consulting firm that benchmarks IT salaries, today released its 2010 IT Salary Survey, which shows that overall pay has flattened out and that some hiring demand has appeared for IT professionals.

"The economic climate is still driven by a cost-cutting mindset, business closures, and extensive outsourcing," said Victor Janulaitis, Janco CEO, in a statement. "However, the worst seems to be over as salaries for IT professionals are no longer falling. Many 'baby-boomers' who had planned on retiring in the next few years are not leaving the job market, frustrating middle-aged workers who want to advance."

Summary Janco results show the mean compensation (which includes bonuses) for all IT executive positions surveyed is $143,776 (a slight increase from $142,753) in large enterprises and $123,646 (a slight decrease from $123,728) in mid-sized enterprises. Base compensation has shown a slight increase; however the study shows that there was a 13% decrease in the number of employees receiving personal performance bonuses and an 11% decrease in those receiving enterprise based performance bonuses. "Bonuses are trailing indicators and should return as soon as the recovery takes hold," Janulaitis said.

Janco found the factors holding compensation flat and dampening hiring demand are: companies continue to reduce benefits provided to all employees including IT professionals; many companies have instituted hiring and spending freezes in addition to laying off; and outsourcing has been focused on management and support staff where the bulk of compensation expenses are incurred.

Janco has captured IT compensation data since 1996 and publishes its IT Salary Survey semiannually. The IT Salary Survey is based on Janco's IT professionals' compensation database. Compensation benchmark hiring and salary ranges are established for each position surveyed. In analyzing the study data, the upper and lower quartiles are eliminated to determine the benchmark ranges. The benchmark ranges are then used to assess the alignment of a company's actual compensation to the marketplace for each job function. A summary of the most recent salary survey can be downloaded here.