Larger Salaries in 2014 for IT Pros
Posted February 10th, 2014
For skilled IT professionals, 2014 is an opportune time to make earning more money a feasible New Year’s resolutions. Top talent is in high demand and companies must be poised to meet it, as indicated by the most recent survey from Dice.com.
Dice.com polled 17,236 technical professionals during a six-week period from October through November 2013. Results showed that the average U.S. technical salary rose 2.6 percent last year to $87,811. More companies – 45 percent in 2013 compared to 40 percent in 2012 – gave merit raises, the number-one reason listed as a factor in compensation improvements.
Staff Retention Challenges
Among IT employees who expect to change jobs in 2014, the reason listed by 68 percent of survey respondents was a desire for higher compensation. Other factors included:
- Better working conditions (48 percent).
- More responsibility (35 percent).
- Job security (20 percent).
Fifty-four percent of respondents said they were not content with their current compensation situation. Although this was down slightly from 57 percent in 2012, it still speaks ominously of the retention challenges faced by employers in today’s high-demand IT marketplace. Especially since 65 percent of those surveyed said they feel confident they can find a better position by the end of this year.
Top IT Talent Coveted
Among IT pros who got raises in 2013, 23 percent attributed their increases to moving to another company. To avoid losing A-level technical talent, 66 percent of employers offered incentives for their IT workers to remain loyal and stay where they were. Increased compensation was the most popular incentive, followed by
- More interesting work.
- Better work/life balance, achieved through telecommuting and flexible scheduling.
Big Data Leads the Way
IT skills that draw six-figure salaries are led by data scientists:
- Individuals skilled in the popular statistical computing language Knowing R earn an average of $115, 531 a year.
- Those with NoSQL database development skills average an annual salary of $114,796.
- Professionals adept at processing large data sets using MapReduce earn an average of $144,396 annually.
Other technical sectors that top the $100,000 earning level are:
- User experience and design utilizing the Omingraffle tool: $111,039.
- Project management: $109,598.
- Cloud computing with OpenStack: $106,957.
- Development operations using the Jenkins tool: $104,461.
- Mobile development using Objective C: $102,652.
- Front-end development with proficiency using Angular tools: $101,208.
Not surprisingly, CIOs, CTOs and vice presidents responsible for corporate IT functions comprise the industry’s highest earning brackets. Their average 2013 salary of $132,974 was an eight percent increase over 2012. They are followed by:
- Systems architects: $125,467.
- Data architects: $118,756.
IT positions paying in the lowest salary brackets include:
- PC technicians: $38,932.
- Help desk workers: $45,512.
- Desktop support specialists: $49,033.
Location, Location, Location
IT specialists are likely to command the highest annual salary if they work in California’s Silicon Valley, where earnings averaged $108,603 last year. Those in the defense and aerospace industries in the Washington D.C. area ranked second in 2013 income, at $97,588. This was followed by earnings in:
- Los Angeles: $95,815.
- Seattle: $95,048.
- Boston: $94,531.
- New York: $93,915.
- Denver: $93,195.
- Philadelphia: $92,138.
- Austin, Texas: $91,994.
Coast to coast, 2014 promises ample career opportunities for IT professionals on the go. To stay ahead of the competition in attracting and retaining your top technical talent, read our related posts or contact the expert team at Bayside Solutions today. If you are looking for information technology jobs in northern California, contact our team today.
