Benefits December 6, 2001

2002 Tech Salaries Flatten Out

December 6, 2001(PLANSPONSOR.com) - The record-low unemployment figures and competition for workers, which led to sharp salary increased for information technology (IT) professionals during the tech boom, are a thing of the past, the new RHI Consulting Salary Guide reveals.
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Base compensation for information technology professionals will remain virtually unchanged in 2002. At the same time, starting salaries are projected to increase by an average of 0.1% in 2002, compared to the 8.4% increase forecast this time last year.

Money Talk

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According to the guide, network security professionals will see the greatest starting salary increases of any job category, for the second year in a row, with base compensation expected to rise by 3.4% in 2002.

In terms of job title, Applications architects can expect the largest rise in base compensation – an increase of 6.7% in average starting salary compared to 2001, while starting salaries for consulting and systems integration directors should rise an average of 6.1%, according to research from RHI Consulting.

Show Me the Money

Other notable increases in starting salaries from 2001, according to the guide, include:

  • a 4.8% increase for database managers, bringing their base compensation to between $83,000 and $114,000,
  • a 4.7% rise for software engineers, their starting salaries moving to between $65,000 and $97,000,
  • disaster recovery specialists will see starting salaries increase 3.1% to between $57,000 and $86,000,
  • base compensation for senior help desk specialists will increase by 4.9%, with starting salaries in the range of  $57,000 and $45,000,
  • systems administrators will earn average starting salaries between $51,000 and $72,500 annually, a gain of 2.1% over 2001

Sector Watch

Industries forecasting particularly strong demand for IT professionals in 2002 include:

· health care,
· financial services, and
· real estate

Information in the Salary Guide is derived from thousands of job searches, negotiations and placements conducted each year by RHI Consulting recruiting specialists.

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