Does IT Pay To Work Hard?
Sarah Jones, 04/12/2009, posted in "Analysis"
Sarah Jones is a Recruitment Specialist at The IT Job Board. ...more info
Sarah Jones is a Recruitment Specialist at The IT Job Board. ...less info
Last month over 1,500 employees of the IT services company Fujitsu voted in favour of taking strike action against the organisation following the revelation of plans to cuts jobs, pay and pensions. All are members of the union Unite, which claims that for some, the proposal could translate to a 20% reduction in pension value.
But is this fast becoming the norm in the IT sector or is this affecting some areas of the industry more than others? While some are working overtime to secure their place on the payroll, others are fed up with being forced to accept sub-standard working conditions and are resorting to strike action. My company (The IT Job Board) conducted some research to determine the extent to which IT salaries and benefits of IT professionals has been affected by the credit crunch.
IT job salaries
IT Jobs Watch statistics reveal an increase in average pay for IT professionals across the board in the UK. Looking at the salaries for Java Engineering jobs, Senior C++ jobs or Lead Test Analyst jobs as examples, they’re all up over 100% year on year. But could this mean that businesses are willing to pay more for the knowledge and experience of a highly skilled IT professional? Or could it be a reflection of growing confidence within a stabilising market and an optimistic outlook for 2010?
Was this the same story for the IT professionals that took part in our survey? A mere 17.8% of our survey base informed us that their circumstances had not been affected by the market conditions of the past year. Yet a significant number (40.2%) said their salaries have been frozen and 7.5% have even had to accept a pay cut. A quarter of IT professionals in our survey had suffered redundancies (25.2%) so it seems wage freezes and pay cuts are the lesser evils given the circumstances.
Where redundancies, pay cuts and wage freezes have occurred, over 80% revealed that staff members at all levels were hit, indicating a reduction in the size of the workforce as a whole rather than chopping those at the top of the scale to make a quick saving.
Benefits of IT professionals
Many IT professionals stated that additional benefits such as bonus pay have been revoked. But this is probably an understandable cut to make under the circumstances. There has also been anecdotal evidence that certain other benefits including payments in kind such as free lunches provided by the company have been scrapped. This may only seem like a nice-to-have but the cost of this can amount to in excess of £1,000 a year. Perhaps I’ll think twice before popping out for a spot of lunch in future.
The next step in IT
As we approach the last month of the year, this is a common time to start re-evaluating your position, your pay and your career progression. Many decide to rethink their situation and start contemplating a new challenge for the New Year. Yet although most of us are eagerly awaiting the holidays and dread starting the job seeking process until after the festivities have passed, getting a head-start on your job hunt is never a bad idea.
Having said that, many companies’ budgets are renewed in January and this coupled with positive forecasts for the economy in 2010, could mean the New Year jobs wave will counterbalance the number of applicants. Fortunately, IT seems to be a thriving area that has not been as badly hit as some other industry sectors, so if you are considering a career move, there’s no time like the present.
Subscribe via RSS or via email
