An up and down year for IT folk

With skills levels of respondents generally up on last year, higher average salaries were reported across the board.

[CHART]Strategic IT functions were well rewarded. On average, the highest salaries were earned by CIOs, while CTOs were the third best paid. CEOs came in second and MDs fourth.

A CIO would appear to have the magic combination of skills: extensive IT and telecoms expertise, coupled with strong leadership qualities.

Terence Sibiya, a partner of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, confirms that CIOs are hot property. "They are particularly in high demand and can be choosy. They are presented with many opportunities by ICT and telecoms companies expanding from Europe into South Africa, or by South African companies expanding into the rest of Africa."

The surprising finding was that, among strategic managers, the lowest average salaries were earned by financial directors. Salaries at all levels were somewhat affected by company size - MD and CEO salaries in particular. However, technical staff salaries were similar across all companies.

Managing directors earned, on average, R6 500 more a month as compared to 2003; while CIOs reported a massive R8 000 average growth on last year`s figures. It also appeared that CEOs, with an average R4 000 growth compared to last year, and CTOs, with an approximate R3 000 annual increase, were well recognised by companies for their contributions.

[CHART]Technical managers reported slightly higher salaries than last year, but technical staff saw an average reduction in wages of about R1 200.

They were not alone, with both financial directors and CFOs also regressing, recording salary reductions of around R1 000 and R700 respectively, on average.

Interestingly, sales directors` average salaries dropped by around R1 600 and sales managers witnessed an average decrease of approximately R900 when compared to 2003 figures. But general sales staff saw a huge average increase of R7 000. This was probably due to a sharp increase in pay-for-performance incentives and commission-based salary structures.

[CHART]Although in general terms the gender gap does not appear to be closing, there`s certainly no glass ceiling for women IT executives. The highest salary reported in the survey was R2 million per annum, earned by a female telecoms sector consultant with a masters degree, aged between 40 and 45.

On average, however, female respondents earned about R4 300 less than male respondents. Women were heavily outnumbered by men on all levels, with only 540 women to 2 557 men. In the past, IT industry leaders have attributed such imbalances to perceptions that ICT is a "man`s world".

This year`s Salary Survey showed very little inclination by employers to encourage women to stay in the industry. For example, only 31 respondents (about one percent) said their companies provided childcare facilities for workers, despite growing trends abroad for companies to do so.

[CHART]Putting in long hours seems to be the norm among IT workers - 77 percent of the respondents worked over eight hours a day. The 12 percent who worked more than 10 hours a day were cashing in - they reported a much higher average than the rest of the sample, at more than R41 000 per month.

Amazingly, 19 respondents reported that they worked more than 20 hours a day, with 76 others claiming to work between 13 and 20 hours a day. Not all of those putting in the longest hours earned the most, though. The four respondents who said they worked 18 hours a day reported an average monthly salary of only around R14 000.

[CHART]As in previous years, the heavy racial imbalance of the sample resulted in a similar disparity in salaries earned by different racial groups. This survey still did not reflect the reality of the South African job market, where black IT professionals are in huge demand and where the pressure to meet industry black economic empowerment charter requirements is mounting.

If the averages are to be believed, earning capacity increases steadily with age until age 46-50, after which it appears to start dropping. The 260 respondents in the 41- 45 year age group had an average monthly salary of around R32 513, while the 179 respondents in the 46-50 group had an average monthly salary of R37 245. The average dropped after age 51, with 111 respondents reporting an average monthly income of R33 007.

[CHART]Susan Haiden, manager at IT recruitment firm Insource Group, says the results of this survey are a good reflection of generic, mid market salary levels. However, she says Insource has experienced a surge in salaries offered for specialist IT skills. "In instances where companies require a highly specialised or difficult to source skill in order to complete a critical project, a premium may be paid."

Haiden notes that duration of experience in a particular technology area is not as influential as the quality of such experience.

[CHART]Other factors that cause variation in salaries earned include exposure to specific business applications and "technology multi-skilling."

"Companies may pay more for a developer experienced in both the specific technology and business application that they are utilising or developing," says Haiden.

[CHART] "Candidates with "stacked" experience, or in-depth exposure to multiple technologies, able to satisfy more than one technology need, generally command more money," she adds. "An example is equal exposure to both Java and Oracle."

[CHART]Sales people continue to enjoy the highest earning potential in the IT industry. Both sales managers and sales staff on average make more money than their technical counterparts.

Last year, the highest paid respondent was a white, male sales executive, working in the telecoms sector, who reported a total annual package of R1 080 000. This year, the top earner at operational management level is a male sales manager, who reported a total annual package of R1,5 million.

[CHART]As regards remuneration structures, the majority of sales staff members are on some form of commission. For most sales people at management level, a company and/or individual target is the predominant measure for calculating the commission. At staff level, an individual target is more common. The targets are typically set on an annual basis.

The average sales commission at all levels (strategic, operational and staff) is up to 10%, if the target is achieved. After the target is exceeded, average commission is again up to 10%.

[CHART]Compared with last year, once highly-paid contractors are moving closer to permanent employees in terms of their remuneration on various levels. "This could indicate pressure on contractors in the market, but could also simply be due to the fact that the sample group is different in each survey," comments Morag Phillips, director at 21st Century Business and Pay Solutions.

Few contractors enjoy any employment benefits that are typically available to permanent employees. There is an even split in this sample group between contractors being paid monthly and those that are paid hourly, with a small minority being paid on a project basis.

* People who had had six jobs in their career were earning on average R33 000 a month. They made up four percent of the sample. Those who had changed jobs only three times earned on average R9 000 less per month and made up 20 percent of the total sample.

* More than half the technical staff respondents cited Microsoft as their primary platform.

* In the three most common certifications were: MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer), MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) and CompTIA A+.

* Those with no-one reporting to them on average earned more (R24 544) than those who managed up to 10 people (R18 672).

* The top three most common benefits were medical aid (50 percent of the sample), cellular allowance and retirement benefit.

* Twenty three percent of respondents had a computer allowance.

* People who put in two hours a day above the eight-hour norm made, on average, a whopping R8 000 more per month. More than 17 percent fell into this group.

* When it came to money, Gauteng remained the place to be. The average IT salary in Gauteng outstripped by about R3 000 the next bestpaying province, Western Cape.

Related stories:
Methodology: How we did it
Sample: As young, pale and male as ever
Key findings: IT salaries at a glance
Career paths: The grass is greener on this side
Skills and certifications: Where the money is
Benefits and incentives: Pound of flesh raises
Job satisfaction: Money can buy happiness
Job market trends: On the supply and demand see-saw