The highest monthly salary recorded by a certified, permanent professional in Salary Survey 2005 was R260 000, earned by a CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional). But prospective course entrants shouldn`t perk up just yet. It is clear from the huge gaps between the CISSP minimum (R8 500), median (R43 575) and the above maximum that the professional in question is one of a kind; probably a very senior corporate executive.
Eleven respondents, making up 0.5% of the sample, were CISSPs, and at the very entry-level salary, 10 of them and the big earner would together make up almost the entire basket of CISSP earnings this year.
Even so, it`s encouraging to see such a noteworthy enclave of CISSP professionals in a market that is in dire need of better security.
A more significant portion of our 2 277 respondents were MCPs (Microsoft-Certified Professionals), MCSEs (Microsoft- Certified Systems Engineers) and CCNPs (Cisco-Certified Networking Professionals), each group representing around 15% of the base. All three groups recorded minimum salaries of around R3 000, with the Microsoft certifications earning slightly more on average than the Cisco ones. Among Microsoft-centric contractors, in turn, only MCSEs represented such a high proportion of respondents (12.6%), but all earned reasonable averages.
On the whole, contractors averaged higher salaries than permanent staff. Several of the highest-averaging certificants in this category were among the Informix Certified Professionals (ICPs), who average over R70 000 (seven respondents). True averages are probably not to be found in this batch, however, given the low respondent numbers.
On average
Gary Chalmers, MD of training provider Torque-IT, says, "Certifications don`t tell the whole tale - specialisation and experience are the key."
"There is a much wider pool of opportunity, and of course, a wider pool of employers who have more choice. This explains the low bottom-end and the high top-end. Certified staff [and contractors] in these groups will work for anything to get experience - and employers will pay anything to get good skills and experience for key projects."
As for database skills, an apparent oddity is evident in the comparison with Oracle DBA costs, which are lower than MCDBAs at the top end (R45 500), but command a higher minimum and a comparable median. This reveals that Oracle skills are as sought-after as one might have suspected, though by a smaller pool of customers and projects.
Only two respondents had Oracle Java skills, and both earned about R15 000. Sun Java programmers, developers and architects command higher salaries in inverse proportion to their numbers. Higher maximum earnings are possible because of the large size of the Microsoft developers` pool.
Smaller pond
Chalmers is right about relatively high topend salaries in these certifications, but attention must also be drawn to IBM certifications, with a top entry of R83 333.
The reason we pick IBM, versus, for instance, the CIWs (Certified Internet Webmasters), is that the spread between high, medium and low in the former is more even, and thus gives a more reliable aggregate.
"A big issue," says Chalmers, "is that in each of these cases, there are very few 'new` people. Mostly, these are experienced consultants who have these skills from better times in the product`s history, and who are now senior and experienced. This would explain why the relatively smaller categories attract what appears to be a premium.
"New entrants to this market come predominantly from junior employees who see the gap, and 'understudy` with the experts. But the pool is getting smaller, not bigger."
Linux skills, another small but suddenly growing pond of skills, are different. "In this area, the product has traditionally been the home of the real 'techie`," says Chalmers. "They are highly specialised, completely focused engineers. Having a certification would be demeaning and worthless - these guys rate themselves through the praise of the online community they belong to."
"In that context, we have Novell, Red Hat and others trying to commercialise this product, putting support and guarantees in place, which they charge for. There is a clear difference between the 'real` and 'commercial` worlds of Linux. Since this sector hasn`t really taken off, or had a clear victory yet, there is no real demand for the skills." This would explain the absence of all but Linux+ skills in the survey, and the comparatively low salaries.
"Also, Novell-certified or Red Hat-certified engineers are not really engineers. They are at the same level as Microsoft MCSAs - they do not have the experience or knowledge yet." Some experts disagree, claiming that RHCEs know much more than MCSEs.
"So companies who do adopt the technology go for the ponytail [uncertified] crowd, to whom they pay a fortune to implement a solution. They are then supported by a lower level of skill in their internal team, who have been put off certification by the ponytail they studied under."
Measuring by title
Apart from certifications, job titles in themselves are an even better indicator of salary level. The highest permanent monthly salaries were entered by:
* A business developer/sales/marketing respondents (R91 000)
* A CIO/CTO (R90 000)
* A project manager (R83 000),
* A systems engineer (R83 000).
In contractor circles, a GM who reportedly earns R260 000 per month and a business intelligence consultant who earns R160 000 per month were probably anomalies, rather than revealing a discernible trend, says Chalmers.
He points out that project management is becoming a core soft skill. "In my estimation, we will see a major drive towards this skill set in the ICT sector in the next few years at all levels of technology."
Related stories:
Sample: Techies are top respondents
Key findings: Top execs take a pay leap
Contractors: A green patch for contractors
Benefits and perks: The demise of the "dead cert" reward
Job satisfaction: Doing it with a smile
Career paths: We want to stay
Share