Sizing-up the worth of local IT skills

Methodology

ITWeb's recruitment site CareerCentre, conducted a countrywide survey of IT employees to determine annual packages, procurement in IT, salary increases and staff retention. The survey was posted on the CareerCentre Web site during September and October 1998, with hot-links on leading local portal sites, including iafrica.com, GIA and M-Web. The 1199 responses were all posted online.

An overwhelming 1 199 respondents took part in the survey, making for a fair representation of a wide range of job titles, geographical spread and major industry sectors. Some 26% of respondents work in the computer industry and the majority - over 87% - are between 20 and 40 years old.

Nearly 54% have university, technikon or advanced degrees. The large percentage of matriculants (33%) in the industry can perhaps be attributed to the skills shortage and the low entry level into IT, which makes it attractive to school leavers and college drop-outs.

An interesting aspect is the relatively small number of MCSE certificate holders, coupled by a salary package almost at the bottom of the scale. On the whole, job titles figure greatly in the salaries paid, with project managers, consultants and IT executives topping the list, and Web masters, network administrators and PC operators getting the least.

The average total annual package reported, including basic salary and benefits, is R152 397. The average basic salary excluding benefits is R130 671.

Female respondents reported an annual package considerably lower (R103 793) than the male respondents (R135 221). While the very small number of female respondents could have skewed the results, the discrepancy points to possible gender discrimination in an industry that generally boasts equal opportunities for all.

But this is only the statistical average. In reality, the gap between top and bottom earners is huge. In the big money league, the biggest total package reported was R900 000. This salary is earned by a Johannesburg-based IT executive with technician and university degrees, aged between 31 and 40. A Pretoria-based consultant, who holds an advanced degree, makes R840 000 a year.

At the other end of the industry scale, a Johannesburg dBase administrator, aged under 20, and with a matric diploma, is making R23 400 a year. A Cape-based holder of MCSE certification and a technikon diploma reported an almost equally low annual package of R24 000.

As we know, it's not only the size of the pay-cheque that makes a huge difference. Salary packages include a number of visible or invisible benefits that may make or break one's job satisfaction. These include the usual perks, such as a car allowance, medical aid, pension and a 13^th cheque. However, a number of respondents have shares in their companies and some receive financial assistance for education or a performance-based bonus.

Asked how satisfied they were with their total compensation package, 59% of respondents were very satisfied or satisfied, 41% dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

However, when it came to actually rating their compensation packages, the respondents were more critical: only 6% said it was excellent and 40% thought it was good. The remaining 54% thought it was poor, below average or average.

In addition to the size of the pay-cheque, what is it that matters most to people about their jobs? A lot of things, according to our survey findings. The respondents rated the following factors as almost equally important: flexible schedule, working at home, prestige with peers, holiday leave, compensation, building shareholder value and potential for promotion. The two factors that stand out, though, are non-monetary - the challenge of the job or responsibility and job atmosphere.

Asked which professional training would most benefit their careers, the respondents opted for technical (36%) and business skills (30%) training. Interestingly, only 2% thought building management skills would be of benefit, which supports the view that putting techies into managerial positions usually doesn't make business sense.

The IT industry is notorious for its high turnover, be it as a result of job-hopping, poaching, headhunting or the brain drain. The survey testifies to this with 57% of the respondent saying they have been headhunted in the past 12 months. On average, they have spent less than four years with their present companies and have nearly seven years' IT experience.

It is interesting to note how people find new jobs. Some 48% said they landed their current jobs through newspaper advertisements, but the Internet also figures strongly as an emerging recruitment platform, with 23% of respondents having found their jobs on the Net. Some 14% were headhunted, 12% were placed through an agency and 3% through personal contacts.

When it came to rating their present job security, 29% said they felt very secure, while 25% thought it was average. However, 40% felt insecure in their positions, rating their job security as poor or below average.

The survey results show that the brain drain situation is set to worsen as 48% said they were likely or very likely to leave the country within the next two years. Some 40% said they had no plans to emigrate, while 12% were undecided.

Those who will be packing up gave rather predictable reasons - political instability (38%) and crime (25%). Other worries were poor education for their children, the poor health system or a little bit of everything.