IT&T Salaries Continue to Grow
1999 ACS Remuneration Survey Records Average Salary Rise of 5.2 Per Cent
Friday 11 June 1999 - IT&T professionals achieved average salary increases well above those recorded in other sectors of the Australian economy, according to the results of the 1999 Australian Computer Society Remuneration Survey Report.
The report showed that IT&T salaries rose an average 5.2 per cent during the 12 months to April 1999, while the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded general wage increases of 3.4 per cent across the economy during the same period. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by just 1.2 per cent.
According to the survey, IT&T professionals working in the private sector earned average increases of 6 per cent, while those employed in the public and education sectors gained increases of 4.2 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.
Conducted on behalf of the ACS by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia, the survey questioned nearly 2,000 ACS Members working in a variety of professional roles all around Australia.
ACS President Prins Ralston said the results demonstrated the impact on salaries of the increasing demand for IT&T professionals across all sectors of business and industry.
"The continuing IT&T skills shortage and the widespread recognition of the value of IT&T professionals, as evidenced by these salary increases, makes IT&T a very attractive profession when it comes to financial remuneration.
"The results also show that while management skills still attract higher rewards than purely technical skills, the differential is diminishing and technical specialists no longer have to move into management to receive a high level of remuneration," he said.
According to the survey, those involved in General Management positions reported a median base salary of $90,000 and salaries in excess of $100,000 were not uncommon. The least lucrative employment category was that of Computer Support where a median base salary of $46,800 was evident.
|
Job Function |
Median Annual Base Salary |
Job Function |
Median Annual Base Salary |
|
Consulting |
78,750 |
Teaching/Training only |
52,850 |
|
Project Management |
77,000 |
Sales & Marketing |
84,250 |
|
IT Management |
75,400 |
Analysis & Testing |
59,500 |
|
Systems Management |
60,000 |
Computer Support |
46,800 |
|
General Management |
90,000 |
Database Administrator |
64,000 |
|
Project Leader |
63,000 |
LAN Manager |
50,000 |
|
Programmer/Analyst |
55,000 |
Internet Developer |
50,500 |
|
Research & Development |
65,000 |
Other |
71,000 |
|
Research & Teaching |
60,000 |
Mr Ralston said the survey also highlighted concerns that academics earned considerably less than the industry average.
"We need to ensure that the people teaching and training our future IT&T professionals attract salaries at least equal to the medium rates being paid to private sector professionals or we face losing these people to industry, which will affect our ability to generate skilled graduates," he said.
The study showed that IT&T graduates could expect to earn a base salary of around $40,000 within 18 months and would normally reach $50,000 within five years, demonstrating that IT&T attracts the most rapid increases in salary for young professionals.
"Clearly, IT&T still provides young graduates with the best remuneration figures in their early years, and their increasing experience is also well rewarded with additional benefits beyond the base salary," Mr Ralston said.
The study found that among Programmers and Analysts, the full range of skill sets was in demand with database and Windows NT skills attracting slightly higher salaries than skills in Cobol, TCP/IP, HTML, C+, SQL, UNIX, Oracle and Visual Basic.
A significant number of survey respondents said they worked as independent contractors, charging an hourly rate for their services. Across all categories, the median hourly rate charged by independent contractors was $69, with rates charged generally ranging from $55 per hour to $85, depending on the activity being undertaken.
|
Function |
Approx. Range of hourly rates |
|
Consulting |
$65 - $100 |
|
Project management |
$65-$100 |
|
Project leader |
$60 - $75 |
|
Programmer/Analyst |
$49 - $65 |
|
Other |
$60-$75 |
Mr Ralston said the consulting rates reported show IT&T still appears to be quite affordable compared with rates charged by other professions.
"These results indicate our IT&T industry is quite competitive, which bodes well for our ability to attract international projects and investment," he said.
"In terms of the future, IT&T is clearly enjoying strong growth with all indications being that these upward trends will continue in at least the short to medium term. From every perspective, IT&T will continue to be an attractive proposition for those who choose this as their profession," Mr Ralston said.
This media release is located on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/salary99.htm
ENDS
The Australian Computer Society is the recognised association for information technology (IT) professionals, attracting a large and active membership from all levels of the IT industry and providing a wide range of services to its members. It is the public voice of the IT profession, the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the IT industry, with a commitment to the wider community to ensure the beneficial use of IT. See the ACS Home Page for more information.
Media Enquiries:
Prins Ralston, ACS President, Tel: (0411) 755 069, Email: prins@bmconsult.com.au
Caroline New, Caroline New PR, Tel: (02) 9980 8060 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au
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