In-Depth

Enterprise Systems Salary Survey 2012 Part 2: IT Staff Salaries

IT staff salaries are on the upswing, and bonuses have hit record levels for most positions in this year's survey.

• 08/13/2012

In the first part of our survey, we examined compensation for management positions.  In this, the second article in our two-part report, we look at compensation growth for professional positions.

The economy may still be rocky and uncertain, but the picture has brightened considerably for information technology professionals over the past year, the latest Enterprise Systems salary survey finds. Last year, as the economy continued to dig out from the 2008-2009 recession, salaries were still depressed, with only one out of nine IT staff positions in the survey experiencing an increase. This year, eight of nine increased, five by more than five percent over the past year.

Two of the positions covered -- programmer/analysts and systems administrators -- saw the highest base salaries reported in this survey, which was first conducted in 2001. For the remainder, salaries peaked around 2008 -- the beginning of the most recent recession -- but are once again approaching those levels.

In addition, professionals in all nine positions report receiving appreciable bonuses over the past year, ranging between $4,000 and $5,000. For eight out of the nine positions, bonuses are the highest reported in the 11 years we’ve conducted this survey.

The improved compensation picture for IT professionals reflects the increasing reliance on technology by organizations to achieve innovation, enable greater understanding of customers and markets, and keep costs down. In a number of areas in North America -- particularly Silicon Valley, Texas, and New York -- demand for skilled IT professionals has been insatiable. Many companies have been beefing up their compensation packages and perks in an effort to attract and keep their talent.

In this survey, skill areas drawing the highest premiums include service-oriented architectural (SOA) capabilities, data analytics acumen, ERP experience, and business-to-business systems savvy. These areas are seen as strategic to business advancement and often carry cutting-edge qualifications. In fact, companies with SOA initiative paid the highest premiums, across the board, for all nine positions.

Although cloud computing and mobile apps are also considered hot areas in many markets, companies engaged in these initiatives are not yet offering premiums, our survey finds.

The highest-paying shops in terms of platform are those running Unix and mainframe systems. Shops mainly relying on Windows or Linux server systems paid lower rates to their IT staff members.

These findings are based on an Enterprise Systems survey of 1,187 companies, conducted in May 2012. The survey covered nine key IT staff positions and nine key management positions (covered in the previous installment of this report). Base salaries reported in this article do not include bonuses (which are addressed separately), stock options, or benefits.

OVERVIEW OF IT STAFF SALARIES, BONUSES AND INCREASES, 2011-2012

The past year has been favorable for applications systems analysts, who work with corporate management, end users, and clients to plan and design systems and devise processes for solving specific business problems. Systems analysts' average pay rose more than six percent since our 2011 survey, increasing from an average of $70,020 in base salary to more than $74,500. Base salaries reported in this article do not include bonuses (which are addressed separately), stock options, or benefits.

Systems analysts' base pay levels have recovered from the recession that began in 2008, the year that average salaries for this position peaked. These professionals have the third-highest average salaries of the nine IT staff positions covered in this year's survey. Raises were moderate.

Systems analysts also saw a sizable jump in their bonuses over the past year, rising an average of 38 percent, to close to $5,000. This represents the highest levels of average bonuses seen for this position in 11 years of coverage. As with base salaries, system analysts' bonuses were the third highest among the nine IT staff positions.

The typical systems analyst in our survey has 10 years of experience. On average, those with more experience -- at least a decade on the job -- earn about 60 percent more than those at an entry level (which we define as less than five years' experience).

Systems analysts in organizations building and deploying software via service-oriented architecture fare best this year, earning about $83,000 on average -- about a 12 percent market premium. Those in organizations with data warehouse configurations follow with base salaries of close to $76,000. By operating system and platform, systems analysts in Unix systems shops tend to pay best, averaging more than $81,000 a year, followed closely by their counterparts in mainframe shops, who earn close to $81,000 in base pay.

The average base pay for applications programmer/analysts -- who develop applications and environments, formulate statements of business problems, devise procedures for solutions, and work with end users to determine their information requirements -- is up almost seven percent from the last Enterprise Systems survey a year ago. Salaries for these professionals rose from about $68,000 to just over $72,000. This year's average salaries were the highest recorded for this position -- which has been covered in our surveys dating back to 2002. This year's compensation for systems analysts surpassed the levels seen right before the onset of the current economic slowdown.

Along with salary hikes, programmer/analysts received sizable bonuses as well over the past year -- reflecting a renewed robustness in IT spending. The typical average bonus reported among this survey group is about $5,315, up significantly from $3,610 a year ago and $2,180 in 2009. This year's bonus levels were the highest recorded in the 10 years this position has been covered. Among the nine IT staff positions in the survey, P/A bonuses were the second highest.

On average, programmer/analysts have about nine years' experience. A P/A with fewer than five years experience can expect to make about $48,000 a year. After about a decade, the average base pay for these professionals rises to more than $78,000.

Programmer/analysts participating in operations involving service-oriented architecture command the highest base salaries, averaging more than $81,000 -- a 13 percent premium. Those in companies with data warehouse and ERP operations follow with more than $74,000 and $72,000 a year, respectively, in base pay.

Programmer/analysts in mainframe environments earn the most among their counterparts, with base salaries of more than $81,000 a year, followed by those in Unix shops at over $79,000.

Applications programmers' salaries have been on a plateau since 2007, with little movement in either direction. These professionals, who write coded software or modify packaged applications, maintained consistent salary levels through the recent economic downturn, and now earn a base average close to $65,000. Programmers' salaries ranked lowest on the list of staff salaries covered in this survey. Programmers also were in the only IT staff position that experienced a year-to-year (though a light) decline.

Although applications programmers received larger bonuses than a year ago, the increase is modest compared to those seen in other IT staff positions. Reported average bonuses now stand at $4,750, up by 18% over the previous year. For the past two years, programmers' bonuses have remained well above the range over the past decade for typical bonuses, averaging between $2,400 and $2,900. Programmers received the fifth-highest average bonus among the nine IT staff positions covered in our survey.

The average applications programmer this year has close to eight years of on-the-job experience. Those at entry-level stages average about $44,000, and programmers with more than a decade of experience make more than $68,000 a year in base pay.

In terms of programming environments, the highest premiums are paid for work with 4GL languages (such as Forte or Platinum), averaging about $72,000. Perl programmers averaged about $71,000, followed by Ruby developers at more than $68,000.

Programmers involved in sites implementing service-oriented architecture approaches drew the highest average salaries, at nearly $70,000 -- an eight percent premium. Those programmers working in companies with ERP and data warehouse environments follow at about $66,000.

By operating system environment, programmers in Unix systems shops lead, earning a base of close to $69,000 a year, followed by those with mainframe systems, who also average about $69,000 a year.

The average base salaries of systems programmers -- charged with deploying, monitoring, maintaining, and reporting system performance -- are showing signs of bouncing back, though they are still well below the highest levels in our 2009 survey. Overall, base salaries on average grew close to four percent over the past year, to close to $69,000. Over the past decade, the position has had the most volatile salary ranges. Average salaries are little changed since the first time this position was introduced in 2002. Currently, systems programmers' base salaries rank seventh among the nine IT staff positions.

Although their base salaries increased at a modest rate, systems programmers received impressive increases in their bonuses over the past year -- up more than 50 percent over the previous year, to close to $4,400. This is also the highest bonus level awarded to jobholders in this position since it was first covered in our survey in 2002. Bonus amounts rank sixth among the nine positions, but the rate of increase is the third highest.

The average systems programmer in this survey has more than nine years of experience. Currently, entry-level systems programmers (those with less than five years’ experience) make about $43,000 annually, a level that rises to close to $79,000 after a decade.

Unix and midrange-class systems work offer the highest premiums for this job, our survey finds. Those systems programmers involved with AIX, Solaris, or other Unix flavors draw close to $78,000 annually, outpacing those in distributed environments (Windows or Linux).

Those systems programmers engaged in operations involving service-oriented technology draw the highest average base salaries, more than $77,000 a year. Data warehouse sites and business-to-business operations are also areas that draw higher salaries here as well, at $72,080 and $70,530 respectively.

Network administrators' salaries rose by about three percent over the past year, to nearly $67,600. However, the rates paid to these professionals have inched up very little over the past four years -- the average base pay was $65,500 back in 2008. Network administrators oversee day-to-day network usage and security, as well as troubleshoot network bottlenecks or failed connections. Network admins' base salaries ranked eighth among the nine staff positions covered.

Along with modest salary growth, network administrators had bonuses that grew at an impressive clip over the previous year, rising to more than $4,000. This is the highest level of bonus awarded to these jobholders during the past decade. Bonuses for network admins were the lowest of the nine staff positions.

On average, network administrators in our survey have about 10 years of work experience. Entry-level professionals start at about $48,000 a year; more experienced professionals (with more than a decade on the job) are drawing salaries close to $72,000.

Expertise within service-oriented architecture is a high-paying area for network administrators. Those administrators working in companies with SOA environments are paid more than $75,000. Data warehouse and business-to-business sites also tend to pay their network administrators above the average rate, averaging roughly $72,000 and $71,000, respectively.

In terms of operating system environments, those network administrators overseeing Unix-based installations also commanded higher average salaries, bringing in about $76,000 over the past year in base salaries. Network administrators within mainframe shops also saw higher-than-average salaries.

The past year has also been a very good one for systems administrators, our survey shows. This year, systems admins' salaries were up almost 13 percent from last year's survey, to average about $71,000, the highest level since the first survey with this position was conducted in 2002. These professionals are charged with deploying, maintaining, and securing operating systems and servers in LANs or WANs. Sys admins' salaries ranked sixth among the nine staff positions.

Average bonuses for system administrators have also been generous, climbing 38 percent over the past year. At close to $4,300, bonuses over the past year to sys admins have hit the highest levels seen in the 10 years this position has been included in our survey. Bonuses for this position were seventh among the nine positions we surveyed.

The typical administrator in this survey has been on the job just over nine years. Currently, entry-level system administrators (with less than five years' experience) make about $46,000, a level that rises to almost $70,000 with a decade's worth of experience.

Sys admins who work at companies with service-oriented architecture in their environments draw the highest base salaries, at $72,560. Those sys admins involved in business-to-business projects follow with $69,000, and those within data warehouse environments average $68,000.

Systems administrators in Unix systems environments also were paid better than those with other platforms, at a base rate of about $74,000.

Database administrators saw only a modest rise in their salary levels over the past year, up about three percent to more than $76,000 annually. DBAs, who oversee the building, use, and security of company databases, had their best year in 2008, during the onset of the recession, when salaries topped $81,000. DBAs earned the second-highest average salaries of the nine staff IT positions covered in the survey.

Salary growth was modest, but bonuses for DBAs soared over the past year. On average, DBAs are seeing bonuses up more than 83 percent from last year's levels, and the highest since the first survey was conducted in 2001. DBAs not only received the highest bonuses of the nine IT staff positions in this survey -- exceeding $6,000 -- but also had the most year-to-year growth in such compensation. The growth in big data -- and the need to manage, store, and secure terabytes and petabytes of information -- have made DBAs a valuable commodity in many enterprises this year.

The database administrator in our survey has close to 11 years of industry experience, on average. He or she will start out at about $55,000 in the first five years, with base salary rising to over $82,000 as experience grows.

DBAs in Unix environments tend to earn more than their peers involved with other platforms, averaging nearly $84,600, followed closely by those in mainframe shops at $84,000 a year. By database brand, DBAs specializing in Sybase databases see the highest salaries, averaging more than $84,000 a year. DBAs in IMS and Oracle environments follow closely at $83,000 and $82,000 respectively.

DBAs working within companies deploying service-oriented architectures are averaging more than $84,000 in base pay. There are also premiums being paid to those DBAs in business-to-business shops as well as data warehouse environments, where average pay averages $82,000.

Overall compensation for security administrators soared by nearly nine percent over the past year, a reflection of the growing concern over data security incidents and corporate liability for those breaches. Security admins -- who oversee the installation, configuration, and management of tools and policies that protect corporate data and IT assets -- saw average annual base salaries of more than $77,000, up from about $71,000 the year before. Over the past five years this position has been included in our survey, however, there has been little change. Security admins have the highest annual base salaries of the nine IT staff positions covered.

Security administrators' bonuses averaged close to $4,300 this year -- growing by 25 percent from last year. Security admins may make the highest base salaries, but their bonuses ranked eighth.

On average, security administrators have been on the job about 10 years. Those just starting out make just over $47,000 per year, a rate that rises to close to $88,000 with more experience.

Security administrators are the most highly compensated in companies that either have SOA initiatives underway -- more than $84,000. Their colleagues working closely with ERP and data warehouse systems follow closely, averaging approximately $80,000 and $79,000, respectively.

Security administrators at Unix sites earn the most, with an average of more than $83,000 a year. Security admins at mainframe sites follow, making about $80,000.

Storage administrators -- who oversee the installation, configuration, security, and usage of company storage resources -- had a good year salary-wise, earning, on average, almost 10 percent over last year's survey. Salaries have returned to the peak level last seen in 2007, when salaries averages almost $71,600.

Lately, enterprises have been experiencing surges in their levels of “big data” -- defined as terabytes to petabytes of information that typically includes unstructured data such as weblog files, e-mail messages, documents, and images. Information life-cycle management is becoming critical -- organizations are challenged to analyze this data as well as store it for extended time periods. This is creating a vital role for storage managers. Salaries for these professionals ranked fifth among the nine IT staff positions in the survey.

Storage administrators saw impressive bonus hikes from their employers over the past year -- up 55 percent to about $4,800. This is the second-highest increase among the IT staff positions surveyed.

Storage administrators in the survey have, on average, nine years of industry experience. Starting salaries typically range about $45,000, almost doubling over the years to close to $87,000 for more experienced admins.

The survey also finds that storage administrators working within environments employing service-oriented architecture have the highest base salaries of systems categories, averaging about $79,000. Those focused on data warehouse and ERP systems follow at slightly more than $75,000. By platform, storage admins in Unix computing environments had the highest ranges, averaging close to $83,000. Mainframe sites follow at about $80,000 annually.