MIDRANGE Systems 2000 Salary Survey

• 06/12/2000

If you can build or manage a customer relationship management system for your company, you are a hot commodity in the AS/400 world this year. If you can link the system to your data warehouse and e-commerce operations, you can write your own ticket. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the latest MIDRANGE Systems salary survey of AS/400 managers and professionals. Across a range of positions, shops engaged in CRM or sales force automation development are paying premium base salaries and bonuses.

This is most striking at the top of the IT chain, where CIO salaries jump by a whopping 39 percent when CRM/SFA operations fall under their purview. Likewise, managers' salaries jump by almost 25 percent for CRM/SFA operations.

The latest MIDRANGE Systems salary survey also confirms that data warehouse and e-commerce site development and management continue to command above-average salaries. Where AS/400s are supporting data warehouse implementations, for instance, companies are paying up to 15 percent above average salaries, along with hefty bonuses.A typical AS/400 manager can command an annual average base salary of almost $74,000, a figure that jumps to almost $81,000 at e-commerce companies. In addition, typical bonuses for managers of e-commerce operations are topping 16 percent of their annual salary, compared with average management bonuses of 13 percent. And the extras aren’t just limited to management—business systems analysts and programmer/analysts at CRM and e-commerce sites are also enjoying generous bonuses.

Regionally, companies on the West Coast are paying the highest rates to all levels of AS/400 managers and professionals. Across industries, the financial services and retail/distribution sectors are the most lucrative for AS/400 personnel.

The MIDRANGE Systems salary survey consists of readers that participated in a Web-based survey in April 2000. Respondents were asked to report their own salary levels as well as those of their employees. A total of 634 questionnaires were returned, reflecting pay ranges for AS/400 and other midrange-level positions nationwide. The survey covered several levels of midrange systems professionals, from CIOs to database specialists.

The AS/400 market has been riding right along with the boon in opportunities stemming from e-business. Overall, the MIDRANGE Systems survey finds annual salaries and bonuses for managers of midrange sites (including CIOs and VPs) start around $60,000 at the low-end and climb to $120,000. Programmers and analysts salaries range between $30,000 and $70,000, depending upon experience and responsibilities.

CIOs AND VPs

Top senior managers at AS/400 sites in the survey—VPs and CIOs —now make an average of $101,100, up almost 8 percent over last year's average of $93,800. When it comes to supporting CRM implementations, however, salaries go through the roof. CIOs at companies deploying CRM systems have average base salaries of more than $140,000, along with 22 percent bonuses. CIOs overseeing ERP and data warehouse projects also enjoy substantially fatter paychecks.

Those CIOs or VPs in the distribution/retail sector commanded the highest salaries, averaging $130,200, followed by CIOs in the service sector at $115,400. Bonuses in the retail/distribution sector were also especially high for CIOs, averaging about 24 percent of their base salaries.

While CIO salaries in the software development sector were slightly lower than the overall average ($98,400), bonuses were the highest, at almost 25 percent of base salary. Regionally, CIOs in the western United States fared best, drawing base salaries averaging $116,200, along with bonuses of about 18 percent. When breaking out the West Coast, CIOs did even better, averaging more than $133,100.

And it pays to manage multiplatform environments. Those CIOs in charge of AS/400-only sites (24 percent of the total) had an average salary of $83,900—17 percent below the average. Those CIOs overseeing Linux implementations in the mix are drawing the highest salaries in terms of platform mixes, an average of $123,100. However, sites with mainframes still top the list for many positions in terms of base salaries—in some cases, 17 percent above the overall average. 2000 Salary Survey -- CIO/VP Graphs

MANAGERS AND DIRECTORS

The typical base salary range for managers and directors averages almost $74,000 nationwide, reflecting a 7 percent jump over last year's survey statistics. Bonuses average close to 13 percent of base salary.

Once again, CRM is sending IT manager salaries off the charts, with an average of $92,200 at these sites—almost $20,000 more than the overall average. Managers at data warehouse sites make about $82,000, and those managing e-commerce installations command about $81,000.

By industry category, AS/400 managers in the financial services sector performed best, with salaries averaging $85,300. In addition, bonuses to managers in this sector were well above average, typically about 19 percent.

As with their bosses, AS/400-only shops fared poorest in terms of salary potential, with those managers earning an average base salary of $66,700, roughly 10 percent below the overall average. Managers at mainframe sites saw the highest rates of any platform environment.

AS/400 managers on the West Coast saw the highest base salaries, averaging about $80,100. Overall, those throughout the West saw the highest average salaries of any region of the United States. 2000 Salary Survey -- Manager/Director Graphs

BUSINESS ANALYSTS

Business analysts saw salaries averaging $60,800 nationwide, reflecting a modest increase (about 5 percent) over last year's rates. While bonuses are lucrative among management-level employees, they are more modest for analysts and other professionals working in the trenches. The survey finds business analyst bonuses currently average about 10 percent.

However, as with management-level employees, base salaries for business analysts at CRM sites topped all other initiatives, paying almost 18 percent above the average. Bonuses were also slightly above the average.

In addition, business analysts at mainframe and Linux sites were better compensated than the average. 2000 Salary Survey -- Business Analyst Graphs

PROGRAMMER/ANALYSTS

Programmer/analysts at AS/400 sites also saw relatively modest increases (again, about 5 percent) over last year's averages, with salaries of $56,300 for those with five or more years experience, and $49,400 at the entry level of the profession.

Interestingly, 33 percent of survey participants worked in all-RPG environments. Such shops had the lowest developer base salaries, and were far outdistanced by C/C++ and Java shops.

E-commerce dominates developer salaries. AS/400 shops engaged in e-commerce initiatives paid the highest average salary for programmer/analysts, followed by data warehouse sites.

As with other positions, salaries were appreciably higher in the western portion of the country, topping the range at $60,800. Companies on the West Coast itself were even higher, offering average programmer/analyst salaries of $63,400. While the Northeast as a region ranked lowest, the New York metro area ranked highest nationwide, offering $65,100 to experienced programmer/analysts. 2000 Salary Survey -- Programmer Analyst Graphs

PROGRAMMERS

Programmers at AS/400 sites did not see an appreciable jump in salaries from last year to this year with average salaries of $47,100 for those with five or more years of experience, and $39,400 at the entry level of the profession.

Interestingly, COBOL still rules. Those sites supporting COBOL-based development paid the highest base salaries—more than 16 percent above the overall average. All-RPG shops ranked near the bottom in compensation, far outpaced by shops also involved in C/C++ and Java implementations. 2000 Salary Survey -- Programmer Graphs

NETWORK ADMINISTRATORS

Network administrators are making an average of $49,800, a jump of 8 percent over $46,000 in last year's survey.

As with previous job categories, CRM is hot here as well. Network administrators at sites with CRM deployments made an average of $58,900, 18 percent above the overall average.

Interestingly, in terms of network type, those managers overseeing groupware or collaborative computing networks saw the highest income, at $54,700. Those overseeing AIX/Unix-based networks also ranked higher on the compensation ladder. 2000 Salary Survey -- Network Administrator Graphs

DATABASE ADMINISTRATORS

Database administrators saw salary gains over the past year, with salaries averaging $55,800, up more than 7 percent. While those limited to DB2 on AS/400 database platforms saw average base salaries of $49,800—substantially lower than the overall average—those in mixed RDBMS environments reaped tremendous rewards.

While Sybase has lost market share in recent years, skills in this relational database are still highly valued. Database managers at AS/400 sites who also manage Sybase implementations had average salaries of $65,000. Oracle is also hot, managers with Oracle databases under their wings made $62,200 a year.

Database administrators opening up their systems to e-commerce and ERP also saw higher income levels. 2000 Salary Survey -- Database Administrator Graphs

WEB/INTERNET MANAGERS

Web/Internet managers—which include webmasters and Internet specialists—saw salaries increase over the past year to almost $55,800, with bonuses averaging more than 9 percent of base salary. Those involved in CRM efforts reported the highest rates, averaging $63,500, while webmasters at e-commerce sites saw salaries averaging $59,700.

Webmasters and Internet specialists in the financial services sector saw the highest base salaries, averaging $65,400 annually. Bonuses for Web specialists were also significant in this sector, averaging about 10 percent of annual income.

Those sites building Websites on AIX or Unix systems paid the most to their Web managers. Interestingly, Linux also topped the salary scale for Web environments. 2000 Salary Survey -- Web/Internet Manager Graphs

DEMOGRAPHICS

The survey group is fairly evenly split, with 49 percent of respondents working for small companies (less than 500 employees) and 15 percent with larger organizations.A quarter of the group (25 percent) works in the manufacturing sector, which comprises the leading bloc of respondents. Another 18 percent come from service-related companies, and 14 percent are affiliated with distribution or retail firms. About 12 percent are with public sector or nonprofit organizations. Ten percent are with software and application development companies.

Regionally, responses were evenly distributed across the United States, with 22 percent coming from the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, 21 percent from the South, 34 percent from the Midwest, and 21 percent from the western states.

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