In-Depth

2005 Salary Survey, Part 4: IT Attitudes

While salaries are rising, angst is also up.

• 09/06/2005

Managers and professionals working in large system data centers feel more insecure about their jobs than their counterparts at more distributed sites. However, they're also more satisfied with the compensation they receive.

There is a remarkable degree of stability at IT sites, the survey finds. Close to three-quarters of respondents (72.5 percent) say they are in the same position as a year ago, while 16 percent report they were recently promoted. Another eight percent made a lateral move. The average length of time respondents have been employed in their current position is 6.4 years, and 8.5 years with their current employer.

There has been little change in satisfaction levels over the last four years with salaries. The percent reporting they are “extremely satisfied” (14 percent) has edged upward slightly since the first time this question was asked in 2001, indicating there are more parts of IT that are commanding higher premiums.

However, about a third of respondents remain, to some degree, dissatisfied with their compensation. When looking at salary satisfaction by job classification, distinctions emerge. For example, for IT staff members, all is not contentment—close to four out of ten IT staff members (38 percent) are unhappy with their current compensation levels. Satisfaction with compensation is somewhat higher at the executive and management level.

We break out salary and job satisfaction, examine job security, and opinions about the likelihood IT jobs will be outsourced in the final part of our survey.

The full Enterprise Systems 2005 Salary Survey is available as a compressed (ZIPped) Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file online (a short registration is required). To download your copy, visit