IT Salary Levels, A Five-Year View

The average IT salary is a moving target. Unlike some industries, salary levels in IT bounce around from year to year - sometimes quite unpredictably. Career& Staffing: IT salary levels have fluctuated considerably since 2004. Lucrative opportunities remain for qualified professionals.

Indeed, IT salary levels between 2004 and 2009, based on the following data from Janco Associates, in some cases changed dramatically year over year.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a steady 3.1 percent annual increase, IT is not the industry for you.

Adding to the confusion, like everything else, the IT job market is in a blue funk. "The job market for IT professionals is one of the worst I have seen since the late 1970s," said Victor Janulaitis, CEO of Janco Associates. "There is a surplus of IT talent, and companies are in a cost-cutting mode. The dot-.com bubble was a cake walk compared to this job market." (Granted, he said that in January when things were even grimmer than now.)

But inside the storm cloud are some silver linings. IT salary levels remain some of the highest of any industry. Peruse the salaries on the following pages and realize many IT professionals earn far in excess of these figures — which are median stats — especially on the West and East coast.

And, IT isn't about to fade away. The fluctuations are unlikely to stop, but it's widely agreed the industry will grow over the next several years. So delve into the following IT salary data and figure out how you can get a bigger piece of the pie. Good luck!

Chief Information Officer (CIO): Salary

Large Company IT Salary:
2004: $167,508
2005: $169,601
2006: $169,324
2007: $174,979
2008: $181,240
2009: $179,823

Mid-sized Company IT Salary:
2004: $176,357
2005: $171,791
2006: $172,351
2007: $169,504
2008: $171,200
2009: $171,755

VP, Information Services: Salary

Large Company IT Salary:
2004: $116,437
2005: $134,227
2006: $134,584
2007: $144,928
2008: $143,276
2009: $148,051

Mid-sized Company IT Salary:
2004: $108,389
2005: $108,173
2006: $106,746
2007: $111,576
2008: $116,383
2009: $121,873

Director, I.S. Planning: Salary

Large Company IT Salary:
2004: $128,604
2005: $124,822
2006: $125,457
2007: $124,928
2008: $125,184
2009: $126,203

Mid-sized Company IT Salary:
2004: $107,019
2005: $108,177
2006: $100,145
2007: $108,329
2008: $98,922
2009: $115,434

Manager, Computer Operations: Salary

Large Company IT Salary:
2004: $85,318
2005: $85,479
2006: $84,102
2007: $94,540
2008: $91,113
2009: $90,450

Mid-sized Company IT Salary:
2004: $83,079
2005: $84,058
2006: $85,113
2007: $81,673
2008: $80,088
2009: $78,678

Manager, Network Services: Salary

Large Company IT Salary:
2004: $90,838
2005: $98,267
2006: $87,890
2007: $87,515
2008: $86,730
2009: $86,595

Mid-sized Company IT Salary:
2004: $90,286
2005: $94,375
2006: $92,123
2007: $86,797
2008: $85,140
2009: $84.987

Manager, Production Support: Salary

Large Company IT Salary:
2004: $84,503
2005: $83,572
2006: $79,306
2007: $76,358
2008: $78,098
2009: $78,098

Mid-sized Company IT Salary:
2004: $90,162
2005: $98,264
2006: $96,629
2007: $92,766
2008: $97,578
2009: $89,110

All salary data courtesy of Janco Associates.

The rest of this article can be found on Datamation.

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