By JL Reid
Triangle TechJournal

The calendars have turned; the apple and the acorn have fallen. By some estimates 2003 ended better than expected. President Bush�s Council of Economic Advisors estimate that 1.4 million jobs will be created by the end of 2004, with 510,000 of those jobs being created by the end of �03. Though the Conference Board�s Consumer Confidence Index dropped slightly in December to 91.3, which was 1.2 points lower than November 2003�s index, the board still reports on its website that, �consumers� short-term outlook remains upbeat.�

The jury is still out on the Triangle�s IT job market. No one would try to dispute how the economic downturn hurt the tech area more than average, with the possible exception of the state�s textile industry. Yet if the indicators are correct, the old saying, �Every cloud has a silver lining,� just might apply to the region�s job market. The question now, though, is how tarnished will that silver be? IT jobs may very well be returning to the area, but how much money could someone working in the tech sector expect to make this year?

Dal Norris, a Senior Agent at job placement firm, Randstad, sums up his office�s outlook for 2004 in two words, �Cautiously positive.� Norris explains that Randstad clients foresee new positions opening next year. �What we�re seeing, as opposed to last year when a lot of our clients were basically laughing when we asked if they had any upcoming projects, we�re getting the response that they will have upcoming projects. That they will see funding becoming available, and headcount approvals for [this] year, which bodes well.�

If cautious positivity eludes many IT job seekers, Louis Camus, South East Region Director for The Eliassen Group, a competitive placement firm, can certainly understand why. �We�re seeing some improvement for 2004. It�s not going to be a very strong comeback; it�s going to be a very casual comeback.� Like Randstad, The Eliassen Group addresses its clients� hiring needs and budgets for the next twelve months. �So we�ve already covered 2004,� says Camus. �We�re seeing an upturn, which is good, but not a huge upturn like in past times coming out of a recession.�

The types of positions that Camus and Norris see opening this year include systems administrators, database specialists, and any position that focuses on technology infrastructure. Norris in particular sees an emphasis on web-technology positions. �Those are the positions that held their own over the last year and I think they�ll continue to grow.�

When it comes to job longevity Camus also sees positive change. Though contract employment still fills the market, many contract jobs are converting to permanent positions. �Employers are wanting to try out an employee and make sure everything is fine before taking them on a permanent basis.� While the job outlook might be improving, how much silver are Norris and Camus talking about?

Salary.com reports that median base salaries for IT positions in the Triangle are on average only about 1.3% lower than the national median incomes for those jobs. For example, the site reports that a Senior Network Administrator in RTP could expect to make $69,107, which is just $910 dollars less than the national median salary. Job applicants can freely access Salary.com�s data, or similar information from any number of HR websites. Yet one can imagine that such numbers might not accurately reflect real salaries earned.

�Our numbers are very accurate,� says Bill Coleman, Senior VP of Compensation at Salary.com. �When you talk to job placement firms the numbers they give you represent job offers that exist at that moment.� By contrast, Salary.com measures long-term job compensation, and its data reflects the market over time. Coleman calls the difference between the two measures a �subtle nuance.�

According to Coleman, during the late-90�s tech boom many companies inadvertently inflated the market by offering unreasonably high salaries to inexperienced employees. �As the tech bubble burst, many jobs disappeared and the salaries for the remaining positions tended to drop.� Camus alludes to this same trend when he reveals that starting base salaries are, �probably 15 to 20% lower than what they were in 1999 and 2000.� Even still, Norris says that he sees people who are, �Paid far more than what their worth on the open market.�

Salary.com updates its data on a monthly basis by surveying current jobholders to determine income ranges for specific positions. Considering that job salaries in the Triangle have dropped, the data Salary.com posts hasn�t shown the same amount of decline. Since the website provides a historical perspective of job salaries its data takes into account, but doesn�t necessarily react to, rapid market changes such as current hiring trends. �Our numbers in general have come down. I�d say that the 20% percent estimate is a good ballpark figure, though our numbers have gone down less because they didn�t go up as much,� says Coleman.

Though doing so wouldn�t exactly tell how much a prospective employer is willing to pay for a newly opened position, a job searcher could use Salary.com, or a website like it, to determine what he or she will be making a few years down the line. However Rob Downs, President and CEO of IT outsourcing company, Palladium Networks, would still warn job seekers to be careful.

�Many times these titles can be misleading in the job market,� says Downs. �A lot of Network Administrators are also Systems Administrators; they seem to have a fair amount of interchangeability. A Network Planning Analyst can also be a Network Engineer. It just depends on who you are talking to or [how the company writes the job description].�

The way the market develops new jobs is how Gerry Lipscomb, whose company, IG Interactive, develops web applications, approaches job security. �I believe salary levels will remain strong for positions that combine creative, technical/engineering, and management abilities. While [trends like] overseas outsourcing have had negative and noticeable short-term effects for the Triangle�s tech job market, it has forced general developers to diversify their skill set, which creates a stronger work force in the long-term.�

Or, as Dal Norris states, �The highest salaries are going to be paid to people who have niche skills. Those will be the workers who bring ten out of ten job requirements to the table, as well as two additional ones.�

Below are sample median salary tech industry jobs. Is it time to ask for a raise?

Job Title
$National Median / $Triangle Median

Account Rep, Sr. – Technology Sales
$71,261 / $70,335
Applications Engineer I
$46,885 / $46,276
Applications Engineer II
$56,986 / $56,245
Business Development Director, Biotech
$86,696 / $112,153
Business Development Director, IT
$110,405 / $108,969
Business Development Mgr., Biotech
$85,569 / $85,569
Business Development Mgr., IT
$82,982 / $81,903
Business Systems Analyst I
$43,504 / $42,938
Business Systems Analyst II
$56,802 / $56,064
Chief Information Security Officer
$123,993 / $122,381
Chief Information Technology Officer
$181,407 / $179,049
Client/Server Programmer I
$50,403 / $49,747
Client/Server Programmer II
$60,539 / $59,752
Computer Operations Supervisor
$56,676 / $55,939
Computer Operator I
$29,663 / $29,278
Computer Operator II
$34,360 / $33,913
CRM Program Director
$111,791 / $110,338
CRM Targeted Mrktg. Campaign Mgr.
$101,235 / $99,919
Data Warehouse Info Security Mgr.
$101,201 / $99,886
Data Warehouse Specialist
$66,440 / $65,576
Data Warehousing Manager
$89,968 / $88,798
Database Administrator
$77,893 / $76,880
Database Analyst I
$45,341 / $44,751
Database Analyst II
$58,821 / $58,056
E-Commerce Customer Service Rep.
$25,662 / $25,329
E-Commerce Manager
$84,852 / $83,749
Network Administrator
$54,593 / $53,883
Network Administrator, Sr.
$70,017 / $69,107
Network Engineering Director
$109,933 / $108,504
Network Operations Director
$120,631 / $119,062
Research Associate III, Biotech
$56,119 / $55,389
Scientist I, Biotech
$72,961 / $72,013
Web Designer
$56,078 / $55,349
Web Designer, Sr.
$80,738 / $79,688
Web Software Developer
$62,557 / $61,744
Web Software Developer, Sr.
$79,484 / $78,450
*Data provided courtesy of Salary.com

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