Pay drop for IT middle managers

Many middle managers in the information technology field are seeing their pay drop, according to a recent study.

The study, published Tuesday by research firm Enterprise Systems, found a decrease in compensation for 50 per cent of the IT middle management positions surveyed, compared with 2002. There was better news for those higher and lower in the pecking order. The survey of 1,130 "enterprise IT sites", most of which were in the United States, showed "salary stabilization and modest growth" for executives and IT staff.

The research comes as technology professionals are recovering from the recent economic downturn and facing the threat of offshoring, in which tasks like application development are sent to lower-wage countries such as India. The trend has been criticized as bad for US workers, but some economists and industry leaders say the offshore trend is ultimately healthy for the US economy.

Still, a recent study found morale among IT workers has dipped to an all-time low, even though demand for certain skills is rising. Seventy-two per cent of the 650 organizations contacted by Meta Group said the continuing lack of job growth in the industry is dampening the spirits of IT staff. More than half of the companies said they lost staff this year.

Enterprise Systems found that internet managers weathered a 9.4 per cent decline in compensation, while information systems managers suffered a 5.8 per cent drop and help desk/support managers experienced a 4.5 per cent decline.

Other findings in the salary survey included:

•  Modest gains (about 2 per cent to 4 per cent per year) for most IT staff positions across the salary scale.

•  Hot growth spots for IT management and staff working in UNIX environments, as well as in business-to-business and supply chain management applications.

•  Systems analysts and application programmers saw the largest jump in salaries and bonuses - 6.6 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively - over 2002.

•  System administrators were the only IT staff position to see a decline - down 9.7 per cent - over the last two years.

•  Chief information officers and vice presidents experienced the largest overall increase on average, earning about $130,000, compared to $110,560 in Enterprise Systems' 2002 survey.

Ed Frauenheim writes for CNET News.com