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Techies: 'We're worth more than last year'
Show us the money...

By Natasha Lomas

Published: Friday 02 May 2008

UK IT workers are not letting economic woes get them down, according to a new salary survey of close to 5,000 techies. Instead they are confident 2008 will see them trouser a fatter pay rise than last year - around 4.5 per cent, compared to an average hike of 3.3 per cent in 2007.

The average salary of a full-time employee in the IT sector stands at £35,160, the survey found. As to be expected, London tech workers bring home around £5k more bacon: average pay in the capital is £41,474. Meanwhile, the poorest IT pros are those in the north of England where the average is £34,130.

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Tech recruitment company Computer People's IT Salary Review 2008 also found more than a third (39 per cent) of IT pros surveyed are actively looking to change jobs, with 27 per cent planning a switch in the next three months. A further 48 per cent said they are 'keeping an eye on the market' and are willing to change if the right opportunity arises.

Nick Dettmar, managing director of Computer People, said in a statement. "The IT industry is made up of professionals that know they are in demand, know they have a skill set that is sought after and are keeping an eye out for opportunities that will stretch them.

"While it's great that IT professionals are so bullish about their prospects, it's also worrying for IT departments that so many are on the lookout for what they see as better work."

The survey also suggests the majority of tech workers are willing to look beyond the UK in order to get the right job. Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of respondents said they are looking abroad for employment opportunities, and 87 per cent of those said this would be to secure a better quality job.

Cobol skills are worth the most in the market, according to the survey - commanding an average wage of £41,870 - while Cisco skills languish at the bottom of the pay-scale, yielding £32,320.

Just one per cent of the IT pros surveyed earn between £90k and £100k per year, while six per cent somehow have to survive on less than £10,000 per year. The highest proportion (15 per cent) of techies occupies the £40k to £59k wage bracket, the survey found.