IT managers 'cleverer' than non-techies

IT managers are cleverer and earn more money than their counterparts in other business functions such as HR and marketing, according to official UK labour market statistics.

The latest quarterly review of the IT job market by e-Skills UK shows IT managers on average earn £830 per week, compared to an average of £660 per week for other managers. Finance is the only function where managers earn more than IT, with an average pay of £860 per week.

The data, from e-Skills UK and the Office of National Statistics, also shows that the 278,000 IT managers in the UK appear to be brighter and better educated than their non-IT counterparts. Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of IT managers have achieved higher level qualifications, such as a degree, compared with less than half (43 per cent) of other managers.

IT managers are also ditching the stereotypical techie image, with only 11 per cent of them holding an IT-related degree. But other stereotypes are harder to shed: 90 per cent are white, 84 per cent are male, 70 per cent are married and the average age is 39 years. Most (39 per cent) actually work within the IT sector, with the rest working in other vertical industries such as government, finance and retail.

The quarterly skills bulletin also shows that while recruiters have had difficulties finding IT staff during the first half of 2006 - especially in systems developing and programming positions - the number of companies looking to hire new IT staff is falling, with just a third saying they expect to take on any new people in the next six months.

Particular technical skills in decline include Citrix and Windows NT but there have been significant increases in demand for senior programmers, web designers, internet staff, operations analysts and webmasters or content administrators.