Top tech jobs for 2006

Show me the money!

If you sit still for long enough in any economics lecture, someone will draw a big x on a whiteboard, label one arm "supply" and the other "demand", tell you that's how the world operates and mumble through a range of "exceptions" to this nearly infallible rule.

If you've been reading over the past week about the booming demand for IT skills, you're probably already tweaking your superannuation forecasts. But don't go booking your retirement for the age of 55, because in the real world economists' predictions are almost always wrong, and an effect called "lag" is putting a break on IT salaries when they should be going through the roof (see table below).

According to Peter Noblet, a regional director at recruitment company Hays, despite the skills shortage in the sector, employer offers are still falling short of candidates' expectations.

"The idea that employers need to look at the salaries they offer in light of the increasing skills shortage is slowly filtering through, and employers are beginning to realise that if they are able to meet candidate expectations, they can source talent from a wider pool," Noblet says.

"There is also a reticence by a lot of employers to dilute the requirements of what they have for a role. Certainly, specific skills are necessary to successfully perform any role, however experience using those skills in a particular sector should be an area of flexibility. In our current market, flexibility is a critical feature in successfully filling a role."

Western Australia and Queensland are a case in point -- both states are experiencing serious shortages in IT staff, but salary growth in the IT sector is weak at best.

In the dot com bust, it was the most-inflated salaries that were the first to go, and while the current growth pattern appears more sustainable, highly paid staff will still be expected to earn their way.

The slow but steady upward climb of wages in the IT sector is a mixed blessing for IT professionals, as corporations only operate effectively if they get what they pay for, and any high-paid job requires constant and ongoing effort.

Peter Acheson, CEO of recruitment group Ambit puts the current skills shortage and upward pressure on wages into a wider context, pointing out that smart CIOs will not be prepared to pay dearly for skills which can be just as easily outsourced or sent overseas.

"Over the next few years we're going to see a lot of operational roles go offshore or get outsourced," Acheson says. "However, smart CIOs won't be prepared to outsource high-value components of their business."

For the run-of-the-mill techie this basically means upgrade your skills, and make sure that you're not only prepared to win that high-paid role, but also to continually align your skills base with the demands of the corporate environment.

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