IT&T professionals have been receiving salary increases well above those recorded in other sectors of the Australian workforce over the past 12 months, a report from the Australian Computer Society (ACS) has revealed.
Salaries for IT&T professionals rose 5.2 percent during the 12 months to April, according to the 1999 ACS Remuneration Survey Report. Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded general wage increases of 3.4 percent in the same period.
However, disparity in wages within the IT&T industry is significant. According to the report, IT&T professionals working in the private sector earned average increases of six percent, while those employed in the public and education sectors earned increases of 4.2 and 3.6 percent, respectively. In this light, it seems only some of the IT&T industry are truly ahead in the salary game.
According to the survey, those involved in general management positions reported a median base salary of $90,000 with salaries above $100,000 not uncommon. Conversely, the median base salary for computer support was around $46,800.
"The continuing IT&T skills shortage and the widespread recognition of the value of IT&T professionals, as evidenced by these salary increases, makes IT&T a very attractive profession when it comes to financial remuneration," ACS President Prins Ralston said.
Interestingly, the study found that among programmers and analysts, database and Windows NT skills are attracting slightly higher wages than C+, Unix, Oracle, Visual Basic and others.
A number of respondents also said they worked as independent contractors, charging an hourly rate for their services. The hourly rate for contractors ranged from $55 to $85, with a median around the $69 mark.
"These results indicate our IT&T industry is quite competitive, which bodes well for our ability to attract international projects and investments," Ralston said.
"In terms of the future, IT&T is clearly enjoying strong growth with all indications being that these upward trends will continue in at least the short to medium term. From every perspective, IT&T will continue to be an attractive proposition for those who choose this as their profession."
The survey was based on nearly 2000 ACS members working in a variety of professional roles and was conducted by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers throughout Australia.
