Salaries for Entry-Level IT Workers

Computerworld — Katherine Spencer Lee, the executive director of Robert Half Technology, talks about rising salaries for entry-level IT positions.

Computerworld: What sorts of numbers have you seen?
Spencer Lee: In the 2008 Robert Half Technology Salary Guide, the projected increase in average starting salaries for the 61 U.S. IT titles that we track is 5.3 percent. This compares to a projected increase of 2.8 percent last year.

We are seeing highest demand from our clients in application development, Web development, network administration, database administration/management and technical support.

For specific titles we track in the salary guide, some of those highest in demand are lead application developer, messaging administrator, network manager, IT auditor, business intelligence analyst and data modeler, all expected to command base compensation rises six percent to seven percent higher than 2007 projections.

Specifically regarding entry-level positions, the salary guide projects growth slightly better than average for Tiers 1 through 3 help desk positions. Networking and the help desk can be good spots for a young college graduate to learn more about technology and customer service and are often great places to start an IT career.

Are companies finding it easier to staff their help desks?
Not necessarily. A recent Robert Half survey found that CIOs felt that their IT support function was understaffed by 40 percent on average. Part of that shortage is indicative of the difficulty companies face in locating enough skilled IT professionals, at entry level or otherwise.

Another of our surveys, from last year, indicated that it takes nearly two months to hire IT staff positions and nearly three months to fill manager-level positions.

Are organizations mostly hiring computer science graduates, or people with other backgrounds?
It is indeed common for companies to recruit and hire from computer science, engineering or information systems programs. But that doesn't seem to be the only place. As IT crosses into more diverse areas of the business today—marketing, customer service, operations, sales, etc.—it's increasingly important that IT professionals have a broad range of skills. Clients tell us that IT professionals who can combine IT skills with business acumen are most desirable.

Still, a recent Robert Half Technology survey of 1,400 CIOs revealed that, compared to five years ago, they are 25 percent less likely to fill open IT staff positions with candidates who have nontechnical degrees—that is, degrees other than information systems, computer science or engineering.