As bad as your job may be, you may need to wait until hiring rebounds and you're in a stronger position to negotiate higher pay. Approximately one in four IT professionals are unhappy with their compensation, according to Computerworld‘s 2009 Salary Survey. Dissatisfaction with their earnings is the leading reason IT professionals polled by Computerworld would consider taking a new job. That’s no surprise, considering the cuts companies have made to employees’ salaries, bonuses and benefits over the past 12 months. The question is, if you’re unhappy with your job or your compensation—and you can’t tender your resignation fast enough—do you take a good job that presents itself, say, within in the next three months, or do you wait for the economic recovery to really take hold?For the purpose of this discussion, let’s define a good job as one that you’d enjoy doing, that suits your skills and expertise, and that’s with an employer whose culture seems equally well-matched. But maybe the compensation associated with this job isn’t where you’d like it to be. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe As bad as your current employment/compensation situation may be, you may be better off sticking it out until hiring rebounds and you’re in a stronger position to negotiate a higher salary with prospective employers. Nancy Keene, a director in executive search firm Stanton Chase International’s Dallas office, says employers are low-balling the salaries associated with positions they’re currently trying to fill. “Some companies see this as a great opportunity [to get talent at a discount],” she says. “They might get a 10 to 15 percent discount off of what someone was making before [the recession].” (Check out Keene’s smart blog, The Perfect Fit.)If the purpose of your move is to earn more money, you might just have to sit tight, as uncomfortable as that seat may be, because you may not be able to get more money from a new employer right now, or even over the next three to six months. Still, that shouldn’t stop you from looking if you’re unhappy. Are you in a situation where you’re fed up with your job or your compensation and you’d like to find something new ASAP? Or are you going to wait to start looking until the economy rebounds? Related content opinion Career Advice: Parting Words By Meridith Levinson Apr 11, 2012 2 mins Careers opinion IT Salaries: 10 Cities Where IT Professionals Earn the Most IT staffing firm CyberCoders recently released its ranking of the 10 cities where IT salaries are highest. CIO.com compares this latest salary data with IT salary surveys from other sources. By Meridith Levinson Apr 03, 2012 3 mins Salaries IT Jobs Careers opinion How Project Managers Can Negotiate Higher Salaries The Project Management Institute's latest salary survey is chockfull of specific, reliable data that project managers can use to negotiate higher salaries. Here's an example of how they might use the data in their own salary negotiations. By Meridith Levinson Mar 21, 2012 3 mins Salaries Project Management Tools Careers opinion Why IT Managers Need to Address Skills Shortages in Their Organizations IT managers know that skills shortages in their organizations negatively impact business operations, yet—due to budget and time constraints—they do little to address IT skills gaps. Is there any way to fix this problem? By Meridith Levinson Mar 16, 2012 3 mins IT Skills Careers IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe