Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Network skills in demand, pay well in down economy

Despite hiring freezes and budget cutting, several high-tech talents remain in demand.

IT executives polled separately by IT staffing and consultancy firm Robert Half Technology and staffing firm Bluewolf revealed that the need for specific IT skills doesn't lessen because the economy is bad. Robert Half Technology surveyed 1,400 CIOs about their hiring plans for the second quarter (8 percent intend to add staff) and discovered the skills considered most in demand right now.

Desktop support ranked as the most wanted skill sets for 76 percent of CIOs, with network and Windows administration taking the second and third slots with 65 percent and 64 percent, respectively. Database management is considered hot for 55 percent of respondents, and telecommunications support and wireless network management was selected by 47 percent and 46 percent of CIOs polled, respectively. Rounding out those skills seen as in demand are Web development/Web site design (39 percent), virtualization (35 percent) and business intelligence (31 percent).

On the lower end for in-demand skills are ERP implementation (23 percent), .Net development (22 percent) and Linux/Unix administration (21 percent). Other lesser sought-after skills include XML development and Java development, both receiving 21 percent of CIO responses. And open source development and CRM implementation earned 19 percent each.

"Help desk/technical support and networking tied as the job areas experiencing the most growth, each cited by 15 percent of CIOs," according to Robert Half Technology.

Separately Bluewolf projected that salaries for those with networking expertise will spike in the coming months. The staffing firm's IT Salary Guide 2009 revealed that network managers could experience salary increases of as much as 14 percent, with pay ranging between US$70,000 and $110,000 -- which is up from the high end of US$95,000 in 2008.

"Investments in several key areas, including network administration and security, business intelligence, wireless communications and Web applications have and will continue to drive aggressive hiring," according to Bluewolf.

The data in Bluewolf's salary study is based on data gathered from roughly 300 clients (with US$200 million or more in revenue) for many different job openings, amounting to an estimated 4,000 positions. The staffing firm primarily operates in the New York tri-state area and specifies pay in such areas generally tends to run up to 50 percent higher than the national average.

Bluewolf's research also found that pay for project managers in 2009 will decline. "Project managers will earn an average starting salary of between $85,000 and $125,000 annually, a decrease from last year's high range of $150,000," the firm found.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Linux

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: it careers, IT jobs
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Oracle Business Process Analysis Suite
    Careful analysis and continuous optimization of business processes delivers real competitive advantage. Conversely, a random approach to process design negatively impacts a company’s bottom line. This insight is one reason successful companies adopt business process management (BPM) as a way of aligning their business processes with business and customer requirements. Success with BPM eliminates the gap between business strategy and implementation. Business users are empowered to participate in all stages of the business process lifecycle. Closed-loop integration between modeling, execution, and monitoring enables continuous and holistic business process improvement.
    Learn more »
  • Lower Your IT Costs When You Standardize on Oracle Database 11g
    As business operations become more complex, the demand for change in IT increases, along with the associated risks that must be mitigated. Today’s IT professionals are asked to manage more information and deliver it to their users in a timely manner with ever-increasing quality of service. And in today’s economic climate, IT must also reduce budgets and derive greater value out of existing investments.
    Learn more »
  • New Mobility Requires a New Network Strategy
    Computing has gone through several major transitions through the ages, each of which raised the value of the network and dramatically lowered the cost of computing. In the years after its birth in the mainframe era, the computing industry shifted to client/server and then Internet computing. Today, we are beginning yet another major computing revolution: the shift to mobile computing. This revolution already allows us to carry mini computers, called “smartphones,” in our pockets. This shift will drive down the cost of computing even further and drive up the value of the network, forever changing its role in organisations. Read on.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments