IT Pros See Modest Salary Boosts, Heavier Workloads

There's good news and bad news for IT professionals when it comes to their salaries this year. The good news: IT specialists saw another year of modest salary increases and fewer pay cuts, hiring freezes and layoffs. The bad news: they're having to work much harder for it.

Computerworld's Salary Survey 2012, released Monday, found that average salaries for IT professionals increased 2.1 percent this year, with average total compensation rising 1.8 percent. Fifty-six percent of the 4,337 respondents to the survey reported an increase in base salary this year, while only 9 percent reported a decrease.

Not surprisingly, IT professionals in the government sector are seeing the smallest gains in salary this year, with an increase in total compensation of just 0.2 percent, the study found.

But modest average salary increases may not be worth the heavier workloads many IT professionals are facing, particularly as government agencies and businesses strive to do more with less, the study found. Only 20 percent of those surveyed said they believe their salary is keeping pace with business growth and demands, and 71 percent said their financial situation has either stayed flat or lost ground in the past two years.

In addition, more than half (51 percent) of respondents said their workloads have increased in the past 12 months, and 68 percent said they anticipate even greater workloads and responsibilities in the next 12 months. Eighty-five percent also said they have felt more pressure to increase productivity or take on new tasks, and of that group, 90 percent said their salary had not been adjusted to reflect the added work. Roughly half of respondents said they feel underpaid when taking into account their roles and responsibilities.

Despite the increased workloads, however, 66 percent of respondents said they're satisfied or very satisfied with their total compensation. But only 29 percent said they believe a career in IT and the profession's earning potential are as promising today as they were five years ago.