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by Ericka Chickowski
Foote Partners recently released its IT Skills and Certification Pay Index, which examines IT pay premiums through the end of 2008.
Premium pay is defined as compensation received for possessing high-value IT and business skills used on the job. It is often used to adjust either base pay or total pay in situations where job title does not match actual duties and responsibilities. It may be used as a reward, recruiting inducement, retention tool or as a guide for creating consulting rate cards.
Foote Partners surveys 179 different skills to calculate IT pay premiums.
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- Non-Certified Skills See Decline
The last quarter of 2008 saw the first declines in non-certified IT skills since mid-2004, dipping by 0.5 percent. For the year, non-certified skills were rewarded with a 2.2 percent bump in pay premium. - Operating Systems Had Largest Drop
As departments automate administration and configuration duties, the premium for OS expertise declines. This category saw the biggest declines: 1.6 percent for Q4 and 3.2 percent for the year. - Management/Methodology/Process Big Gainer
This category saw the largest gains-10.3 percent for the year and 5.6 percent in the last quarter-as IT departments start paying more for gurus who can help them slim down. - Database Premium Edges Up
Database administrators and designers saw a little spike in demand during the last quarter of 2008 with a 2.9 percent push. This may be attributed to security and business process initiatives requiring database work. - Web/E-Commerce Development Slides
Web and e-commerce development dipped by 1.5 percent in Q4 and 1 percent for the year. Many companies are content with holding off on upgrading e-commerce platforms for now. - Application Development Feels Pinch
Applications developers are available as big tech layoffs hit the market. Last year there was a drop in pay of 1.1 percent, with a 1.9percent slide in the last quarter. - SAP and Enterprise Business Applications Slump
A year ago SAP and ERP pros were in high demand, but no more. This skillset gained 2.7 percent in pay during 2008, but declined by 1.7percent during Q4. - Messaging and Communications Finish Strong
This category held steady for the year, but saw modest gains in the last quarter. The last three months of 2008 saw a 2.8 percent increase. - Systems Networking Holds Steady
Organizations need to keep the lights on, and systems networking skills rose under 1 percent for the year, with a drop of just under 1 percent during the last quarter. - Compensation Varied Within Categories
- The Hottest Skills for Systems/Networking:
Project-based security skills - The Hottest Skills for ERP:
Cross-trained SAP experts - The Hottest Skills for Application Development:
NetWeaver - The Hottest Skills for Web/eCommerce Development:
Microsoft .NET - The Hottest Skills for Database:
Oracle DB - The Hottest Skills for Management, Process and Methodology:
Business process management, improvement and modeling - The Hottest Skills for Messaging and Communications:
Unified communications and messaging
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