A company’s ability to recruit and keep a team of skilled information technology employees is becoming a top priority throughout the industry. Those companies unable to secure the qualified IT professionals that they need to support their businesses risk the efficiency of their operations, which can keep them from exploring new and exciting initiatives.
Right now, demand is exceeding the supply of qualified candidates to fill the many information technology jobs that are out there. This is according to a study conducted by the Robert Half Technology 2013 Salary Guide. That is very good news for the many IT professionals looking for their first IT job or those sitting at their current job wishing they could move on to something bigger and better.
Pay Scales Will Keep Going Up
In order for companies to improve their odds of securing the best IT employees out there, they are now ramping up their pay scales. They know that money attracts the best talent. While some companies realized this fact a long time ago, some have been somewhat slower on the uptake, but they are catching up and it is resulting in an industry-wide trend.
This trend has led Robert Half Technology to come up with an industry-wide number that reflects the jump in pay and that number is 5.3 percent.
This number reflects the starting pay that an information technology professional can expect. What’s more is that Robert Half surveyed chief information officers and it is expected that in 2014 it will be determined that the information technology industry will be the one in 2013 that saw the greatest boost in average starting salary. From here, the pay scale is going to continue to rise with the demand for talent.
High in Demand Jobs
There are some jobs that are expected to grow in demand. They include:
- Mobile application developing
The number of mobile Internet users is expected to grow by 16.6 percent by 2015, according to IDC. This is going to result in more companies wanting to expand their mobile presence and build mobile websites and applications that will expand their reach. The starting pay for mobile applications developers can expect to start out between $92,750 and $133,500, which is an increase of 9 percent over 2012.
- Business intelligence analysis
Companies are looking to get more from the data that they generate and gather so that they can use it in decision-making processes. However, turning raw data into info that can be used to advance their businesses requires a certain set of skills. Big data is used to identify the big picture. Without a big picture, a business may not entirely know what is going on.
- Wireless network engineering
It is estimated that the number of mobile devices that are connected to the Internet exceed the number of people on the planet. This is because most people use more than one or two devices with some people using both mobile phones and tablets. This has increased the demand for people who can build and maintain the vast wireless networks that keep information flowing. From this point, it is expected to increase and so s the salary, which now starts between $85,500 and $117,000. That is a 7.9 percent increase over 2012.
As the needs of consumers and businesses continue to evolve technologically, more information technology positions are going to open up. As the demand grows, the salaries are expected to increase so that businesses can stay on top of their game.