Weekly Word on the Street: IT Pay Remains Stagnant

Takeaway of the week is you never know what to believe when it comes to industry reports, findings, statistics or surveys. One set of industry reports and findings might say the IT salaries are on the rise and the next week a new slew of fact and figures come out to counter those claims. The one constant seems to be that IT jobs remain a steady mover in a still stagnant economy.

IT Sector Value Up, Wages Not So Much

The increasing value of IT departments in the overall success of businesses has yet to be reflected in recent salary trends, according to industry statistics.

For an industry with a percolating job market and unemployment figures below the national average, the average wage earned by the IT professionals within has risen little in recent years.

Among the surprising statistics pointed out in an article this week in Computerworld, workers in this sector are seeing annual salary increases of less than one percent over the past decade.

Broken down, this means average hourly wages of $37.27 for workers in this field back in 2000 have increased by less than $2 an hour in 10 years, according to report findings provided by the Economic Policy Institute.

Increased use of contract labor, a still-struggling overall economy and inflation are among the factors attributed by analysts to the sluggish wage shift.

The continued existence of an IT skills gap and strong unemployment figures for the sector indicate such a disconnected wage rate can't remain for long.

Be Social, Get Hired

Any engaged job seeker is already keenly aware of the importance of social media avenues in achieving that end goal. However, being aware of a resource and being a pro at a resource are two different things.

A few helpful tips on how to better utilize social interactions for your career needs was recently discussed in an article at CareerRocketeer.com:

• Keep in mind that the original social medium is the actual conversation. Don't wait for a job to be posted to introduce yourself to the hiring manager of an organization for which you have an interest. Could be helpful for when a job does open up.
• LinkedIn Groups - another avenue to mix and mingle with other professionals. Learn about others and allow them to learn about you.
• LinkedIn inMail - consider signing up for a LinkedIn premium account that comes with the opportunity to send their version of emails. Sometimes it's that extra effort to make a connection that could spark an interest.
• Remember that Twitter levels the playing field and allows for a peer experience regardless of professional status, a pretty powerful tool when used wisely. A retweeted message or article from someone with whom you'd like to connect is a good first step towards "earning" the ability to begin direct messaging.