IT staff are paid higher salaries in 2006. In particular employees of small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) and experienced personnel earn more money. This is one of the findings of a recent study by the Computerwoche magazine on salaries of IT staff working in SMEs, which was presented on Sunday.
According to the study, the IT salaries of many SMEs are more and more approximating to those paid by major enterprises. In some sectors SMEs pay even more than major enterprises: With an annual salary of 45.100 Euros young SME professionals working in research and development earn slightly more than their counterparts in a group of companies (44.900 Euros). The difference is more distinct in the sales department where SME staff on average earn 37.200 Euros, whereas their corporate counterparts receive 34.500 Euros. Also for experienced personnel SME are ready to pay more money. Thus, an experierenced project manager earning 73.200 Euros annually (previous year 72.000 Euro) is better off than his corporate colleague who is paid 72.000 Euros (previous year 70.600 Euros). For salaries paid to technical customer service personnel the gap reaches its maximum. In this field an expert earns 74.900 Euros per year in SMEs, whereas his or her corporate counterpart is only paid 65.000 Euros.
Job entrants are generally benefiting from this development too. The average salary of young professionals working as IT consultants in SMEs is 36.200 Euros (200 Euros more than in 2005). Junior programmers with a salary of 43.500 Euros and web specialists earning 42.500 Euros receive both 500 Euros more as compared to the previous year. The salaries of data base experts have increased by 700 Euros to 33.700 Euros annually.
Furthermore the study reveals that salaries increasingly consist of a variable share. Some companies do not raise the basic salary, but define a flexible salary part which is paid only if year-end financial results meet the expectations. All the findings of the study are published by the Computerwoche magazine in its recent issue (issue 21/2005). 