IT executives polled separately by IT staffing and consultancy firm Robert Half Technology and staffing firm Bluewolf revealed that the need for specific IT skills doesn’t lessen because the economy is bad. Robert Half Technology surveyed 1,400 CIOs about their hiring plans for the second quarter (eight per cent intend to add staff) and discovered the skills considered most in demand right now.
Desktop support ranked as the most wanted skill sets for 76 per cent of CIOs, with network and Windows administration taking the second and third slots with 65 per cent and 64 per cent, respectively. Database management is considered hot for 55 per cent of respondents, and telecommunications support and wireless network management was selected by 47 per cent and 46 per cent of CIOs polled, respectively. Rounding out those skills seen as in demand are Web development/Web site design (39 per cent ), virtualization (35 per cent ) and business intelligence (31 per cent ).
On the lower end for in-demand skills are ERP implementation (23 per cent ), .Net development (22 per cent ) and Linux/Unix administration (21 per cent ). Other lesser sought-after skills include XML development and Java development, both receiving 21 per cent of CIO responses. And open source development and CRM implementation earned 19 per cent each.
“Help desk/technical support and networking tied as the job areas experiencing the most growth, each cited by 15 per cent of CIOs,” according to Robert Half Technology.
Separately Bluewolf projected that salaries for those with networking expertise will spike in the coming months. The staffing firm’s IT Salary Guide 2009 revealed that network managers could experience salary increases of as much as 14 per cent , with pay ranging between $70,000 and $110,000 — which is up from the high end of $95,000 in 2008.
“Investments in several key areas, including network administration and security, business intelligence, wireless communications and Web applications have and will continue to drive aggressive hiring,” according to Bluewolf.
The data in Bluewolf’s salary study is based on data gathered from roughly 300 clients (with $200 million or more in revenue) for many different job openings, amounting to an estimated 4,000 positions. The staffing firm primarily operates in the New York tri-state area and specifies pay in such areas generally tends to run up to 50 per cent higher than the national average.
Bluewolf’s research also found that pay for project managers in 2009 will decline. “Project managers will earn an average starting salary of between $85,000 and $125,000 annually, a decrease from last year’s high range of $150,000,” the firm found.
