Myth #1 - "I'm going to Disneyland!" or "Show me the money!" (With apologies to Jerry McGuire)

"If you are going to let fear of poverty govern your life...your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live." - George Bernard Shaw ⁱ

A wise man once said, "Money can't buy happiness." However, a wiser man once told me, "Yes, but it can buy a lot of things that make you happy!" Let us face it, money is a major motivational force in getting up and going to work every day. Given the choice, I would spend the rest of my life on the beach. However, since I have grown accustomed to eating and having a roof over my head, I get up and go to work every day. Think about it, you spend more time at your job than you do with your family (at least 8 hours per day at work, plus commuting time). Given this scenario, most people would like to be highly compensated for the tremendous amount of time they commit to their jobs every week.

The good news is that many IT careers pay quite well, especially relative to other jobs. You will not be earning the stratospheric salaries that major league sports stars earn, but you can make a very comfortable living. How good a living can you earn? Well, that depends on a variety of factors, including the branch of IT you choose and your geographical location (you can earn the highest salaries on both coasts of the United States). Computerworld's 14th annual salary survey from September 2000 indicates entry-level salaries range from $49,488 (for senior systems analysts) to $41,036 (for network administrators).ⁱⁱ

IT salaries are subject to the same economic laws of supply and demand as any other profession. In recent years, demand for workers has outstripped the supply of available, trained employees, which helps to keep salaries high. According to the US Department of Labor, this trend should continue since it is anticipated that "computer systems analysts, engineers and scientists are expected to be the fastest growing occupations through 2008".ⁱⁱⁱ

Nevertheless, what most people fail to realize is that an IT career is not a short cut to a high salary. As with any profession, there are dues to be paid (translation - starting at the bottom for a modest salary) and hard work is required to achieve your goals. The problem I encounter is that many individuals think they can earn a six-figure salary as soon as they get out of school. Many folks think the IT arena is the yellow brick road paved with gold. There is no way to break it to you gently...this expectation is unrealistic. Earning a high salary in IT requires the following:

1. Intensive training - I've had prospective students come to me and say, "What one course can I take to allow me to go out and launch my career in IT?" After I stop chuckling, I explain that IT jobs are complex and the technology is constantly changing. Therefore, a series of courses spanning months or years (or intense individual studying) is the only logical way to prepare for a career in IT.
   
   
2. Experience - I am not sure why I run into so many people who think they are going to make high salaries in IT with no experience. IT jobs are just like those in any other profession. Pay is directly proportionate to experience. A friend of mine is a plumber. He makes a comfortable living (comparable to an IT career) now that he has 10 years of experience. However, when he first came out of trade school, he was earning a rather modest salary as he built his base of experience. This same scenario applies to IT professionals. You will be able to make a good living after working long, hard hours honing your skills.
   
   
3. Management responsibilities - Earning a top salary in IT requires a certain amount of supervisory responsibility. Not everyone is cut out to manage other employees. Being a good manager is difficult on the best days and usually requires a fair bit of overtime. Being a coach, mentor, supervisor, disciplinarian, confidant, counselor and leader to a group of individuals can be rewarding. It can also be exhausting! Nevertheless, don't fret; there are still plenty of opportunities to be a player on the team as opposed to the coach.
   
   
4. Proficiency at your job - You aren't going to last long in any profession if you are not good at what you do. Just because there are shortages of IT workers, doesn't mean that you are bulletproof. You will still be fired if you do a poor job.

So where do the unrealistic salary expectations come from? My theory is the misleading statistics used by mass media and advertising campaigns. You will often see this pitch in ads or in news stories: "The median (or average) salary for Microsoft certified networking professionals is $63,000." Unfortunately, most people have never had a statistics course or forget the definition of the "median" (or average). Median means mid-point. If the median salary is $63,000, that means half of the people are earning less than $63,000 and half are earning more. Average is a bit easier to remember. Add up all the salaries and divide by the total number of salaries. However, these statistics can be misleading as the following table shows:

The average salary for group 1 is $63,000 calculated as follows:

(100+35+36+37+37+49+63+80+130)/9

The median salary for group 2 is $63,000 (i.e., half the employees earn less that $63,000 and half earn more).

Do these figures accurately represent the data in the two groups? From a technical point of view, the statistics about the groups are correctly calculated. However, from the viewpoint of an average individual, the statistics could be considered misleading. The statistics presented above don't take into account the experience level of the individuals involved. Therefore, don't rely solely on statistical information to make a career decision.

Although earning large sums of money is an important motivating factor for most people, it is a poor reason to base a career choice upon. IT careers are demanding since the technology is constantly changing. This creates a high stress environment, in which not all individuals will thrive. You really need to make your career choice based on a number of factors. However, I believe the overriding factor is whether you enjoy working in the field. Enjoying your work is key to doing it well. Making $150,000 per year but being miserable every day is probably a poor quality of life decision. There are more things to life than money and there are many careers where you can earn a good living. If you are good at plumbing, go be a plumber. Don't try to force yourself into a career where you will be unhappy or unfulfilled just for the sake of chasing a large salary.

For more information on IT salaries, check out these useful links:

www.salary.com - An electronic employment site with a "salary wizard" for creating salary profiles based on your geographic location.

www.nwfusion.com/you2000/calculator.html - A site featuring a "salary calculator" based on a Network World salary survey. However, the results this calculator generated are (in my humble opinion) a bit optimistic.