1. Money Issues

We had plenty to say about this subject in the last section, but some points bear repeating. An IT career is not a shortcut to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. With hard work, perseverance and experience, you can make a very comfortable living in IT. However, you won't be a millionaire immediately. As in any profession, dues must be paid while gathering experience. Paying your dues often means "that you have to take a job that you don't like for a short time to obtain experience or training or to pick up skills before moving on to the job you really want."ⁱ

Most executives agree that the heady times of the past few years, which resulted in large salary increases, are finished. "We saw a temporary inflation of salaries as the market demand was such that IT people demanded and received higher salaries," said Phillip LaPlante, president of the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology in Media, PA.ⁱⁱ Fears of losing employees and the need to fill jobs that had been vacant for long periods drove salaries up at an extremely high rate. Paul Daversa, president of Resource Systems Group Inc. (an IT search firm) says that employees were "overcompensated in 2000" and early 2001. He feels that "Salaries will start to stabilize as in the pre-Internet times."ⁱⁱⁱ This doesn't mean you won't be able to command a good salary, but don't expect routine raises of 10% to 15% any longer. Cost of living increases are more likely until the general economy picks up again. However, "hot" (high demand) skill sets will still command a premium. In 2001, web designers, Internet and Intranet workers are still commanding large pay raises of 10% to 11%; despite raise cutbacks in other IT professions.^iv

What affects your salary in an IT position? Your skill set and your experience level are obvious answers. However, there are less obvious factors, such as the size of your employer and geographic location (for more on geography see the "location" section that follows) which affect the size of your paycheck. Large companies tend to pay more. According to InformationWeek's 2001 salary survey, employees at small companies (less than $50 million in revenue) tend to earn an average of $20,000 less than they would at large companies (with revenues of $10 billion or more).^v Of course, not everyone enjoys the politics of working at a large company. There are tradeoffs in every employment decision you will make. Nevertheless, if you are pursuing a high salary, set your sights on a large corporation.

Moreover, as we have said before, making a lot of money is not everything. There are other quality of life issues to consider...such as job satisfaction and enjoyment. This is why you must consider the following...