Tag: salary

IT security salaries on the rise

Posted on February 1, 2018 by - News

PF-loadsamoney_2177214kSalaries for cyber security specialists will see seven percent salary increases, according to a new survey.

The Robert Walters 2018 Salary Survey has found that among IT professionals security experts will see the most salary development. Developers and infrastructure specialists will only see salary rises of three percent.

Cyber security specialists are in demand due to high profile data leaks and related cyber attacks, while developers are needed to support digitalisation projects.

Ahsan Iqbal, Associate Director at Robert Walters, said: “While a two percent increase in salaries may seem quite modest, it is important to note that this follows a prolonged period of IT professionals commanding higher and higher wages.

“At this point, salaries for IT professionals are highly inflated, with employers having to compete to secure top talent. In this context, the increases for cyber security specialists are particularly noteworthy.

“In addition to technical skills, employers are keen to secure professionals who can demonstrate communication and project management skills as they look to more closely integrate their IT function into the wider business.”

With salary levels having reached high levels, employers should consider other ways in which to attract and retain top talent.

Ahsan Iqbal said: “For many IT professionals, while a high salary is important, there are other incentives which can attract them to a role.”

 

Microsoft CEO faces karma from foot in mouth

Posted on October 10, 2014 by - News

foot and mouthThe Microsoft boss has said sorry to his women employees after making a huge howler on the subject of equal pay.

In answer to a question from the floor, “What do you advise women who are interested in advancing their careers, but not comfortable … with asking for a raise?” Multiple studies have suggested that women in the workplace earn roughly three quarters of the salary, on average, compared to male counterparts doing the same job.

Satya Nadella said that women who don’t ask for raises have “good karma” and that not asking for equal pay with men is a “superpower”,

His exact words were: “women who don’t ask for raises have a “superpower … because that’s good karma, that’ll come back … that’s the kind of person that I want to trust.”

It is not as if he said the comment in private either. He said it on a stage at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference, held in Phoenix, where no one is likely to take offence.

“It’s not really about asking for the raise,” Nadella told the audience, “but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along”.

We guess that at that point the conversion was drowned out by the cries of a thousand PR bunnies throwing themselves into Nadella’s mouth to stop him speaking.

Needless to say when he got back to the office there was a very cross representative from the PR department with an apology all written for him to send to all female employees who are being advised not to apply for raises.

Nadella wrote that he answered that question completely wrongly.

“I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work. And when it comes to career advice on getting a raise when you think it’s deserved, Maria’s advice was the right advice. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.”

We suspect that Nadella will have to spend a little more time on the Wheel of Birth and Death to escape his karma on that one.

Data reveals surprising UK salary trends

Posted on September 9, 2013 by - News

poundsThe tech sector has long been lauded as the place to go for highly motivated individuals who believe the sky is the limit. While there are numerous success stories in every industry, the tech sector isn’t what it used to be.

So what are the alternatives? Well, if you’re not willing to jump through all the hoops and do all the internships, and you happen to be good with a wrench, plumbers can make some decent cash. The average salary for British plumbers is £27,866, just a tad over the national average of £26,462. However, in some parts of the country they can make quite a bit more. Many plumbers in London charge £90 an hour and successful, self-employed city plumbers can easily earn more than £50,000, reports Careerbuilder.

Secretaries in medical and legal fields can also make some nice dosh, while personal assistants can earn up to £24,067. Personal assistants in big multinationals can also end up north of £50,000, not bad at all. If writing is what ticks all the right boxes and you hope to be the next J.K. Rowling, think again. The average published author in the UK earns just £5,000 a year from writing, which means most can only rely on writing as an extra source of income or a hobby that pays for itself.

Bus and coach drivers are paid £22,701, which doesn’t sound too great for people who are entrusted with the safety of hundreds of passengers each day. Tram and train drivers make an average of £44,617, which is pretty good.

TV stars can be quite famous, but only a handful make loads of money. For example, professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing earn £30,500, despite the fact that they often spend up to 14 hours training real celebs.

The Prime Minister earns £142,500 a year, which does not sound like much – and it isn’t, especially given the fact that as many as 2,525 council staff across the country earn more than £100,000, while 42 local authority employees make more than £250,000.

Geeks more in demand than fashionistas

Posted on March 12, 2013 by - News

BillgatesIT and web design hirings are growing at a much faster rate than those in retail, research has found.

According to specialist technology recruiter Greythorn, 32,000 IT and web design jobs were created over the past year, marking a 12 percent rise, while retail job hirings rose by only three percent.

In the IT sector the biggest increase in jobs has been in web design which has risen 19.4 percent from 31,000 to 37,000 roles. The number of IT business architects and system designers has also risen 18.8 percent from 85,000 to 101,000 in the same period.

Graythorn said the contrast in hirings could be put down to the fact that online spending in the retail space had grown.

According to figures by the British Retail Consortium, online sales grew 10.9 percent in the year to February 2013, two and half times the rate of total retail sales, while the Office of National Statistics found an 8.7 percent increase in online retail sales despite a 0.6 percent year on year fall in overall retail sales.

Graythorn said that this had a knock on effect on the IT industry with large retailers hiring staff to work on their online and IT teams. One example is John Lewis which announced it would be hiring 100 new online staff, while making managerial cuts on the shop floor.

From their own figures, Greythorn said it had also seen growth of 89 percent in IT roles placed in online retail over the past year, compared with the previous twelve months.

Mark Baxter said as online shopping grew, companies were increasingly investing in improving the customer experience and the back office operations supporting online sales. He said this was a key stage in transferring to a high tech economy.

“The number of specialised new roles is growing and that is only good news for IT professionals,” he added.

As well as an increase in jobs, IT salaries are also typically higher than those in retail. The average salary of an IT system designer is £37,092, whereas a Retail Manager, with a similar level of seniority, earns an average salary of £21,237.

However, the recruiter pointed out that due to increased numbers and new roles, IT pay had seen slow growth with rises of 0.35 percent for IT system designers and 1.18 percent for software developers, and there has been a -0.45 percent fall in pay for web designers.

Pay growth in retail was described as a “mixed picture”, with strong rises of 3.13 percent for retail managers, but falls of -2.01 percent and -2.39 percent for sales cashiers and retail assistants respectively.