By Suzanne Gaspar
Network World, 07/23/01

"There's more to life than money" has become your mantra, results of the 2001 Network World Salary Survey reveal. Salary, bonuses and stock options are less valuable to you than flexible hours, challenging work and even job location, the survey found.

When the nearly 1,700 respondents ranked the most important reasons to change jobs, challenge of work, access to new technologies and training rated on par with compensation and benefits). Not surprisingly, the likelihood of the company going public ranked last. And stock options were near the bottom, too, reflecting the stunning demise of the Internet IPO market.

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Across the board, this year's survey, conducted by STAT Resources, reflects the fallout from the weakening economy and the backlash of a troubled stock market and failing dot-coms. While top network executive pay was up 11%, the average 2001 salary increase for all networking titles was 7%, the same as last year.

But last year, annual bonuses increased 28% and stock options were up 24% compared with 1999 figures, pushing total compensation up 10%. This year, total compensation is up only 7% over last year, reflecting a smaller increase in bonuses (11%) and no increase in stock or stock options compared with last year (see charts).

But if the work conditions are right, IT workers will shrug off slowing financial gains.

If you ask LAN/WAN administrator Jeff Honnold what he likes about his company he doesn't immediately talk about compensation. Instead, he'll tell you about flexible hours and the fact that AS Automotive Systems, a clutch reseller in Valley City, Ohio, gives him plenty of freedom to test new technology.

Such a friendly work environment will keep Honnold at his job, even though his base salary rose a modest 4.5% from last year, below that 7% average increase. His total compensation, including base salary, profit sharing and bonus pay, is about $61,200, Honnold says. Because he works for a private company, he doesn't get stock options, but Honnold says he received a bonus this year and is happy with his compensation.

Similarly, Michael Danatos, vice president and director of e-commerce at Russ Berrie & Company in Oakland, N.J., says because of the uncertain economy, he is looking at an increase in base salary of  less than 4% this year, compared to the actual 4% increase he received last year. "But my bonus should be on par, and the stocks . . .  it all depends what the market does," Danatos says.

Jane Koppenheffer, CIO at Penn National Insurance in Harrisburg, Pa., says she expects a 7% increase in base salary this year, which is just about the same as last year. She also receives incentive pay.

Another result of the fragile economy, Koppenheffer says, is that some new hires are asking for signing bonuses. Instead of granting them, she says, Penn takes the conservative approach by occasionally agreeing to conduct a performance review with the possibility of a salary adjustment at six months rather than waiting for the annual review.

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Loyalty grows

The downturn in the economy has translated into a dramatic change in employee loyalty, according to survey results. The most dramatic shift occurred among top-level management, including CIOs, senior vice presidents and IT executives. Loyalists tripled, from 8% last year to 25% this year, and explorers plummeted, from 55% to 19%. The percentage of people actively seeking jobs is down from 14% in 2000 to 12% this year, and the percentage casually exploring job opportunities dropped from 43% to 36% .

The percentage of network professionals who are loyal to their companies and not approachable edged up from 10% to 15%.

Julie Gerst, systems administrator at Answer Financial, an insurance company in Encino, Calif., says in today's economic climate,  "Everybody just wants a paycheck and some stability. I'd like to know that I'm still going to have a job in six months."

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Importance of factors in decision to change jobs MOST IMPORTANT Mean importance rating Challenge of work 3.2 Overall compensation 3.2 Benefits package 3.2 Access to new technologies 3.1 Professional development and training 3.1 LEAST IMPORTANT Opportunity to telecommute 2.3 Industry 2.2 Stock options 2.2 Size of company 1.9 Likelihood of company going public 1.7

Despite the general uncertainty in today's job market, networking is still the place to be. With the 7% increase in total compensation, the average network worker is making $77,900 this year, up from $72,900 last year.

To put that in perspective, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that wages for all U.S. workers are up 3.4% over April 2000, with the average annual wage at $25,304 per year.

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The rich get richer

Top-level corporate managers racked up a 12% increase in total compensation this year over last, moving from $120,400 to $135,100. Their base salaries rose 10%, from $95,400 in 2000 to $104,500 this year.

Midlevel managers notched a 7% increase in total compensation, from $75,700 to $81,000 and just about the same percentage for their base salaries. Network staffers saw their total compensation increase by 6%, from $65,700 to $69,600, with their base salaries up 7%.

But base salaries vary widely, depending on your area of technical expertise. Midlevel managers in charge of LAN/WAN networks make an average of $71,500 this year, while managers involved in the Web and e-commerce earn $102,300, and telecom managers make $100,400.

At the staff level, network architects earn $75,900, network operators earn $57,700, and trainers, help desk personnel and tech support people earn $51,000 in total compensation.

When it comes to bonus compensation, senior executives are figuring on a 20% increase this year; managers and directors, an increase of 11%; and other network staff, a comparatively low 6%. For stock compensation, senior executives are banking on a 19% increase; managers and directors, 13%. However, other personnel are looking at an average loss of 14% compared with what they received last year.

AS Automotive's Honnold says top executives deserve the larger increases because they're in the line of fire, they put in long hours, and they put up with political and technical headaches. When senior vice presidents put in new enterprise resource planning applications or e-commerce systems, they're sticking out their necks, so the compensation should be higher, Honnold says. "At my level, we're in the line of fire but we're not sticking our necks out as far."

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Certification counts

Survey results show the average base salary for a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) is 40% higher than the base salary without it. Additionally, a Cisco Certified Network Associate earns 24% more in base salary, an Oracle Certified Professional earns 12% more and a Master Certified Novell Engineer brings in 10% more than someone without the certification.

While certification appears to translate into higher pay, executives say people who earn the most are those who combine on-the-job skills with earned certifications.

Honnold says AS Automotive pays for employee education, including certifications. For him, the real value in getting a CCIE certification is the ability to troubleshoot Cisco switches more on his own and less with the help of outside consultants.

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At Penn National Insurance, few people have certifications, Koppenheffer says. Compensation isn't explicitly based on certification requirements, but rather is tied to specific job skills, she explains.

Darren Britsch, senior network security engineer for retail giant Nordstrom in Seattle, says security skills pay off. "You need to understand the concept of hacking along with network protocols, know [Windows] NT and security patches, be kind of a generalist," he says. Plus, he adds, you need a sound knowledge in engineering.

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Certification & base salary Average base salary with certification Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert $97,600 Cisco Certified Network Associate $74,900 Cisco Certified Network Professional $86,200 Microsoft Certified Database Administrator  $75,400 Microsoft Certified Professional $63,600 Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer $69,000 Novell Certified Network Administrator $61,600 Certified Novell Engineer $70,300 Master Certified Novell Engineer $77,000 Oracle Certified Professional $78,000 Other professional certification $68,600

But Russ Berrie's Danatos says certifications aren't worth anything without experience to back them up. People pay $6,000 to $7,000 to get a certification, but that doesn't give them experience or applicable skills, he says. Out of the 100 people with certifications he's interviewed in the past eight years, Danatos says only 10% were qualified for the job because they had legitimate experience. "I can tell by talking to people if they've done things and can figure out how to fix problems," he says.

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The places to be

If you want to earn the most money, you should be working in the computer/IT manufacturing industry, which boasts an average salary of $97,500; IT consulting, which pays $86,500; or the hospitality, entertainment and recreation field, which pays $85,500.

Several industries pay a base salary that averages more than $70,000. These include financial services, insurance, real estate, legal services, transportation and utilities.

Koppenheffer says businesses need to set a premium on technical skills for implementing technology, given that technology is changing business models. Penn National Insurance is moving internal business processes online so independent insurance agents can prepare quotes and policies, and customers can make simple policy changes and access billing information.

Not surprisingly, IT workers in the education, government and nonprofit sectors are paid the least.

When salaries are broken down by geography, it's clear that IT professionals make more money if they work in New England, where the average base salary for network professionals is $82,700, or in the Pacific Coast region, where it's $75,900. That doesn't matter to Honnold, who says his family likes the low cost of living in Ohio, where the average IT salary is $65,400, according to the survey.

But no matter what region of the country you're located in, jobs in metropolitan areas pay more than those in rural areas. In Seattle, with its strong competitive retail market, some larger retailers making the technical shift to business-to-business e-commerce have been forced to pay higher IT salaries. Nordstrom offers matching 401(k) plans, good vacation benefits and liberal sick time. Britsch says he expects a 10% increase in his compensation, depending on how well the company performs this year.

While Britsch says he wants to get paid what he's worth, most important to him is the flexibility he has to dictate his own hours. "That's what I look for in the job, as long as I'm in to fix what's broke."

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