* Results of Network World's 2006 Salary Survey
This week’s special edition of Network World is all about You. The You edition features our annual look at network execs’ careers and salaries. In this year’s Network World Salary Survey, respondents claimed higher satisfaction with job security – rated No. 1 job satisfaction priority – than they had previously. The survey of 1,841 net execs also reported higher satisfaction rates for family friendliness and work/life balance issues than previous survey respondents.
Employees are also enjoying better rewards, reports Julie Bort in her story “Your salary: On the rise”. Overall base pay increased 54%, with bonuses up 14.2%. Base pay for senior execs with CIO, CTO or senior vice president titles saw a rise of 6.5% in 2006 to $132,560. Employees with middle management positions, such as LAN/WAN/telecom directors/managers enjoyed a 5.2% increase in base pay to $84,510. Staffers who manage technology but not people, saw their base pay jump 5.3% to $66,190.
Despite the not-too-shabby base pay increases, the survey found that net execs are unhappy with their overall compensation. They ranked overall pay package as their No.1 job satisfaction priority but feel that their compensation is so lacking that respondents ranked overall compensation at No. 15 in the satisfaction ratings, after other employment terms such as flexible work schedule, family friendliness and access to new technologies.
The survey also points to job-hopping as an upcoming trend, helping workers to increase their salaries as they move from one company to the next. There are slightly more net pros actively seeking new jobs this year compared to 2005.
Of interest to us at this newsletter is the question about education. The survey found that although execs with formal education are likely to have higher salaries, holding graduate degrees has no impact on promotions. And “certifications had even less of an effect,” Bort writes. Respondents with no certificates reported more promotions and greater earnings than those with two or more certifications. Non-certified professionals report average base pay of $81,710, compared to those with two or more certifications who earn $77,270.
In her story, Bort reports that network pros believe certifications don’t contribute to promotions or to base pay because “they are an ineffectual method of evaluating and rewarding employees.” With so many vendors offering certifications and with many of them being easy to achieve, the value of being certified may not be as much as certificate holders hope – at least in terms of salary and the demonstration of skills-level.
In this newsletter, we’ve discussed the issue of the value of certifications many times before and it appears to be an issue that will crop up again, no doubt. I’d like to invite you to check out the package of stories that make up this week’s You issue and then write and let me know what you think about the issues raised regarding career issues and concerns. Do you agree with the survey findings that gaining certifications no longer guarantee pay increases, and whether job-hopping is the way to go for increased pay and responsibilities?
Here are the links for the stories in the You issue:
* Salary survey : Includes base pay and promotions by region
* 2006 salary calculator : Punch in your numbers and see how it compares with salaries for your job role
* You work where?: Our annual look at cool places to work. This year we talk to Frank Basso, assistant director of communications for Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; Greg Ganger, Carnegie Mellon University’s storage guru; Raul Ramos, IS director of First Tee, an organization focused on teaching kids lessons in leadership and integrity through golf.
* What would you do? : Three execs give their solution to three workplace challenges. Do you agree with them?
* All about you : The results of a Network World reader survey about what readers like to eat, do on vacation, drive, and more.
