* Findings from the Systems Administrators Guild's salary survey
New research from the Systems Administrators Guild (SAGE) shows that professionals in this field benefited from healthy pay raises and strong employment last year. Close to three-fourths of those polled received pay hikes in 2003 and the average raise was 8.18%, according to the organization’s 2004 salary survey.
SAGE, a special interest group of USENIX, focuses on advancing the status of the system administration profession. “All in all, the job outlook for system administration appears to be robust,” says Rob Kolstad, SAGE executive director. However, he also notes that respondents’ complaints about misunderstood job functions are a perennial issue. The membership society’s Web site prominently defines the system administrator as “one who, as a primary job function, manages computer and network systems on behalf of another, such as an employer or client.”
The survey results are based on more than 4,000 responses. Here are some of the highlights:
* Nearly three-fourths (74.6%) of respondents received salary increases in 2003.
* The average increase was 8.18%, while the median was 6.06%.
* Reasons for salary increases included performance, goal achievement, standard raises/cost-of-living adjustments, increased responsibilities, hard work, system stability and high-profile projects.
* More than 905 of respondents were steadily employed throughout 2003.
* Nearly 70% of respondents thought that professional certifications have at least a somewhat positive impact on their careers.
For more information, go to SAGE’s site at http://www.sage.org. There you’ll also find details about LISA 2004, the group’s annual conference taking place next month in Atlanta.
