Mock them if you must, but IT consultants are getting the last laugh – as in joyously higher pay – according to a survey conducted in Great Britain.
Pay for IT consultants has shot up 17% over the past year, fuelled by soaring demand for skilled and experienced professionals to meet public sector outsourcing needs and integrate systems after a huge wave of merger and acquisition activity, new research has revealed.
Average pay for IT consultants rose from $81,269 in 2005 to $94,750 last year, with many consultants earning considerably more, the research by SkillsMarket and the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (Atsco) found.
Of course, that increased demand is not limited to IT consultants or contained to the U.K. According to a recent Forrester survey, IT professionals here with project management, security and architecture skills are will be increasingly on the wish lists of corporate hiring managers. From a Network World report:
Forrester’s November 2006 survey of about 280 IT decision-makers revealed that project management is a “missing skill set” in some 55% of respondents’ IT organizations. This should turn around in 2007, Forrester says, because “IT’s reputation and value to the business is largely influenced by its ability to deliver projects meeting business requirements on time and on budget.”
IT managers will also be looking to increase their information security skills. According to survey results, nearly one-third of IT leaders plan to hire security staff in 2007. And about one-quarter of IT hiring managers will be looking for “professionals who can apply architecture frameworks to secure, design and operate IT infrastructure.” The driving factor there is a need to “stitch together processes” and “leverage multiplatform expertise and business knowledge to articulate IT strategy.”
A great time to have the right resume.
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