Despite economic uncertainty heading into 2021 and rapidly changing industry dynamics, the outlook for IT professionals is a positive one. If the COVID-19 pandemic has done one thing for the IT industry, it’s that it has shone a very bright light on the increasingly critical nature of digital IT tools and infrastructures. What we wanted to find out is how this has impacted salaries and earning potential?
According to the 2021 IDG Insider Pro and Computerworld IT Salary Survey, total compensation over the past 12 months, in terms of base salary and bonuses has not changed dramatically, although the overall average figure for compensation has fallen. However, the IT industry remains a dynamic, well invested and growth-orientated industry. Rapid acceleration in digital transformations over the past 12 months has confirmed this, although the nature and share of compensation compared with the previous year does not necessarily reflect this increased status.
Our annual IT salary survey of 1,172 IT professionals finds that the average salary among all respondents has fallen from $112,580 in 2020 to $104,446 this year, although this doesn’t tell the full story of what has been an unprecedented year with unique challenges. While significantly fewer respondents in the current survey report an increase in salary from one year ago, just over half of respondents (56 percent) did so. This compares with 70 percent of IT professionals who saw a base salary increase in the 2020 survey.
Mixed messages: The gender pay gap
More women than men working in IT are less satisfied with their compensation, according to our survey, with just over a quarter (26.9 percent) of female IT professionals claiming they are dissatisfied compared to just under a quarter for men (23 percent).
While female workers in senior roles report larger increases over time versus males—a rise of 50 percent since 2016—the average salary among females in mid-management roles has dropped over the past year. In 2016, females working in middle management IT roles were earning on average $100,850, more than their male counterparts, but in this year’s survey that figured dropped to $95,537. For male workers it has been a different story this year. In 2016 male middle management IT roles were earning $98,340 but that has risen by as much as 14 percent to earning $112,256 today.
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