January 29, 2013
Dice’s annual online survey indicated a big change in salaries over the course of 2012. Dice surveyed 15,049 employed tech professionals between Sept. 24 and Nov. 16, 2012, for its annual survey. The average annual wages grew from $81,327 in 2011 to $85,619 in 2012, a 5.3 percent increase. This marks the biggest increase in wages since Dice began its survey. Scot Melland, Dice’s Chairman, President and CEO believes the increase in 2012 is an adjustment to a changing job market. “Employers are recognizing and adjusting to the reality of a tight market,” Melland said. “The fact is you either pay to recruit or pay to retain and these days, at least for technology teams, companies are doing both.”Dice’s report shows that confidence among job seekers is increasing as well. A majority (64%) of tech professionals are confident they could find a new job in 2013.
Silicon Valley Wages Fall; Other Cities Skyrocket
Dice’s survey also gave statisticscomparing the salaries of specific cities. Minneapolis’ average tech salary increased roughly nine percent to climb to $88,375. Several markets increased their wages substantially: San Diego, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Phoenix and others made double-digit gains in salary percentage this year. Not surprisingly, Silicon Valley leads the pack with an average salary of $101,278, but it also saw a 2.8% decrease in wages from 2011 to 2012.
Big Data Takes Home the Big Bucks
While big data has been called a fad or overhyped by critics, it is clear that technology professionals with big data expertise are in demand. Salaries reported by those who regularly use Hadoop, NoSQL, and Mongo DB are all north of $100,000. By comparison, average salaries for technologies closely associated with cloud and virtualization are just under $90,000 and mobile salaries are closer to $80,000.
Recovering Well from the Recession
What is perhaps most noteworthy is how well the technology sector has recovered since the most recent recession, especially compared to previous recessions. About.com writer Alison Doyle explains “…more tech jobs have been created in the three-and-a-half years since the end of the recession than under the same recovery timelines in either 1991 or 2001.”
2012 was a great year for IT hiring and salaries, and if IT predictions for 2013 are any indication, it should be an even better new year. Do you see this trend of salary and hiring growth continuing in the future? Tell us in the comments section!
Posted By: James Sweeney