Demand for IT professionals in Ireland was steady during the first quarter of the year but the effects of the recession kept salaries at last year’s levels, a new report from the recruitment firm Robert Walters Ireland suggests.
Although IT wage rates stayed largely flat so far this year, Robert Walters said companies are prepared to pay a 10-15pc premium to land a preferred candidate where the job calls for a particularly technical skill set or combination of experience. On the other side of the equation, people looking for IT jobs kept their pay expectations open in order to compete for available roles.
The report identified three areas where there are more candidates than jobs – technical support, project management and Windows support. The competition for places means that hiring managers are being extremely specific in their requirements in order to identify the strongest prospects, Robert Walters said.
A look at IT wages
As for salaries, at the top of the chain, an IT director with between 10 and 15 years of experience can command a substantial €120-140,000 per year. (The report makes no mention of the CIO role specifically). The next best remunerated tech job is head of infrastructure, which offers upwards of €100,000 to anyone with more than a decade’s track record.
An IT manager with more than five years in the role could expect to take home €60-65,000 in annual salary. A programme manager with similar experience pockets €70-75,000 and a project manager slightly less at €60-65,000.
A senior systems analyst takes home €50-65,000 per year, based on more than five years of experience, while the regular systems analyst role offers a more modest €35-50,000. The role of IT auditor/risk analyst brings a pay packet of €30-40,000 for anyone with three to four years’ background in the job. Senior Java programmers with up to 10 years in the trade can expect to make €50-70,000 per year.
The report also lists contract rates for various IT jobs. The IT director role is an outlier, commanding a whopping €100-150 per hour – far above the average rates for most other IT positions. The report shows a big difference in price thereafter, which could indicate more intense competition for places. There is little to choose from between IT managers (€30-40 per hour), programme managers (€35-40 per hour) and project managers (€30-35).
By Gordon Smith
