Hot Certifications

The most commonly held certification outside of Microsoft’s is no longer a Novell title. This year, CompTIA’s A+ certification, a non-vendor-specific designation generally considered to be entry-level, was held by 20 percent of respondents. Novell certifications followed in popularity, tied with CompTIA’s Network+ title, both of which were held by 13 percent. Almost 12 percent have earned some certification from Cisco, mostly the CCNA, Cisco’s most basic “network associate” certification.

Self-Employed

We asked the 10 percent of respondents who are self-employed to complete information on hourly rates and how work is contracted. Half of those responding contract directly with clients (receive IRS form 1099s and are responsible for their own taxes). We defined self-employed as “You assume risk of profit or loss and are responsible for all business overhead.” Another 14 percent work through brokers, placement firms, or IT staffing companies. The remaining third combine contract and direct assignments. The average hourly rate reported by those who contract directly with clients is $67. This breaks down to averages of $57 an hour for an MCP, $71 an hour for an MCSE, $84 an hour for an MCSE+I, and $87 an hour for an MCSD. Those holding premium titles probably have more experience and a broader skill set than the average respondent, and hence command more per hour for that reason, not solely because of a certification title.

Gender Bias

As it does each year, our survey shows that women in information technology make significantly less than men across all titles and job descriptions. Women are also poorly represented in the industry as MCPs. Just 11 percent of all Microsoft Certified Professionals in the U.S. are women; the MCSD title reflects the lowest percent of females (9 percent), while the entry-level MCP title has the highest, at 14 percent. On average across all titles and years of experience, women reported earning just under $10,000 less than men. Note, however, that that’s partly because they tend to have less experience, are less likely to be IT managers, and because fewer of them hold premier titles. In every certification, job title, or years-of-experience comparison we ran, though, women fell short of men. Male MCSEs with an NT 4.0 focus, for example, average $67,800 in base pay; females, $57,700. Men with two to three years of experience average $60,600; women, $51,500. This follows the pattern of past years and, in fact, shows a slightly greater salary gap than in 1999.

Does Education Pay Off?

Education affects compensation, but as is typical in IT, it isn’t the most important factor. For example, our survey found that high school graduates reported earning slightly more, on average, than those who had attended some college or graduated from a two-year college program. Perhaps high school graduates have dived into an IT profession and are moving up quickly, while those attending some college or holding a two-year degree either tend to be career-changers or are spending part of their time and efforts on school rather than work. Most common among respondents (31 percent) was a four-year college degree; the average salary for a college graduate was $67,800. Earning a master’s degree added $5,300; adding a doctorate, assuming all else remains equal, added just another $1,400 on top of that.

Add Up the Numbers

Hot salaries abound, but remember that if yours doesn’t match one of the averages we show, there are many factors determining compensation. As you compare your pay to our figures, consider: How much actual, hands-on experience do you have? That’s the single biggest influencer on salary, and there’s really no way to move quickly from having less than a year’s experience to having three or four years in IT.

Also weigh in where you live and work. If you’re in a major metropolitan area, where the cost of living is higher and where many high-tech firms tend to compete for workers, expect more dollars. If you’ve chosen a more rural lifestyle, compensation will correspond.

Finally, managers and team leads, because of their greater responsibility, also earn more, so you may want to consider that as you plot your career. We can’t discount certifications and job skills. The two go hand-in-hand. MCSEs consistently make more than MCPs, but they also typically have more experience and a bigger set of skills. Part of that comes from the certification process; part certainly comes from time on the job developing a broader and deeper skill set.

Finally, our survey shows that those working with Windows 2000 now, and planning to certify this year, are making more than those who aren’t. For now, we conclude that it’s because the most experienced people are getting assigned to Win2K rollouts. But some analysts have predicted that Win2K skills will be in huge demand if companies deploy the new OS at the predicted rates. Add to that Microsoft’s attempts to raise the MCSE bar for Win2K and you can be assured that Windows 2000 skills will be a valuable rarity, at least for a while.