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November 01, 2004 (Computerworld) -- Graduates Gain

The IT class of 2004 is in the money—at least compared with the class of 2003, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. This is the first year since 2001 that IT-related majors have seen an increase in starting pay. According to NACE, information sciences and systems grads are earning an average salary of $42,375, up 10.7% from last year. Computer science graduates are making $49,036, up 4.1%.

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This AFL-CIO database allows you to search by ZIP code, industry or company name to "find out which jobs in your community have been exported or lost due to trade." Try it: www.workingamerica.org/jobtracker/index.cfm

U.S. IT Staffing Is Up ...

... but outsourcing is taking a toll, says Andrew Bartels, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. Despite the furor over offshore outsourcing, the number of U.S. IT jobs actually grew in 2003 and will continue to grow from 2004 to 2008, he says. But offshore outsourcing is a real phenomenon, and it will hold down U.S. IT job growth and salaries at vendor and user companies, he adds.

Forrester projects that IT departments will grow 3% annually through 2008. That's an improvement from the job cutting of 2001 and 2002, but the offshore option means that companies will hire fewer IT workers than they would have in the past. Meanwhile, product development jobs at IT vendors, which led the revival in hiring in 2003 and 2004, will slump in 2006 and 2007 as vendors more aggressively take advantage of lower-cost offshore resources, Bartels says.

Hard Times Continue Tough times are far from over, say 294 IT workers who responded to a recent survey by Amplitude Research Inc. in Birmingham, Mich. Some key findings: 24% work for companies that have outsourced IT jobs. 46% have not received a raise in over a year. 40% say finding a new job would be somewhat difficult. 21% say finding a new job would be very difficult or impossible.

Companies Plan For Growth Overall focus of the company . . . Base: 244 executives in six countries Source: “Accenture High-Performance Workforce Study 2004”

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