February 28, 2005
(Computerworld)
Ask an IT Leader
John Campbell
Title: Senior vice president and CIO
Company: American Modern Insurance Group Inc., Amelia, Ohio
Campbell is this month's guest Premier 100 IT Leader, answering a reader's question about project management skills. If you have a question you'd like to pose to one of our Premier 100 IT Leaders, send it to askaleader@computerworld.com and watch for this column each month.
I have been in the IT field since 1978 as a junior programmer and am working my way up to a system analyst. Presently, I am enrolled in a study program to achieve a certificate in IT project management and a secondary certificate in business analysis. What are the job prospects for this combination? It's very encouraging to see that you are furthering your education. Continued learning and skill development are critical, given the pace of technology change and the highly competitive business environment.
Project management skills have been in high demand over the past several years, and the demand seems to be increasing. Companies now realize the importance project management plays in successfully deploying technology solutions.
John Campbell of American Modern Insurance Group Inc.
Business analysts are often called upon to assist with the extraction, interpretation, development and documentation of business rules, requirements and test plans. Business analysts might reside in IT or in a business unit. In either case, they need to have a thorough understanding of the business function they are supporting.
The job prospects for someone with training and experience in project management and business analyst techniques are extremely good. I would encourage you to complete the PMP certification awarded by the Project Management Institute. Look for companies that have a formal project management office. You may be hired as a business analyst, project coordinator or junior project manager. From there, you can learn the business and will have opportunities in project management for the industry you have chosen.
More Bad News on IT Salaries
Last year, overall salaries for IT professionals dropped to levels not seen since 2001, according to a survey Dice Inc. released this month. But professionals in defense and government-related industries were immune to the trend, probably helped by greater spending since Sept. 11, 2001, the company said.
The average salary for IT workers decreased 2.6%, from $69,900 in 2003 to $67,800 last year, according to Dice, which surveyed 23,000 technology professionals.
One significant trend is that professionals in the government and defense sectors, as well as affiliated industries, saw their average salary rise from $64,600 to $66,500, passing their colleagues in both the manufacturing and Internet services sectors.
"The spending for homeland security and defense is the main factor," said Scot Melland, CEO and president of Dice, which runs Dice.com, home of one of the largest online technology-focused job boards in the U.S.
The growth in the defense technology market was also mirrored by changes in geographical statistics. Survey respondents in San Diego and Los Angeles reported a higher increase in their average salaries than did their colleagues in Silicon Valley. Several defense-related companies are located in Southern California. And Melland said defense spending is probably the reason behind job growth in Washington.
• Johan Bostrom, IDG News Service
11%: The gender gap in IT salaries. But for all U.S industries combined, the differential that men enjoy over female employees is nearly double that.
Source: Dice Inc.
Offshore Focus
What country is gaining the most on India as a destination for offshore IT work? China and the Philippines might spring to mind, but they have nothing on Poland. Of course, Poland can't compare with India for the sheer number of IT jobs it hosts. But according to a study by Frost & Sullivan Ltd., for the three years from 2002 through 2004, Poland had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.11% for outsourced IT workers in captive companies—those owned by the outsourcing clients—and 58.72% for outsourcing service providers. In India, the CAGR was 11.36% for captives and 12.32% for service providers. Jarad Carleton, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan, says Poland's attractions include a highly educated workforce and financial grants the government has made available to all industries, including IT.
And how many jobs did companies in developed countries send offshore? During the period studied, the high-cost nations analyzed (the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong) increased the number of IT jobs sent overseas by 826,540, for a total of 7,599,540.
JOB EXPORT TALLY, 2002-04
COUNTRY
2002
2003
2004
CAGR
U.S.
2,310,018
2,432,461
2,683,904
7.79%
U.K.
462,850
462,618
465,046
0.24%
France
447,883
458,661
471,242
2.57%
Germany
934,835
971,984
985,153
2.66%
Japan
2,316,955
2,499,927
2,656,090
7.07%
Hong Kong
300,459
306,458
338,106
6.08%
BASE: Data collected over a three-year period (2002-04) through 600 questionnaires. All respondents were screened to ensure that they were decision-makers in IT matters. Employers covered in the report ranged in size from small operations with fewer than 50 employees to global companies with more than 100,000 employees working in several countries. Frost & Sullivan also conducted interviews with company and government officials in 14 countries.
SOURCE: Frost & Sullivan Ltd.