Software developers, database pros grab top pay premiums

While IT security professionals continue to grab the lion’s share of hiring demand attention, software developers and database administrators are also doing quite well in the job market, as evidenced by pay premiums these workers are pulling in.

According to the latest update to the “IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index” from Foote Partners LLC, the largest pay premiums paid out to IT pros over the past 12 months went to those involved with apps development tools and platforms, at 4 percent for the 92 skills tracked.

Database professionals followed, with a 2.7 percent increase in pay premiums for the same time period for 43 skills tracked.

By comparison, the average increase in pay premiums paid for noncertified IT skills was 1.5 percent over the past 12 months. Outpacing the average were web and ecommerce development skills, at 2.2 percent. But the other major skills areas tracked all fell short of the average rate.

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Software tester

Systems and networking skills saw a one percent increase in pay premiums; followed by operating systems skills which remained flat; SAP and enterprise business application skills saw a s0.2 percent drop; messaging and communication skills saw an 0.7 percent drop; and management/methodology/process skills say a 3.2 percent drop.

See Also 5 top challenges to hiring, paying and advancing top tech talent

Despite the 12 month declines in several areas, the picture has improved in the past quarter for many skills. For the moment, that is good news for workers, and is driven by the growing pressure to find skilled workers for many in-demand technologies. But the study raises doubts on how long that trend will continue.

“Our take on the tech labor market in 2018 is that employers are facing conspicuously harder tech labor challenges than at any year in recent history, and they are more nervous about it,” said Chief Analyst David Foote. “That’s because it will get exponentially worse for them if they don’t start laying the groundwork right now for a new staffing paradigm that will soon be thrust upon each and every one of them.”

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