Certification - December 2008 - (Page 36) FIGURE 7: AVERAGE SALARY BY SPECIALIZATION Application Department Database Administration Database Design and Implementation Help Desk Support Information Assurance IT Generalist (small to medium networks) IT Instruction IT Project Planning and Implementation Java Development Network Administration Network Design and Implementation Network Devices Network Management Remote Support Security Software Programmer Storage Design and Implementation Strategic Systems Design and Implementation Telecommunications Integration Web Development 0 20 40 $79.24 $80.27 $91.03 $46.56 $97.93 $62.57 $80.06 $85.58 $75.67 $62.32 $88.81 $68.47 $76.76 $66.83 $94.74 $67.94 $98.40 $100.32 $75.77 $55.03 60 80 100 Average Salary (x 1,000) Other high earners in the U.S. included network design and implementation ($88,810), IT project planning and implementation ($85,580), database administration ($80,270) and IT instruction ($80,060). In addition to this year’s top specialization, a couple of IT fields posted big gains in salary. Surprisingly, IT instruction went up nearly $10,000 this year from $70,290 in 2007. Furthermore, it was a big year for the networking space: network management came in at a healthy $76,760, up from $71,130 last year; network devices went from $63,130 last year to $68,470 this year; and network administration pros earned an average of $62,320, an increase of 4 percent from last year. A few declines also were reported. Java development was the biggest: This field fell from more than 6 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE December 2008 $86,000 in 2007 to $75,670 this year. Software programming regressed, too, dropping from $70,210 to $67,940. Additionally, although it still places among the top-paying IT specializations, database administration fell approximately $3,000 from 2007. In the lower tier of IT salaries, the best-performing specialization was IT generalist, which went from $55,370 last year to $62,570 this year. Other fields didn’t fare as well. Web development fell from $56,630 in 2007 to $55,030 this year, and help-desk support more or less stayed put, going from $46,880 last year to $46,560 this year. Unfortunately, with U.S. economic conditions being what they are, many more IT specializations may be flat or falling during the next year or so. While it’s impossible to say with certainty how things will
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