My latest copy of Information Week arrived and it had some expected, but sobering news concerning IT salaries.  While Project Managers are not singled out in this article, the trends in IT that are covered apply well to most leadership positions within IT. 

Some highlights from the article…

Job Security

IT pros are less secure about their jobs - understandably, with IT unemployment at its highest level since 2004. Thirteen percent of IT managers characterize their jobs as "insecure," compared with only 8% last year. Only 37% consider their positions to be very secure, compared with more than half last year.

Tech Skills in Demand

Strong tech skills still can pull a good paycheck. The top-paying staff functions include data mining, integration, security, ERP, and Web infrastructure, all of which have median compensation of more than $90,000. By title, IT architects top the list again this year, the only staff job with median pay above $100,000.

Experts can say IT is a safer profession than most, but the economy is again testing IT pros' faith in this career path. A year ago, fewer than half of respondents to our survey described the IT career path as less promising than it was five years ago. Today, 60% of staff and 56% of managers take that dim view. Even so, about nine out of 10 regard their own career paths as being as secure or more secure than most other professions.

Offshore Outsourcing

Insurance and financial services companies have been among the most aggressive offshore outsourcers, and fears that trend would lead to U.S. job losses "weren't overblown five years ago," says Weissler. But now companies have a better sense of where they're willing to take the risk of handing their IT over to vendors. While respondents see outsourcing hurting the U.S. IT profession overall - 61% say there are fewer jobs available - most don't think it has hurt them personally. Seven of 10 say outsourcing has had no impact on their careers; 14% say they have expanded responsibilities.

Industry Status

What industries are looking good? Perhaps surprisingly, the federal government's competitive, particularly with staff salaries. The median total compensation of $96,000 for government IT staff tops all but the IT vendor and investment/securities industries, and it ties biotech. For managers, it's a different story because there's less bonus potential. The median total compensation for federal IT managers is $115,000, putting them in the middle of the pack and well short of top pay such as biotech and pharmaceuticals' $140,000 median. State government, however, pays well below the industry median: $64,000 for staff and $85,000 for managers.

Health care is often assumed to be a recession-resistant growth industry, but the median pay is right around the norm for all industries: $77,000 for staff and $102,000 for managers. And it's not immune to economic downturns, as people put off elective procedures or can't pay bills as they lose their health insurance along with their jobs. Health care IT, however, should get some lift from about $20 billion in federal stimulus spending earmarked for electronic health initiatives over the next several years.

Project Management Salary Trends

One key piece of information shows that Project Managers’ salaries are on the rise, however slightly that may be.  I personally find this hard to believe based on the lower salaries I’m seeing referenced in job postings, but Information Week’s survey indicates that the PM median salary for 2009 is $96,000 as opposed to $94,000 in 2008 and $93,000 in 2007.

For the full article, go here.