CIOs planning their 2015 budgets should be warned: Expect continuing pressure on salaries, particularly for mobile developers, certain security professionals and those capable of handling big data. Even chief security officers will benefit.
According to a report issued Thursday by Robert Half Technology, average base compensation for Canadian IT workers are expected to go up 5.2 per cent next year over this year’s salaries.
Mobile applications developers can expect the highest salary increases, with an expected average increase of 9.5 per cent. Software engineers should see their salaries go up 7.2 per cent.
Big data engineers will see their base compensation up 7.8 per cent, while data security analysts will see average salaries rise 7.2 per cent.
Wireless network engineers base compensation is expected to rise 7.9 per cent.
Of all the C-level jobs in security, Canadian CSO’s will see the most benefit, with average salaries rising 7 per cent over last year. (By comparision, CSO salaries are expected to rise 9 per cent in the U.S., perhaps reflecting the burst of data breaches there). CIOs here will see their average salaries go up 5.1 per cent, while CIOs will see a 4.6 per cent gain.
“It’s driven largely by the demand for certain specialized groups of talent,” said Dave Tighe, manager of Robert Half’s Toronto office.
“We’re getting a lot of demand for people who can develop smart phone and tablet applications,” he said. And because talent is in short supply their salaries will rise almost by double digits.
Tied to that is a demand for Web developers who not only have technology skills but also business-related knowledge who can help build ecommerce sites, he said. There’s also “incredible demand” for people who know how to implement secure data security.
“Right across the board it’s still a supply and demand issue,” he added. There’s still a shortage of talent across the board, and when you add the business (knowledge) component, it makes it even more difficult.”