The Four Hundred

According to the salary experts at NateViall & Associates, manager and programmer salaries at OS/400 shops, which are represented in every economic sector, company size, and geography, have not been insulated in any way from the faltering worldwide economy. Viall, which is continually surveying salary levels at AS/400 and iSeries shops, says that salaries for managers and programmers were up, but that the general trends don't tell the whole story. Some salaries are up, and some are down.

In a nutshell, says Viall, managers and programmers who kept their jobs in the past 12 months have seen, on average, their compensation (salaries plus bonuses) increase by 2 to 5 percent over that time. Managers and programmers who have had to change jobs--either because they lost their jobs, their contracts ended, or they relocated for other reasons--more than likely took a pay cut. Another drag on OS/400 salaries is the fact that companies are disinclined to hire inexperienced entry- and junior-level programmers. (This is true for complex reasons, including the availability of more seasoned programmers and the high cost of training entry programmers, who are not as immediately useful, even if they command lower compensation.) Salaries for entry- and junior-level programmers are actually declining. And, finally, the 12-month rolling averages that Viall tracks include the relatively decent employment conditions that existed in the OS/400 market before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks; salaries have stagnated somewhat since then. This would seem to imply that it is a little worse out there right now than Viall's rolling averages suggest.

That said, in the past 14 years, salaries in the IT sector have outstripped inflation (as measured by the U.S. Consumer Price Index), and that cannot be said for all industries. Even as times are hard, salaries at OS/400 shops are still increasing, even if the rate of growth in compensation is slowing. The index dropped to 0.9 percent for 2000, and OS/400 salaries grew at many times that rate. Very few staff members at OS/400 shops have reported having their salaries cut. They may have lost their jobs and moved to a lower-paying job, or held on and gotten a raise. The indication is that companies are using the bad economy as an excuse to pare their IT payrolls of less valuable staff (much as IBM and other IT vendors are doing right now, too). At the moment, the index is running at about 1.6 percent for 2002, and there is no indication that inflation is going to push prices, and thus the index and the cost-of-living raises that are keyed to it, higher in 2002. (Unless something radical happens in the world, of course, like an oil embargo or a world war.) While there are no guarantees, Viall says that in six months OS/400 salary increases will probably be up in the range of 2 to 3 percent.

Viall says that the average manager in an OS/400 shop has a salary of $81,100, an increase of 5.2 percent from 12 months ago. Across all titles and experience levels, manager compensation was up between 2.5 to 5.5 percent. Managers at the vice president and chief information officer level had an average salary of $126,200 in the spring 2002 survey (the latest one available), and the top fifth of managers at this highest level averaged $179,900 in compensation. The average director of MIS had a salary of $101,000, and the top fifth in this category reported salaries of $135,800. Data processing manager salaries in the United States hit the $67,200 level in the latest surveys from Viall. The smallest salary increases, says Viall, were for technical support and network support managers, as you might expect, with salary increases of only 2.8 percent and 1.4 percent respectively. Managers at OS/400 shops in urban areas reported an average salary increase of 6.4 percent, which was $16,100 higher on average than the salaries reported by rural managers, who say their salaries were up by 5.8 percent.

On the programmer side of the data center, the increases in compensation were, on average, smaller, but still well ahead of inflation. Across all titles and experience levels, the average programmer salary was up by 4.6 percent, with typical increases in the range of 2 to 4.5 percent. Programmers with the most experience, who are still in demand and being aggressively retained by their employers, were up by 4.9 percent. Junior- and entry-level programmers with less than three years of experience saw an average decrease in salary of about 1.6 percent. The average programmer/analyst salary in the spring 2002 survey from Viall had a total compensation of $56,400, with the top fifth averaging $79,100. Programmers with nine or more years of experience had an average salary of $63,200, while those with one or two years of experience had an average salary of $40,100. The top fifth of the most experienced programmers earned $84,600. System administrators reported an average salary of $43,700, and tech support programmer/analysts reported salaries of $62,800 in the latest survey.

Salary reports, which range from 10- to 70-page regional or state reports, are available from Nate Viall & Associates, starting at $24. Order directly from the Web site, at www.nateviall.com, via the Salary Reports link. You can also request a copy of the report information form for your area by e-mail (include your state and fax number), or call 515-274-1729. Readers can receive a free individual salary analysis (domestic USA salaries only) that uses up to 20 variables in calculating the expected midpoint and salary range. Access the form at www.nateviall.com and click Salary Information, or send a blank e-mail to natev@compuserve.com with "Free Salary Analysis" as the subject.