Salaries Rise For Microsoft Certified Professionals:


Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine releases annual MCP compensation report.
For the first time in three years, Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine reports a rise in salaries for certified IT professionals. Up nearly 11 %, network professionals with the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows 2000 credential reported an annual salary of $59,400 compared to 2002’s average salary of $53,700. The average salary across all certifications is $61,700.
The study, conducted by Wilson Research Group, found an increase in salaries across nearly all Microsoft certification titles compared with last year. Developers top the salary chart with the Microsoft Certified Solution Developers (MCSD) on Visual Studio .NET bringing in $82,300.

The two most valued skills an IT professional can have according to this year’s results are data warehousing and software design, with average salaries of $71,800 and $71,700, respectively.

"What struck me this year is the interest level among IT professionals in pursuing certification on Microsoft’s newer technologies ," said Dian Schaffhauser, Editorial Director and co-author of the report.

"Whereas the training and certification market has been in the doldrums for the last several years, there’s a heightened interest in pursing credentials on Windows Server 2003 and Visual Studio .NET," Schaffhauser said. Seventy eight percent of respondents anticipate pursuing some form of credential on Windows Server 2003 during the next 12 months.

"At the same time people have lowered expectations," she said. "The average raise people expect this year is 12 %; last year it was 15 %."

Also, she added, whereas last year 25 % of respondents said they expected to change jobs within the year, in 2003 that number had dropped to 21 %.

Women are making great strides in closing the gender/income gap. This year female respondents average $59,400 a year in salary while males earn $62,000 -- a difference of $2,600. The difference was $4,200 in 2001 and a staggering $10,000 in 2000.

While most salaries are up, so is the number of unemployed professionals. About 10 percent of respondents were laid off in the last 12 months, which is slightly higher than last year. On a bright note, one third of working respondents report their companies plan to hire additional IT staff in the next 12 months. The average number of openings is nine.

Wilson Research Group of San Carlos, Calif., managed the study for Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine and measured the responses from more than 6,500 U.S.-based Microsoft Certified Professionals. The survey measures compensation information by certification title, job title, years of experience, gender and age, type of client, type of industry, region, educational and training trends, outlook for the future and much more.

Please click here for further information on the MCP compensation report.
Microsoft Certified Professionals Continue To Make Good Money

Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine’s ninth annual salary survey shows MCP salaries flat, nonetheless, MCPs remain committed to their it careers, according to this year’s survey.
Having weathered a cycle of job cuts, slower IT spending, and the outsourcing threat, salaries for Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) managed to find stability. Still, the wins were minimal. This, according to the 2004 Salary Survey, an annual survey of nationwide MCP compensation.

"The good news is that things don’t appear to be getting worse for MCPs," said Keith Ward, senior editor.

"Our survey shows that certified professionals continue to make good money, and feel more secure about their future in IT."

This year’s results report an across-the-board average of $61,900, a minor increase of only $200 from results reported in the MCP 2003 salary survey.

- Microsoft Certified Solution Developers (MCSDs) took the top wage-earner spot, averaging a base salary of $78,600.
- Many MCPs, 51 %, believed their compensation increased due to certification.
- Despite a looming threat, many MCPs remained employed in the last 12 months: only 9.5 % reported that they joined the unemployment line and, of those, 65.9 % were rehired or found a new job.
Additional findings from the report include:
- 88% feel outsourcing has had no impact on their job and 85% believe it will not have an impact next year.
- Less than half, 44 % of respondents, named training as a company benefit, down from 54 percent in 2003.
- Most MCPs, 88.3 %, plan to be working in IT in five years.

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