Survey benchmarks UK earnings for tech workers

IT recruitment website The IT Job Board has published its 2009 salary survey which benchmarks the earning power of 16 job titles, from entry-level positions such as IT support and database administrator through to systems and network engineers, web developers, consultants, project managers and heads of IT.

The survey revealed average wages plus salary highs and lows for permanent roles and contract rates across the country, along with details of typical additional benefits.

Unsurprisingly, chief information officers in London do best on tech-worker pay, with an average permanent salary of £103,700 per year, according to the data, followed by CIOs in East Anglia (£87,500) and the south-east (£81,300). The fourth- and fifth-best regions are the West Midlands (£78,500) and the north-west (£71,600).

By contrast, CIOs in Scotland get the most modest average salary: with an annual wage of £52,000. However, the lowest CIO salary flagged by the research is £30,000 for a permanent CIO working in East Anglia. The highest is £170,000 in London.

London is not necessarily the best place to be a CIO who charges by the hour: average contract rates in the capital are £57 per hour, but rates are higher in the south-east (£68), East Midlands (£67), West Midlands (£64) and north-east (£61). The lowest average hourly rate is in the North West (£54).

Many permanent CIOs get additional benefits on top of their pay-packet, including 75 percent who get a bonus for personal or company performance, and 61 percent who have private medical insurance. CIO contractors are far less likely to get a bonus — just eight percent do so — but a quarter are able to work flexibly.

Meanwhile, the helpdesk worker can expect more modest earnings.

The best-paid region for helpdesk workers is the south-west, where the average permanent salary is £27,600, followed by London (£26,900) and the East Midlands (£26,250). Those in the West Midlands are bottom of the heap, taking home just £20,300 on average. Meanwhile, the highest helpdesk contract rate is £21 per hour in East Anglia and the lowest is £13 in Scotland.

IT consultants can expect an average salary of £46,200 per year in London but are better off in the south-east (£49,300) and the East Midlands (£47,300).

Consultants in Scotland are the least financially rewarded, with an average annual pay-packet of £30,800, followed by those in Wales (£32k). The highest average hourly rate is £54, in the north-east, while the lowest is £38 in the West Midlands and in Scotland.

In related news, the government's Women and Work Commission has found progress on closing the UK's gender pay gap has stalled.