Project managers: Well paid but for how long?

Project managers are still demanding some of the highest pay in the industry but for both permanent and contract workers 2002 is proving far less lucrative than 2001. According to the latest Skill-o-Meter figures, provided for silicon.com by the TheSkillsMarket, all project management skills have declined in value over the last 12 months. Contractors have seen a 31 per cent decline for general project management roles, a 29 per cent fall for MS Project 2000 and 9 per cent fall for Project Manager Workbench. Permanent roles requiring MS Project 2000 fell 38 per cent in value and Project Manager Work bench by 23 per cent. "Project management skills suffer particularly badly in a downturn," said Alex Charles, director of TheSkillsMarket. "Unlike operational skills, which are always required, project managers tend to be used heavily during new implementations and most large companies are simply holding back on new projects. "The flip side is that they will be the first skills to pick up as the market improves." Best paid skills for contractors
Are you getting market rate?
1. ABAP
£54.00 (Av rate/hour)
2. SAP
£51.43
3. PM Workbench
£51.32
4. PeopleSoft
£49.44
5. JDE
£49.41
6. Data Warehouse
£49.00
7. Oracle Financials
£48.90
8. Sun
£46.88
9. Project Management
£46.26
10. RS/6000
£45.26
Best paid skills for permies 1. Project Management
£48,117 (Av salary)
2. Patrol
£47,500
3. PM Workbench
£45,726
4. Siebel
£44,138
5. Oracle Financials
£43,452
6. JDE
£43,125
7. PRINCE
£43,054
8. ABAP
£42,437
9. HP OpenView
£42,231
10. HP/UX
£41,627
Source: TheSkillsMarket, August 2002