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January 29, 2009
New Research Reveals Highest-Paid IT Skills and Certifications During the Recession
Foote Partners' latest IT Skills and Certifications Index shows that pay for IT professionals with Netweaver Portals, Apple OS X and PHP skills ballooned during the fourth quarter of 2008, while pay for extreme programming, certain SAP, and networking skills dipped.
Foote Partners today released its latest research on IT skills pay. Foote Partners' IT Skills and Certifications Index shows the individual IT skills and certifications that increased and decreased in value during the final quarter of 2008. This latest data reflects for the first time the impact of the financial crisis and economic recession on IT skills and what companies pay for them.
The specific non-certified IT skills that increased in value during the fourth quarter of 2008 include:
- NetWeaver Portals (SAP EP)
- PHP
- Apple OS X/Tiger/Leopard
- ITIL
- Java/J2EE, SE, ME
- NetWeaver PI (SAP XI)
- Master Data Management
- Unified Communications/Messaging
- Database Management
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Oracle Developer Suite
- SAP Solution Manager
- NetWeaver BI (SAP BW)
Of these seven IT skills that increased in value during the fourth quarter, NetWeaver, SAP Solution Manager, Oracle Developer Suite, Microsoft SQL Server, database management and master data management skills ranked among the highest paid non-certified IT skills in Foote Partners' research.
Though not among the highest-paid IT skills, PHP, Apple OS X, ITIL and Java/J2EE/SE/ME know-how showed some of the biggest pay increases: Pay for IT professionals with PHP and Apple OS X skills jumped 16.7 percent. Pay for ITIL and Java/J2EE skills rose 11 percent. Pay for IT professionals with NetWeaver Portals skills grew by nearly 30 percent.
The pay increases in some non-certified skills were offset pay decreases for other skills. The non-certified IT skills that decreased in value during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to Foote Parnters:
| SKILL | Percent Decrease |
| ATM | 32% |
| Novell Netware | 30% |
| Tie between: Visual J++ and Perl | 28.6% |
| SMTP | 25% |
| Tie between C and AIX | 20% |
| Tie between Accelerated SAP (ASAP) and SAP PM |
16.7% |
| Tie among Windows Vista/XP, WAP, WML |
14.3% |
| Tie among JavaBeans/EJB, RAD/Extreme Programming/Agile Programming, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) |
12.5% |
| Tie among Microsoft BizTalk Server, SAP KW, Tivoli | 11% |
| Microsoft Identity Integration Server | 10% |
| SAP FI-Travel Management | 9% |
| Tie between SAP SEM and SAP Web Application Server | 8.3% |
Notably, some of the SAP skills that are among the highest-paid, such as SAP Web Application Server and SAP SEM (Strategic Enterprise Management), according to Foote Partners' research, are on the decline. Rapid application development, extreme and agile programming skills, which also rank among the highest-paid IT skills, are on the decline, too.
Highest-Paid IT Certifications
The highest-paid IT certifications that commanded pay increases in the last three months of 2008 include:
| IT CERTIFICATION | Percent Increase |
| Brocade Certified SAN (Fabric) Designer | 42.9% |
| Cisco IP Telephony Design Specialist | 25% |
| Microsoft Certified Solution Developer | 25% |
| Microsoft Certified Trainer | 25% |
| Cisco Certified Design Professional | 25% |
| HP/Accredited Systems Engineer | 12.5% |
| Planet3 Certified Wireless Security Professional | 11% |
| Microsoft Certified Architect | 10% |
| EMC Proven Professional Technology Architect-Expert | 10% |
| SNIA Certified Storage Networking Expert | 9% |
| IT Certified Architect (ITCA/Open Group) | 7.7% |
| Certified Information Security Manager | 7% |
| Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert | 7% |
Other IT certifications that aren't among the highest paid, but that saw pay increases are:
| IT CERTIFICATION | Percent Increase |
| CompTIA Security+ | 46.7% |
| GIAC Security Essentials Certification | 46.7% |
| Certified Ethical Hacker | 40% |
| Planet3 Certified Wireless Network Administrator | 40% |
| Cisco Certified Design Associate | 40% |
| CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer | 33.3% |
| EMC Proven Professional Technology Architect-Specialist | 28.6% |
| RedHat Certified Technician | 25% |
| HP/Certified Systems Administrator | 20% |
| Brocade Certified Fabric Professional | 14.3% |
| GIAC Certified Incident Handler | 14.3% |
| Sun Certified Network Administrator for Solaris | 14.3% |
| Check Point Certified Security Administrator | 14.3% |
| Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator | 12.5% |
| SNIA Certified Systems Engineer | 12.5% |
| Cisco IP Communications Express Specialist | 12.5% |
| Security Certified Network Architect | 10% |
| SNIA Certified Architect | 10% |
Among the highest-paid IT certifications, pay for Cisco Certified Voice Professional, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and GIAC Security Expert certifications is on the decline. Pay for those certifications declined by 9.1, 7.1 and 6.7 percent respectively.
Source: CIO
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