IT professionals in the UK are more likely to be earning salaries in excess of 70,000 p.a. (EUR113,000 p.a.) than their counterparts in Germany and France, according to online news and recruitment service, silicon.comís fourth annual Skills Survey published recently. For UK businesses concerned about expensive IT departments in these difficult times, the survey also found that UK workers put in as many hours on the job as anyone else in Europe - usually more.
The survey of nearly 8,000 silicon.com, silicon.de and silicon.fr readers showed 13.9 per cent of UK respondents earn over 70,001 p.a. (EUR113,001 p.a.), with 3.7 per cent ësuper-earnersí making over 110,001 p.a. (EUR178,001). The corresponding figures for Germany were 5.1 and 1.3 percent, and for France 4.6 and 1.5 percent.
Despite the image of the well-paid IT professional, 43.6 percent of respondents from France said they earn less than 25,000 p.a. (EUR40,500) p.a., versus 22.2 percent in the UK and 21.6 per cent in Germany.
The stereotype of UK pros working long hours for better or even the same pay as their continental colleagues was re-affirmed - in part. In the UK, 34.4 percent of respondents said they work more than 45 hours per week and this figure was similar in France, at 35.5 percent. However, figures in Germany suggest that workers are more likely to work fewer hours each week.
Tony Hallett, analysis and reports editor at silicon.com and responsible for overseeing the survey, said: ìThe image of the poorly paid British worker is clearly inaccurate, at least in IT. However, employers do seem to get their pound of flesh in the UK market, with 15.5 percent of IT pros working 50 hours a week or more.î
In terms of job descriptions, IT managers and IT directors in the UK are also better rewarded than their peers in Germany and France. 17.3 percent of managers in the UK are earning over 55,000 p.a. (EUR89,000 p.a.) compared to only 5.4 per cent in Germany and 3 percent in France.
IT directors in each country earn more, but face a similar situation. The figures for those earning more than 55,000 p.a. (EUR89,000 p.a.) are: 56.8 per cent in the UK, 14.7 percent in Germany and 34 percent in France.
Incredibly, 88 percent of French IT managers earn less than 40,000 p.a. (EUR65,000 p.a.) while in the UK there are 63.5 percent and 64.3 percent in Germany. Only 23.9 percent of UK IT directors earn less than 40,000 p.a. (EUR65,000 p.a.) compared to 54 percent in Germany and 41.5 percent in France.
The full results of the skills Survey 2002 will be available http://www.silicon.com/skillssurvey 2002
www.silicon.com
UK IT pros better paid than German and French peers
but they certainly work for it