Pay for IT certifications continues to fall according to the latest quarterly edition of the "Hot Skills and Certifications Pay Index" from research and advisory firm Foote Partners, plunging an average of 1.2% for the year ending October 1st. This decline in rewards for certification stands in contrast to the increasing value of IT people who demonstrate business and interpersonal savvy in addition to technical skills.
According to David Foote, CEO and Chief Research Officer for Foote Partners:
Pay for certifications has been on the decline for some time. It’s not that employers aren’t willing to pay a premium for them, but instead that the prices they are willing to pay versus noncertified skills is nowhere near the levels of one to two years ago, or even six months ago for that matter. Mr. Foote explains the reason for the decline as follows: Because employers are desperate for IT professionals who can get things done, who can deliver results again and again. For IT professional, technical skills are certainly a part of the mix, but there’s much more that employees need in their IT workers. Being a desirable ‘impact’ worker means getting along with people, keeping an eye on IT’s role in business execution and quickly delivering what customers want, which is a moving target. See press release for more information. I find this trend to make good sense. I have had a number of discussions with clients over the past several years where they were agonizing at the idea of ratcheting up pay for some of their IT professionals (in positions requiring some of the "hotter" IT certifications) when they felt that other IT positions (which didn't feature these "hot skills") actually played a more critical role in supporting overall business success. Hopefully this is an instance of the market helping bring pay practices in line with genuine business needs and priorities.
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