ICT specialists are in hot demand and well paid
ICT specialists continue to be in hot demand. This is demonstrated by consistently high salaries compared to other industries and the small difference between the average salary for new hires (CHF 110,000) and the average salary (CHF 123,000). According to the 2017 salary study by the swissICT industry association, the number of new hires aged 45 and over has also remained stable over the past three years.
In an increasingly digitized world, IT professions are in high demand and the need for ICT professionals is high. The independent study "Salaries in ICT 2017" makes this clear, especially with regard to salaries: Salaries remain consistently high at an average salary of CHF 123,000. swissICT President Thomas Flatt emphasizes the "broad support and high data quality of the representative study, which maps both specialist and management careers". It includes over 28,000 mentions of current IT salaries.
Finance, insurance and administration
However, the standard evaluation of the salary survey also shows noticeable differences within comparable functions and economic sectors. A senior project manager, for example, earns between CHF 120,000 and CHF 140,000 per year in Switzerland. For senior application developers, the difference between the highest and lowest salaries averages 17,000 francs. When it comes to the industries that employ IT specialists, financial services providers, the insurance industry and also public administration are in the lead for both project managers and application developers. In Bern, public authorities are important employers for IT specialists, in Zurich financial and IT service providers.
Newly recruited ICT professionals from 45+ constant
In analyzing the 2017 figures, the swissICT salary team found that new hires of IT professionals older than 45 at participating companies have remained constant on average over the past three years. In the canton of Aargau, 36 (or 47 percent) of 76 new hires last year were 45 or older. In the canton of Zurich, 692 (27.8 percent) of 2493 new hires were 45 years and older, and in the canton of Bern, 362 (27.8 percent) of 1299 new hires. For Switzerland as a whole, this figure is 27.4 percent.
High transparency
"The salary survey provides a high level of transparency for all stakeholders in the ICT industry - for example, employees, job seekers, companies and HR managers - and provides valuable services in determining one's own salary system, in budgeting and in salary negotiations," emphasizes Thomas Flatt. The concrete benefits as a benchmark for employers and employees are best demonstrated in the most sought-after job profiles, such as application developer, ICT system engineer and IT project manager. 183 companies took part in the 2017 salary survey. They reported the salaries of a total of 28,378 IT and telecommunications professionals, a new high. The cut-off date for the data collection was May 1, 2017. The salaries were evaluated on the basis of the revised occupation book ("Occupations in ICT"), which covers salaries for a total of 46 occupations.
Source and further information: www.swissict.ch/salaerstudie
