| October 2006 |
 |
| Salaries beat the national average as demand for talent remains strong |
|
| Sometimes a little motivation combined with opportunity is all it takes to change your life. At least that is the way Eduardo Vazquez saw it last year when he pondered his stagnant IT job and Chicago’s growing tech sector.
|
|
“My job at the time was going nowhere, and I was just maintaining the status quo,” Vazquez told Dice recently. “The pay wasn't good, and I didn't receive a raise despite having stellar reviews.”
Vazquez had plenty of marketable experience after five years as a jack-of-all-trades systems administrator with his Chicago-based company. His responsibilities encompassed all sorts of network maintenance, but he wasn’t aware of how marketable his skills had become in an IT market that was in need of talent.
|
|
| 10% of Chicago CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter. |
| - Robert Half Technology's fourth-quarter IT Hiring Index |
|
In fact, the IT job market in Chicago has been one of the steadiest in the nation over the past year. Listings on Dice have climbed consistently since last December, up an impressive 31% to 3,954 by the end of September. And IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology reported that its fourth-quarter IT Hiring Index predicts that a net 10% of Chicago CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter.
Meanwhile, the quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey found that Chicago-area employers expect to hire at a steady pace during the fourth quarter of 2006. From October to December, 33% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, according to Manpower spokesperson Anne Edmunds.
“Chicago is one of those areas where you expect this type of continual growth in the high tech job market,” said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice. “There is a solid economy, investment capital arriving for new kinds of innovation, and world-class educational institutions. It has so much to offer.”
It was this favorable outlook that lead Vazquez to post his resume on Dice. Two days later, a recruiter spotted his resume and contacted the Chicago native with a “major opportunity” at a hedge fund startup.
“I was astonished at the turnaround,” he said. Vazquez also noted that he had left his resume lingering on other online sites but had never heard a thing.
This story is typical in a growing IT job market, says Carlos Reyna, the Chicago branch manager for IT recruiting firm Sapphire Technologies. “It’s not a problem finding jobs. It’s a problem recruiting qualified candidates to fill the positions,” said Reyna, whose territory is centered primarily on the city’s downtown area. His counterpart in the surrounding metro area outside the city limits, branch manager Lou DeAngelis, says it is the same in his territory.
In highest demand are senior-level developers for the finance, banking, business services, and manufacturing industries, said Reyna. The most sought-after IT skills right now on Dice include Java, SAP and Oracle.
That demand has led to higher than average salaries for tech staffers. Chicago IT professionals reported earning an average yearly income of $71,400, according to a salary survey by Dice. The national average tech salary is $70,300.
In Chicago, the biggest obstacle for recruiters has been adjusting to the accelerating pace of placement turnaround. “Managers in the past had the luxury of waiting to see more candidates before making decisions,” said Reyna. “Now, they can’t afford to wait.”
"Overall, it's a healthy hiring environment, and the job market should remain strong throughout the fourth quarter," said Dice’s Melland.
If you would like to be interviewed for the next Dice market report, or if you have comments about this article, please contact us at feedback@dice.com.
|
|
|
|
|
| Dice job postings in Chicago are up 8% since Jan. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
