HDI, the world's largest membership association for IT service and support professionals and the premier certification body for the industry, today released the findings of the HDI 2004 Salary Survey. The study provides a comprehensive examination of support center salaries for seven job categories in both the United States and Canada. Other considerations measured included years of technical experience, education levels, and the factors used to determine salary increases. The survey includes historical data for comparison purposes.
Overall, HDI's survey found that, although the economy is on a slight rebound, the support industry continues to experience cost pressures, through headcount reductions, numerous sourcing solutions, and advances in self-help technologies. Comparisons from year to year have seen a slight, but overall increase in salaries, and may reflect a rebound in the overall technology market.
As with HDI's recently released 2004 Practices Survey, at the request of our membership, HDI has added additional analysis of data from selected industry sectors, including: computer industry, education, financial services, government, healthcare, and outsourcers.
Key US Findings:
* Entry level salaries averaged $28,519; managers averaged $62,641
* 68% of entry level workers earned between $21,000 and $35,000, a finding consistent with HDI's 2003 survey
* 47% of Level 2 workers, who have greater technical skills, earned from $36,000 to $45,000
* 36% of managers earned $51,000 to $65,000
* 65% of senior support managers earned $61,000 to $90,000
* Customer service skills continued to be the driver for salary increases for call screeners and Level 1 employees
* Specific technical knowledge lead the Level 2 area as a factor for salary increases
* Management or leadership skills with quality of work and customer service skills were used to determine the salary increase at the manager and director level
* The entry-level call screener/dispatch position is the least attractive in the education sector at $22,436, and most attractive in the government sector at $33,086. The computer industry pays senior support managers $81,051 on average, compared to education, which averages $74,686.
"As the support industry continues to experience cost pressures, the data contained within HDI's 2004 Salary Survey offers important insight and decision making tools," commented Ron Muns, founder and CEO, HDI. "As always, we hope that support executives and managers will use this valuable tool to plan budgets, determine staffing requirements and conduct employee evaluations in the coming year."
HDI collected survey data from 492 responses; with 455 of these from the U.S. and 37 from Canada. The responses were collected from September through October 2004.
Pricing and Availability
The HDI 2004 Salary Survey is available via the HDI eStore (http://www.thinkhdiestore.com), or by calling (800) 248-5667. HDI Member Price: $49.99; Non-Member Price: $99.00. Media and analysts who would like a complimentary copy of this report should contact Jen McClure, Albrycht McClure & Partners (A.M.P.) Communications at (510) 868-8152 x200 or via email at #jenm[at]ampcomm.com.
About HDI
HDI is the world's largest membership association for IT service and support professionals and the premier certification body for the industry. Founded in 1989, HDI's mission is to lead and promote the IT service and support industry by empowering its members through access to timely and valuable industry information, including reports and publications; encouraging member collaboration through events and online forums; and establishing internationally recognized, standards-based industry certification and training programs. In addition to membership, certification, and training, HDI produces the highest-rated industry event, the HDI Annual Conference and Expo, for service and technical support professionals. HDI is member-focused, and remains vendor-neutral in its efforts to facilitate open, independent networking and information sharing within the association network. HDI has more than 7,500 members worldwide including many of the Fortune 500, and nearly 60 active local chap
ters in North America. For more information, visit http://www.thinkhdi.com.