Skills Survey 2007: CIOs getting less cash?

IT chiefs are rolling in slightly less filthy lucre than last year, according to the 2007 exclusive silicon.com Skills Survey.

This year's survey shows fewer CIOs are netting the biggest salaries, suggesting a slight earnings dip for IT chiefs: 36 per cent now get more than £70,001 per year, compared to nearly half (48 per cent) last year.

The majority (48 per cent) of CIOs surveyed take home a lower wage - of between £40,001 and £70k - a significant change on last year when just 39 per cent fell in that earnings bracket.

Bringing home the most bacon…

Who's getting a slice of the £110k+ wage pie?

32 per cent are board directors
17 per cent are IT directors
13 per cent are IT consultants
13 per cent are IT contractors
8 per cent are IT managers
4 per cent are network managers

The number of IT managers at the higher end of the mid-range wage (those pocketing between £55,001 and £70k) has also dropped slightly on last year, from 18 per cent to 14 per cent. The majority (65 per cent) take home a smaller salary, of between £25,001 and £55k.

IT consultants do a bit better on average: almost half (49 per cent) take home between £40,001 and £70k per year, with a quarter at the higher end of that bracket (£55,001 to £70k) compared to just 14 per cent of IT managers.

For software/web developers there has been a small jump in average earnings - perhaps reflecting industry demand for their skills. Although the majority (46 per cent) make between £25,001 and £40k, more than a quarter (26 per cent) earn between £40,001 and £55k - a jump of seven percentage points on last year's figure.

The top tech earners are most likely to be non-IT 'C' level senior executives, such as CEOs, CFOs and COOs. Thirty-two per cent of survey respondents earning more than £110k are such non-IT board directors. This compares to 17 per cent who are CIOs/IT directors.

But bringing home the bacon is not just about being on the board - a sizeable number of contractors and consultants also rake in the cash too.

Thirteen per cent of those in the £110k+ club are IT consultants and a further 13 per cent are IT contractors, so going freelance can clearly be lucrative too.

Read more Skills Survey stories:

• Skills Survey 2007: Staffing crisis deepens
• Skills Survey 2007: Big earners trending upwards