Project managers, architects among top-earning positions in IT

P@SHA survey documents highest-paid professionals.

KARACHI:

The highest paid positions in the information technology (IT) industry of Pakistan, other than the senior management, are project managers; architects and business development managers, according to the IT Salary Survey 2012, released on July 19 by Pakistan Software Houses Association for Information Technology and IT Enabled Services (P@SHA).

The average monthly salaries were found to be Rs112,175 for project managers; Rs96,932 for architects and Rs76,205 for business development managers, Nausheen Ishtiaq of P@SHA told The Express Tribune.

It generally takes IT professionals, working in tech companies, between three to five years to earn more than Rs100,000, Ishtiaq said while responding to a question – those with more than five years of experience earn even more, according to P@SHA President Jehan Ara.

Responding to a question about the starting salaries of IT roles, Ishtiaq said their survey found that for some positions the remuneration was Rs20,000 or below and for others it ranged between Rs21,000 and Rs35,000 – the salary figures for IT professionals working in non-IT companies were not available since it focused on the ICT sector only.

Since 2008, the average growth across major IT positions in the industry has been 25%, the survey found. Programmers achieved the highest growth – of 81% – in average salaries during the same period.

The survey covered a sample of 35 IT companies from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and their 5,700 employees in the IT companies. It analysed 16 positions for their salary structure, promotional and increment timelines as well as human resource benefits.

According to the findings, Karachi is the highest compensator for a majority of the employee roles followed by Lahore.

The average salary increments for IT as well as non-IT roles remain between 6% and 15% of base salaries – with some exceptions – it found. Team leads, architects and senior graphic designers received the fastest promotions on an average of every six months, it said.

The survey also collected data on the human resource benefits offered by the IT companies. The three most common benefits were allowance of leave days, maternity leave and health insurance.

“The 2012 edition of the survey is the most comprehensive research that P@SHA has conducted to date in this field,” Ara said, adding the document will enable companies to benchmark the salaries and growth timelines for their employees effectively.

The IT industry in Pakistan has had very fast paced growth for the last five years, according to P@SHA. 10 tech companies were featured in the Harvard’s 25 fastest growing companies in Pakistan. The driving force behind the industry is the talent working in the sector, the ICT industry’s representative body said in a statement. The rate of compensation, promotions and job requirements change very rapidly in the IT Industry, making the IT salary survey a significant tool for companies wishing to hire and retain the best talent in the industry, the statement said and added P@SHA will continue conducting this survey in the future.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2012.