Still, technologists with strong business skills can go for the brass ring. Project managers and others who can grapple with the big business picture are among those who came out on top in the survey. Nancy Bauschinger, an MIS director at a small San Francisco Bay area insurance company, suggests that job-seekers show potential employers just how much it would cost them to have their systems down. Survey respondents also agree that everything is negotiable if one has the right market niche or combination of skills. But salaries aren't always dictated by location.
Electronic data is somehow unreal.
I believe this weltanschauung is about to change rather abruptly, as insurance companies realize that the Internet can save them money in processing time. The well-publicized large pay hikes two years ago were largely intended to bring substandard salaries up to realistic levels. Some industries that have traditionally offered low pay for IT professionals, such as education, have continued to raise salaries in order to compete for skilled workers. Those salaries are low for the New York area, but they're completely in line with areas such as Baltimore and Seattle and higher than offerings in Dallas, Miami or San Diego. And they have to stay competitive.