IT salaries in SA: are you underpaid or overpaid?
ActiveTechPros released their latest IT Salary and Skills Report, providing insight into the average salaries of IT professionals in South Africa.
The latest report, which is published annually, compiled a set of salary data based on aggregated data from 179 South African IT professionals from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012.
According to the report the average gross yearly salary of IT professionals in South Africa in 2012 was R344,927 – up from R330,893 in 2011.
Salary by years of work experience
IT professionals with less than 5 years’ experience on average earned R205,405 per year. This salary increased to R291,744 for professionals with between 5 and 10 years’ work behind them, and to R428,715 for people with more than a decade’s working experience.
| Annual Salary by Job Function and Years of Work Experience (ZAR) | ||||
| Job Function | Less than 5 years | 5-10 years | More than 10 years | Average |
| IT Management | 232,000 | 286,233 | 487,121 | 440,353 |
| Project Management | 188,945 | 258,310 | 535,333 | 304,444 |
| Systems Development | 238,250 | 354,314 | 422,154 | 353,205 |
| Communications | 174,667 | 253,571 | 273,460 | 246,235 |
| Support | 161,626 | 249,739 | 319,320 | 267,008 |
| Administration | 227,500 | 266,766 | 252,619 | 259,869 |
| Average | 205,405 | 291,744 | 428,715 | 344,927 |
Salary by industry
When it comes to job function, the biggest earners were IT managers, project managers and developers.
It is further interesting that the “Government, Education and Health” sector paid the best salaries to technology professionals.
| Annual Salary by Job Function and Industry (ZAR) | ||||||
| Job Function | IT, Web & Telecom | Government, Education and Health | Legal and Finance | Media, Marketing and Sales | Manufacturing, Services and Others | Average |
| IT Management | 465,383 | 507,837 | 404,544 | 390,358 | 406,186 | 440,353 |
| Project Management | 264,154 | 371,220 | 378,833 | N/A | 243,000 | 304,444 |
| Systems Development | 346,928 | 433,400 | 356,143 | 504,000 | 188,000 | 353,205 |
| Communications | 244,167 | 230,000 | 194,000 | 17,000 | 306,627 | 246,235 |
| Support | 253,235 | 252,450 | 278,333 | N/A | 429,000 | 267,008 |
| Administration | 254,588 | 283,667 | 600,000 | N/A | 183,782 | 259,869 |
| Average | 340,099 | 378,175 | 365,354 | 349,409 | 306,535 | 344,927 |
Salary by region
Not surprising is that IT professionals in Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic hub, earned higher salaries than their counterparts in other regions.
Professionals in the rest of Gauteng and Cape Town also earned higher than average salaries.
| Annual Salary by Job Function and Region (ZAR) | ||||||||
| Job Function | Gauteng | Joburg | W-Cape | KZN | Cape Town | Mpuma | Tshwane | EC |
| IT Management | 439,700 | 417,879 | 451,600 | 434,285 | 410,500 | 778,000 | 720,000 | 445,000 |
| Project Management | 252,769 | 550,000 | 498,267 | N/A | 324,000 | 189,560 | N/A | 650,000 |
| Systems Development | 365,389 | 443,769 | 150,800 | 130,000 | 380,000 | 182,000 | 297,800 | N/A |
| Communications | 273,750 | 21,000 | 380,000 | 246,253 | N/A | 180,000 | 230,000 | 200,000 |
| Support | 316,811 | 343,316 | 143,200 | 180,000 | 72,000 | 193,250 | N/A | N/A |
| Administration | 306,789 | 303,417 | N/A | 155,833 | N/A | N/A | 32,000 | 200,000 |
| Average | 349,798 | 398,116 | 334,827 | 254,317 | 348,900 | 286,010 | 312,567 | 388,000 |
Please note: The results from this survey should be interpreted with the relatively small sample size in mind.
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