Not to mention the vicissitudes of supply and demand and the changing fortunes of other economic indicators that impact the job market.
Just check out our front page article (May 24th Edition) on declining tech skills with Gartner warning that some jobs will be eliminated as companies move to commodity and virtualized systems. And that's without factoring in the increasing uptake of software as a service and offshoring.
On a good day IT can best be described as a dynamic industry; on a bad day it's just plain exhausting.
But have you ever wondered what you're really worth? Wouldn't it be great to know what your peers are earning, by title, by state, by industry?
Well let's find out. In this issue (May 24th Edition) of Computerworld readers will find a two-page questionnaire that will form the basis of our inaugural 2006 IT Salary Survey.
The results will provide insight into skills, salaries, hiring, retention and other issues facing the IT profession.
What sets this survey apart from others is that it deals with IT issues and those working in the industry.
It isn't a human resources-driven document generated by a recruitment firm. These results are by readers, for readers.
Other surveys don't directly address the views of people in IT jobs.
Information on major demographic indicators, such as size of company, location and industry is included along with years of experience, age and gender.
The results, which will be published in October, will allow IT professionals to compare their salary to the average of all respondents in specific job categories.
We survived the downturn, but are salaries regaining some of their former vigor? Or, are readers still getting chintzy pay rises with the odd bonus sustaining ordinary wage levels? All will be revealed. But it won't happen without your participation, so please, do take the time to fill out the survey and return your answers by June 23, 2006. It will provide a foundation for those basing a career on the shifting sands of IT.
What's your biggest career challenge? E-mails to sandra_rossi@idg.com.au (mailto:sandra_rossi@idg.com.au)