IT managers looking for a pay hike would do well to head for Western Europe after a new survey finds that the region is home to eight of the world's ten highest-paying countries for IT executives.
Figures compiled by Mercer Human Resource Consulting have revealed that Swiss managers are paid the most, followed by those in Germany and Denmark.
The survey, covering over 5,300 companies worldwide, found that the average total pay for IT managers in Switzerland is US$161,900 a year, including base pay and bonuses.
Managers in Germany earn US$126,700 on average, while those in Denmark can expect to receive US$116,000.
Japan and Hong Kong are the only countries outside Western Europe that rank in the top ten for pay, where IT managers earn an average of US$112,300 and US$97,600 a year respectively.
Ireland and the UK rank 6th and 7th. But the US ranks only 14th, paying an average of US$ US$89,100.
A similar picture emerged for the pay levels for IT support supervisors, where Switzerland was again the highest-paying country.
"Experienced IT managers are highly sought-after in Europe and there is strong competition to attract and retain skilled employees," said Stephen Cahill , European Partner at Mercer.
"Multinational organisations rely heavily on their global IT operations, so they need to ensure their pay is competitive."
The survey found that, at the other extreme, IT managers in Vietnam, the Philippines, and India receive the lowest pay, at US$20,100, US$20,700, and US$26,500 a year respectively.
Mr Cahill added: "Although pay in Asia and Eastern Europe tends to be much lower, it would be difficult for companies to outsource the IT manager role to these regions.
"Instead, we may see a migration of IT skills from lower paying countries to places in Western Europe and North America."
