Indian IT pros among worst paid
That is the exact headline of this article i found on the Times of India website. The headline was interesting. Don’t we keep hearing people cry all the time about the ever rising IT salaries?
A closer look turned into disappointment. Disappointment and Disenchantment. Disenchantment with how media people just write anything whether or not it makes any sense.
Heard a lot about constantly swelling tech salaries in India and how this is undermining India’s IT edge. The rising salaries may be “bleeding” Indian IT cos, but they are still far from the global level, as the Mercer’s 2007 IT Pay around the World survey shows.
Based on gross annual total cash, IT staff at all levels are paid the most in Switzerland, where the IT Manager job pays an average of $140,960 annually. The same job level in Denmark (the second-highest-paying country) pays $123,080, while Belgium (third) pays an average of $121,170. The UK and Ireland are ranked fourth and fifth, with an average pay of $118,190 and $108,230, respectively. In the United States, the average IT manager earns $107,500 a year compared with Canada (ranked eight) at $93,340.
Talking of low paying countries, Bulgaria, Philippines, Indonesia, India and Czech Republic pay the lowest annual total cash packages to their top IT personnel on a global level. The survey found that IT managers in Vietnam, Bulgaria and the Philippines receive the lowest pay, respectively, at $15,470, $22,240 and $22,280 a year. Indian IT managers were fourth from the bottom, earning an average of $25,000.
Beats me how salaries can be compared across countries and currencies. Indian IT Managers earning $25k translates into Rs 10,00,000 (10 lakhs) which by any standard is a lot of money in India. This salary would probably compare with a $100k salary in the US, despite being a fourth in absolute terms.
Has anybody heard about the concept of purchasing power parity? I know many people who wouldn’t even be in the US if they could get a 10 lakh salary in India. But still, the US ranks sixth from the top and India fourth from bottom.
Sucks being an Indian IT guy!!
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November 27th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Huh, no amount of money they pay IT guys makes it worth it to stay up late nights so often and work under such insane time pressures. More strength to them!
November 27th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Rambodoc: If that is their Faustian bargain, who are we to complain?
November 28th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
There are reasons other than salary which keep Indians in India.
I agree with you salaries cannot be compared across countries and currencies.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Doc – its true people keep talking about the salaries and miss the part about the stressful life.
Shefaly – i had to look up what faustian bargain means
But it sounds about right.
Prerna – Of course, i never implied that. What matters is where you are happy. Money is but a small part of the equation.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Good post and yes I do agree with PPP. But problem is, PPP cannot be used in official matters or exchanges. It is just a guide to give you a better understanding of a currency’s cross-border value.
And the info in this post is very tempting. I want to pack my bags and go to Switz.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
@ AD: You surprise me! But glad you looked it up.
@ Oemar: Switzerland is best reserved for Bollywood cinema shots! I have lived and worked there, and although I have lived in nearly 20 cities in many countries, I am yet to see a (metaphorically) colder country. Besides there is only so much chocolate, so many croissants and potatoes, and so much cheese one can eat..
November 29th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Shefaly – I used to think that i have a decent vocab. But you are a different league altogether
I am assuming the surprise was because of my poor vocab? I am working on it…and you sure are helping out!
November 30th, 2007 at 12:34 am
AD: I was surprised that you had to look up Faustian bargain. It has nothing to do with your vocabulary
March 19th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Indian IT Professionals are worst paid because
1) Investing the money to build new Office and recruit new candidates
2) Since the Number of software engineers in India is very high, with lesser pay engineers are available.
3) If there is lack of software engineers, surely Indian companies also will pay average salary of $1,00,000 and above.
But in Foreign countries skilled professionals are low in number.
For example a medium sized company in switzerland has 25 – 50 employees means, an Indian software [medium sized] company has 200 – 500 employees.
I think these are all the reasons for less pay in India.
There are lot of things to consider about this.
January 27th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
[...] Indian IT pros among worst paid That is the exact headline of this article i found… [...]
February 19th, 2010 at 3:29 am
ok IT people are getting low pay comparing to USA. But what about other jobs? A kid who cleans leaves from his neighbors earn more than $100 per day in USA . In india you have to work for 30 days to earn anywhere $50 to $100.
Also many use companies run with 5 to 10 people only and their turnover is millions.
I have 6 staff’s who finished B.E in IT. They even don’t know html, and how to use ftp programs etc. During interview ask anybody which language they know, everybody tells that they know C, C++, JAVA. After hiring ask them to do simple coding, they are simply telling , sir we only know what we learned in college, we cannot able to code anything new.