ZDNet Asia - IT Employment Trends 2007

Link: A ZDNet Asia Special Report - Asia's IT Employment Trends 2007.

To get an overview of the IT employment in Asia and how you fare compared to professionals in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, India and Indonesia, ZDNet Asia conducted a salary survey of about 5000 IT professionals from these countries. With IT skills crossing various sectors, their survey includes respondents from ICT; Government, Health and Education; Legal and Finance, Media, Marketing and Sales, and Manufacturing.

Some quick info of interest:

Highest Paid IT professionals (for 5-10 years experience):

#1 Hong Kong at US$ 48,830

#2 Singapore at US$ 40,465

This drops to #3 Thailand at US$21,703, with the lowest paid being US$ 9,836 in the Philippines.

Highest paying job functions on average are in IT Management, then Project Development, Systems Development, then Other functions.

Where are the Hotspots?

Hong Kong. The opportunities are great for IT professionals, particularly in the Legal and Finance sector - as Maneck Mohan of Recruit.net noted in an interview with ZDNet Asia. Those in IT management are paid the most, especially those with over 10 years experience, where their salaries are often double or more of their entry-level colleagues.

Singapore. IT Management specialists are highly paid and sought after. Candidates who are business savvy with strong management and execution skills are what most recruiters are looking for. A recommendation from Doris Cheng, managing director of an executive search firm is to work on managing skills, in particular, managing outsourced vendors as outsourcing grows.

India. Again, IT Management skills and strong experience, especially in infrastructure management is key and hotly pursued. Best paid jobs are in the IT, Web and Telecom sectors.

Malaysia. Has become a center for outsourcing, after India and China, and so there is a growing need from MNCs there to find good IT talent, particularly those with management skills.

Overall, their findings in all countries point to the same critical skills of having strong management skills and experience, and business-savvy entrepreneurial skills that will push a technically-skilled candidate further along to the higher ranks with higher compensation.

To see specific information for each country, check here.