Dive Brief:

• Strong demand for tech executives and managers will continue to push IT salaries up in the coming year, according to the 2017 tech salary guide from Robert Half Technology.
• In 2017, all executive IT position salaries are expected to increase at least 3% over 2016 salaries, according to the report. CIOs are expected to remain the most highly compensated, with an average base salary range between $175,000 and $279,000 expected in 2017. Chief Security Officers will likely have the highest jump in salaries, up 5.3% from 2015. In the coming year, CSOs are expected to make between $145,250 and $236,750.
• On the non-executive side, Big Data engineers will likely see the biggest salary increases in 2017, going up 5.8% from 2016 to earn between $135,000 and $196,000. Midlevel technology professionals with a mix of technical and soft skills are also in high demand.

Dive Insight:

By now it is common knowledge that many companies are struggling finding tech talent in an increasingly competitive environment. More than just a high base salaries, companies are more frequently offering other forms of competitive compensation, such as adaptive work environments, work from home arrangements or flexible schedules, according to the report. Employees also can contribute to multiple projects, are allowed to innovate and are given opportunities for training and development. 

The guide includes salary ranges for more than 75 IT positions and revealed that tech talent remains a big concern for CIOs, according to Robert Half's survey of more than 2,500 CIOs in the U.S. Of those surveyed, 55% reported concern about being able to retain their current staff members and 60% said they struggle to find skilled IT professionals.

Many organizations are now hiring full-time professionals only for the most critical IT positions and then hiring short-term specialized support as needed, according to the report.