So organizations are investing their training dollars in some of the hottest skill areas. Nearly half the IT managers and staffers we surveyed said their companies are offering training in project management, network and systems infrastructure, and application development, while nearly 40 percent said their companies provide training in Internet/intranet technology, Internet development and technical support. Meanwhile, a majority (94 percent) of the survey respondents said they learn on the job as well.

Training and experience in high-demand skills generally result in higher pay. Those survey respondents who got the biggest increases in compensation from last year to this year have expertise in ERP, CRM, Internet and intranet, security, data mining and data warehousing.

As for professional certifications, the biggest increases in compensation went to those people with Linux Professional Institute certificates, Oracle-certified professionals, Sybase-certified professionals and Sun Microsystems-certified architects for Java (see "Certification Equation").

But certification doesn't necessarily translate into higher salaries. In fact, IT managers with at least one professional certification are earning a median base salary of $72,000, while those without certification are making more, $78,000. IT staffers with at least one certification earn $56,000, while those without certification take in $60,000. This may be because some companies consider on-the-job experience more valuable.

Some IT managers say certification isn't as crucial for their staff. "With recent college graduates, we don't demand certification. They get great experience working here on-site," says Dahl of Fort Atkinson Memorial Health Services. "If they want to get certified, that's fine. It shows initiative on their part and that they have experience.

"We do have tuition reimbursement for certification," he adds, "but in and of itself, it doesn't mean that much."

And certification isn't necessary for everyone, according to Schafer. "The time for IT workers to have certification is when a technology first appears on the market," she says. "As a technology becomes more widely available and more commonplace, certification becomes less valuable. Good people often don't need certification to work with certain [entrenched] technologies."

Still, most companies are willing to foot the bill for certification. Six out of 10 IT managers and staffers said their organization pays for continuing education for professional certifications. The most common certifications held by IT professionals are Microsoft MCP, MCSE, MCSD and MCT; Computer Associates International CUE, COD and CACP; Novell CNE, CNA and CNI; and Cisco Systems CCNA, CCDA, CCIE and CCNP.

The Entitled Ones

When it comes to big-time salary, title is everything. Managers who are vice presidents earn the highest salaries, at $110,000. They are followed by senior managers, $95,000; chief information officers, $86,000; directors, $85,000; program managers, $81,000; project managers, $78,000; and chief technology officers, $75,000, according to the survey. The highest paid staffers are sales support engineers, $93,500; staff architects, $90,500; systems architects, $78,000; and software engineers, $77,000.

The industries that pay the highest IT salaries are consumer goods, electronics, biotechnology/pharmaceutical, utilities, computer software and services, business consulting, computer hardware manufacturing, and general retail. The lowest paying are education, hospitality and travel, specialty retail, and entertainment and advertising.

Bonuses, which have become a staple for companies in hiring and retaining IT workers, are also on the rise. Managers expect to receive $9,500 in bonuses and other direct cash payments this year, up from $7,000 in 2000. Staffers expect to get $5,000 in bonus money, compared with $3,500 last year. But gender, age, region and company size are not major factors in determining bonus amounts for managers and staffers, according to the survey.

When IT managers and staffers were asked to identify the primary reason for getting bonuses or other cash compensation, they most often cited job performance. Other reasons included company profit-sharing, completion of a project milestone, and completion of certification or training. A little more than one-quarter of managers and staffers said they do not expect to receive a bonus this year.

Of those IT managers who were offered signing bonuses in the past, 76 percent received bonuses of 10 percent or less of their base salaries. Nearly 90 percent of the staffers got signing bonuses of 10 percent or less of their salaries.

Which skills are likely to bring bonuses or other cash payments this year? Project management was the most common answer, followed by network and systems infrastructure, technical support, Internet/intranet, general IT staff functions in multiple areas, application development, helpdesk/IT support, security, systems integration/business analysis and Internet development.

Those IT workers who receive premium pay for hot skills were asked what they expect to happen when their companies' need for these skills cools. Nearly six in 10 said they expect the companies to pay for them to learn new skills. Others said they expect work opportunities where new skills can be developed on the job, coaching in the development of new skills or alternative benefits to offset the loss of pay.

Perked Out

Companies in recent years have offered all kinds of perks to try to lure or keep IT professionals. Respondents in the survey were asked to identify the most outrageous perks they have received. Among the more extreme perks were a one-month, all-expenses-paid tropical vacation for the entire family; a one-week stay at the CEO's beach house; a two-week private yacht cruise to Alaska; and tickets to the 2000 World Series.

But these days, companies are cutting back on the lavish perks and signing bonuses. Observers say this is because the IT labor market, though still tight, isn't as intense as it has been in recent years.

"A lot of IT managers have been doing some sleight-of-hand magic when it comes to perks, finding the money however and wherever they can to hire and retain people," Schafer says. "We're still seeing some of that, but it has lessened this year. It's somewhat easier to hire people, and the balance has shifted back in favor of employers in some cases. It's not the mania of past years."

Ernst Volgenau, president and CEO of IT consulting and systems integration company SRA, in Fairfax, Va., and chairman of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)'s Workforce and Education Committee, agrees. "It's somewhat easier to recruit people, so you don't need to offer as big a bonus or starting salary," Volgenau says. "Attrition is down, so employers don't have to entice people to stay as much as they did a year ago."

Meanwhile, IT managers and staffers have received a wide variety of not-so-flashy but significant noncash and indirect cash rewards during the past 12 months, according to the survey. Nearly eight in 10 received health benefits. Other benefits included 401(k) match programs, further education or training, tuition reimbursement, certification reimbursement, stock options, a stock purchase plan and health-club membership. Fewer than 10 percent got sabbaticals or extended vacations, company cars or car allowances, or access to day-care services.

For those IT managers who have been granted stock options during the past 12 months, the median estimated value of the options is $9,500. For staffers, the estimated value of stock options is $4,500. The value of total current options held -- both vested and unvested -- is $25,000 for managers and $8,250 for staffers.