2022 IT Pro Day survey examines state of the tech job market

SolarWinds, a provider of simple, powerful, and secure IT management software, today released the findings of a new survey that examined the state of the technology job market in the midst of industry-wide labor shortages and hiring challenges. The survey, which was released to coincide with the eighth-annual IT Pro Day holiday, discovered that, despite a potential economic downturn, more than two-thirds of tech and IT professionals polled are completely confident in their career choices. However, with the “great resignation” causing tens of millions of employees to leave or change jobs, only half of survey respondents felt their companies were adequately staffed in recent years.

To address these staffing issues and recruit during a historically tight labor market, 59% of respondents said their company has increased flexibility in hours and work location, while 33% said their employer has increased pay. Meanwhile, when asked what is most important to them in their careers, IT professionals prioritized salary and work-life balance.

Key IT Pro Day survey findings: 

• More than two-thirds (67%) of IT pros surveyed say they’re completely confident about their career choice, even in the face of a potential economic downturn. However, a third (33%) did say they’re at least a little worried about their job futures. 
• 22% started a new job within the last year, and a full 51% percent said they’d at least considered doing so.
• But less than a third (34%) of those who changed positions said they loved their new job. 15% said their new position is worse than their previous one, while 54% said their new role is about the same.
• When asked to rank what’s most important to them in their careers, pay and work-life balance were the top two responses chosen by IT pros.
• However, nearly a third (31%) of respondents say they don’t feel fairly compensated in their role, and only 4% believe they’re overpaid. 
• Respondents were split on whether their companies had been staffed appropriately over the last two years, with half (50%) saying they feel like they’re doing two jobs and the other half (50%) replying their company is staffed adequately.
• But for those respondents who feel their company is understaffed, relief may not be coming right away—46% of respondents say their company has now either slowed or frozen hiring amid a potential economic slowdown. 

“The new SolarWinds survey makes clear IT and technology sectors haven’t been immune to the staffing challenges posed by the ‘great resignation’ and pandemic,” said SolarWinds Head Geek^™ Thomas LaRock. “This is particularly challenging for IT teams because they’re not only feeling understaffed but also are expected to do more with less as network environments become increasingly complicated. Remote work and hybrid and multi-cloud environments have made it extremely difficult to keep networks—and businesses—running smoothly but these IT pros show up every day to get the job done.”

SolarWinds created IT Pro Day to recognize the critical, and often unseen, work that IT professionals perform on a daily basis all over the world. For more information, go to www.itproday.org.