2014 Storage magazine

Salary Survey Results

An In-Depth Analysis Into How Storage Pros Are Compensated
 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

2014 Storage Salary Survey

By Ellen OBrien, executive editor of TechTarget's Storage Media
Group.
Contents
Paychecks for data storage professionals are holding steady, according to
Average Salary by the results of our twelfth annual Storage magazine Salary Survey*, which
Region also revealed that storage pros are spending an increasing amount of time in
Average Salary by TBs the application and networking space, taking control of projects that span
Managed several IT disciplines.

Average Salary by Our 2014 respondents displayed a combination of aptitude and attitude -- a
Company Revenue roll-up-your-sleeves type of technical grit -- that keeps them at the center of
Average Salary by the action. "At the moment, we are implementing VDI and are in the
Experience and middle of scaling to 1,000 users," explained one participant. "We are halfway
Certifications Held through, and the issues we have encountered have been both fascinating
and frustrating."
Benefits, Perks and
Privileges
More than 23% of those surveyed said the lines dividing IT teams at their
Five Pros and Cons of companies had "blurred significantly," and another 22% reported working
Being A Storage Pro more closely with other IT teams than they ever have before.

What a High Paying Storage pros who completed our survey also expressed a relentless
Storage Professional
enthusiasm for new technology, and the ability to create real change within
Looks Like
their respective verticals. "We get to actually bring in and test out new
technology that is promising and may improve our processes," said one
respondent. Others cited the power of some of the newest technologies,
saying it has changed how they do their jobs. "Flash is changing how we
work," wrote another. "If you're not on the train, then we're leaving you at the
station."

*This report was published in November 2014

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 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

Base salary, bonuses and expectations

Contents
Our 2014 group reported an average annual salary of $97,788; that's $240
Average Salary by dollars less than the average salary reported by our 2013 respondents. But
Region this year's respondents did enjoy a decent jump in pay -- 6.2% -- when they
compared their 2014 salaries with the year prior.
Average Salary by TBs
Viewed regionally, Mid-Atlantic storage professionals reported the highest
Managed
average annual salary: $116,736. That number put the Mid-Atlantic region
back on top, after it fell from first in 2012 to fourth last year.
Average Salary by
Company Revenue At a low of $85,375, Canadians trailed their counterparts in all U.S. regions.
But respondents from Canada expect the biggest boost in 2015 -- an 11%
Average Salary by salary bump vs. the Mid-Atlantic's modest 4.3% increase and New England's
Experience and 3%.
Certifications Held

Benefits, Perks and

Privileges

Five Pros and Cons of

Being A Storage Pro

What a High Paying

Storage Professional
Looks Like

Big picture: Storage pros in the Midwest region predict the largest average
annual bonus -- a generous $12,775.

Spotlight: Nearly 36% of respondents said the location of an employer was

the most important factor in choosing a job.

Fine line: Last year's top salary winner, the Pacific region, had an average
salary approximately $5,000 higher than this year's Mid-Atlantic winner.

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 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

Capacity surges boost pay

Contents
Just 7% of our respondents were able to avoid demands for greater storage
Average Salary by capacity in the past year. Twenty-seven percent saw their storage capacities
Region
grow between 11% and 20%, while one-fifth of respondents experienced
Average Salary by TBs more than 40% capacity growth last year.
Managed
At the same time that data storage demands intensified for nearly all our
Average Salary by survey takers, data storage budgets were cited again and again as chief
Company Revenue
reasons for dissatisfaction on the job. "[We are] understaffed and there is
Average Salary by resistance to increasing budget for disaster recovery," wrote one respondent.
Experience and Limited budgets, inflexible budgets and mysterious budgets were all cited as
Certifications Held reasons data storage pros were frustrated with their jobs.

Benefits, Perks and

In general, as terabytes were added to storage environments, salaries for
Privileges
storage managers grew as well. Storage pros who saw a greater than 50%
Five Pros and Cons of storage growth last year averaged the highest salaries at $114,741. But there
Being A Storage Pro was an upset in the trend; storage pros who experienced between 31% and
40% storage growth saw their salaries dip instead compared to last year.
What a High Paying
Storage Professional
Looks Like

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 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

Big picture: Twenty-five percent of our survey takers manage more than 500
TB of storage.

Contents Spotlight: Nearly 42% said their company's storage budget was less than
$500,000.
Average Salary by
Region Fine line: Fifteen percent of respondents said they didn't know how much
Average Salary by TBs their company allocates to storage.
Managed

Average Salary by Company revenue and industry verticals matter

Company Revenue

Average Salary by Our salary survey respondents are employed at more than a dozen industry
Experience and verticals, including financial services, education and healthcare. But it was
Certifications Held the wholesale/retail industry that beat out all the others, with those working in
storage at those companies topping the charts with an average salary of
Benefits, Perks and
$128,500.
Privileges

Five Pros and Cons of No matter the vertical, data storage pros interviewing for new jobs might be
Being A Storage Pro wise to investigate company revenue. Our survey showed that paychecks
tend to swell with corporate revenue -- once revenue reaches the pivotal
What a High Paying
$501 million mark. Before that, company revenue apparently has little impact
Storage Professional
Looks Like on salary.

That $501 million mark also served as a turning point when looking at
dedicated storage teams. Once that mark was reached, the chances of
having a team dedicated to managing the company's storage grew pretty
steadily, peaking at companies with revenue between $5.1 billion and $10
billion, where 76% had dedicated storage teams. For companies of various
sizes that hadn't reached the $501 million mark, approximately 20% had a
dedicated storage team.

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 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

Contents
Average Salary by
Region

Average Salary by TBs

Managed

Average Salary by
Company Revenue

Average Salary by Big picture: Thirty-two percent of respondents said they are part of a
Experience and dedicated storage team.
Certifications Held
Spotlight: More than one-third (39%) said they're part of a systems group at
Benefits, Perks and
their companies.
Privileges

Five Pros and Cons of Fine line: Nineteen percent of salary survey participants reported that their
Being A Storage Pro companies increased their use of consultants and/or outsourced personnel
last year.
What a High Paying
Storage Professional
Looks Like
Degrees, pedigrees and personal plans
How much does college count toward earning? When looking at survey
respondents who were dedicated solely to storage for more than a decade, a
master's or a doctorate degree did carry the most weight, bringing in an
annual salary of $117,796 -- those who listed "junior college" fared almost as
well, with an average salary of $114,667. Those candidates with a decade of
experience and no college experience at all averaged the lowest salaries in
the group ($79,250).

This year's survey won't help settle the long-running debate about whether
certifications translate into raises. While the highest salaries were awarded to
those with the most certifications (five or more), the rest of the data didn't
show that a professional with three certifications would earn any more than a
peer who had none. Still, 34% said they felt certifications had "definitely"
helped their career.

Page 5 of 10
 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

Contents
Average Salary by
Region

Average Salary by TBs

Managed

Average Salary by
Company Revenue Big picture: Sixty-one percent said they'll leverage their time spent
managing storage to take their careers in another direction.
Average Salary by
Experience and
Certifications Held Spotlight: Twenty-two percent of our respondents hold a master's degree or
Ph.D.
Benefits, Perks and
Privileges Fine line: In for the long haul: 52% have more than 20 years of IT
experience on their resumes.
Five Pros and Cons of
Being A Storage Pro

What a High Paying Benefits, perks and privileges

Storage Professional
Looks Like
Nearly 30% of respondents said their benefits package was reduced last
year, while 58% said their offerings remained the same. Thirteen percent
said their benefits were beefed up compared to last year.

When rating their existing benefits, satisfaction in all areas -- health, dental,
flex time -- was high. When considering health benefits, for example, 74% of
respondents rated their benefits as good (28%), very good (23%) or excellent
(23%).

When it came to flex time, 31% of respondents rated that benefit as

excellent. Working at home was rated less well. Thirteen percent said the
perk was not offered by their employer, while another 14% rated this benefit
as "poor" at their company.

Page 6 of 10
 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

Contents
Average Salary by
Region

Average Salary by TBs

Managed

Average Salary by
Company Revenue

Average Salary by
Experience and
Certifications Held Big picture: For 89%, stock options weren't part of their compensation
package.
Benefits, Perks and
Privileges Spotlight: The number of respondents whose benefit packages were cut
grew approximately 7% vs. 2013.
Five Pros and Cons of
Being A Storage Pro
Fine line: Job responsibility and career advancement placed ahead of salary
What a High Paying as chief factors in job choice.
Storage Professional
Looks Like
Thumbs up, thumbs down
Each year, we ask storage pros to tell us what they like best -- and least --
about their jobs. Here are the highlights from the class of 2014.

Bragging Rights
Flexible work schedule, great bosses -- and great pay
Diversity and challenge of learning each day
I can influence direction and strategy
Getting to use the latest technologies; direct reports are fantastic
Healthcare needs a jumpstart in IT -- fun to see changes happening

Page 7 of 10
 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

Complaint Department
The politics and struggles from different management teams inside
IT
Contents Always in crisis mode: poor vision, no roadmap
Lack of career advancement, flat salary
Average Salary by Unwillingness to embrace new technology for fear it might break
Region something
Average Salary by TBs Budget is not formalized and planning is difficult to do
Managed

Average Salary by What does a high-paid storage professional look like?

Company Revenue
We compiled data from our twelfth annual Storage magazine Salary Survey
Average Salary by to get a clear picture of what it would take to be the highest paid storage pro
Experience and around:
Certifications Held
From the Mid-Atlantic states
Benefits, Perks and
Privileges
Works in wholesale/retail
Five Pros and Cons of
Being A Storage Pro Manages 500+ TB

What a High Paying

Manages between 21 and 50 people
Storage Professional
Looks Like
Manages a budget of $5.1 million to $10 million

Saw 50% storage growth last year

Holds more than five professional certifications

Holds a Ph.D.

Has more than 10 years of dedicated storage experience

Company revenue exceeds $500 million

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 2014 Storage magazine Salary Survey

Free resources for technology professionals

Contents TechTarget publishes targeted technology media that address your need for
information and resources for researching products, developing strategy and
Average Salary by
Region making cost-effective purchase decisions. Our network of technology-specific
Web sites gives you access to industry experts, independent content and
Average Salary by TBs analysis and the Webs largest library of vendor-provided white papers,
Managed webcasts, podcasts, videos, virtual trade shows, research reports and more
drawing on the rich R&D resources of technology providers to address
Average Salary by
Company Revenue market trends, challenges and solutions. Our live events and virtual seminars
give you access to vendor neutral, expert commentary and advice on the
Average Salary by issues and challenges you face daily. Our social community IT Knowledge
Experience and Exchange allows you to share real world information in real time with peers
Certifications Held and experts.
Benefits, Perks and
Privileges What makes TechTarget unique?
TechTarget is squarely focused on the enterprise IT space. Our team of
Five Pros and Cons of editors and network of industry experts provide the richest, most relevant
Being A Storage Pro content to IT professionals and management. We leverage the immediacy of
What a High Paying the Web, the networking and face-to-face opportunities of events and virtual
Storage Professional events, and the ability to interact with peersall to create compelling and
Looks Like actionable information for enterprise IT professionals across all industries
and markets.

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