government IT salary scale

[duster]

[QUOTE=NeGatiVe;249881]I would say ignore Duster completely on this issue.... 1.1 - 1.3 Mil is good enough to start out with thats about 20K per week.
QUOTE]


you dont want to ignore duster! thats not a good thing to do.

[kilaj1]

waht mi try fi say still. Thats like 14,000 US Dallors a Year. Damn dat ano no money. mi eat more than $14,000 a year inna bulla

...right....someone need a girl fi cook for them....anyway

As stated before you definately cannot compare US or any other country to jamaica's pay rates, price of living in other countires vary to much, like right now I make almost 3 times what i made in JA but that doesn't matter because the price of living up here.

[girldemsuga]

Here is my question, what is IT4 and IT5?

[Xenocrates]

It's a pay scale rating used in the Government to determine the pay range for incumbents in a post that is rated as such. There are 8 grades to most pay scales in Gov't. Each scale as a specific name. The MIS/IT grade was created for IT professionals, aka "nuts and bolts" people who form a part of the IT infrastructure.

Broadly speaking:

1. MIS/IT1 (3-460,000 / year) - Reserved for temporary staff, summer workers, etc.
   
   
2. MIS/IT2 (550 - 650,000 / year) - Reserved for Data Entry clerks etc.
   
   
3. MIS/IT3 (660 - 780,000 / year) - Reserved for tech support staff at help desks.
   
   
4. MIS/IT4 (1.0 - 1.1 mil / year) - Reserved for Network technicians, trouble shooting staff, Database admins etc.
   
   
5. MIS/IT5 (1.1 - 1.3 mil / year) - Reserved for Software Programmers and Engineers, Network Administrators, database developers etc. This is the highest you can go as an IT professional in the Gov't without a degree. Certs can bring an IT4 person to an IT5 depending on the cert (MCSE preferrably).
   
   
6. MIS/IT6 (1.2 - 1.5 mil / year) - Reserved for MIS officers who specialize in strategic ICT development, deployment and support. This can include a Network Admin or Software Engineer who determines how ICT is applied within the organisation. Management is limited to technologies and policy implementation. B.Sc. is an absolute requirement.
   
   
7. MIS/IT7 (1.5 - 1.8 mil / year) - ICT Manager. Whereas an IT6 person would focus on a specific technology, an IT7 incumbent would need to have both IT and Management skills. IT7 people are hired on contract - usually lasting anywhere from 1 to 3 years. This person would oversee the operation of an entire IT department or division. They are not only responsible for implementation, but for budgeting, consultancy etc. The incumbent is quite literally a manager with an IT background.
   
   
8. MIS/IT8 (1.9 - 2.3 mil/year) - Reserved for heads of departments or consultants employed temporarily to work on a specific project. This person does not belong to the civil establishment and is usually employed on a contract arrangement. There's no strict policy for those who occupy this position. People in IT7 positions can also fill IT8 positions, depending on their job classification and responsibilities.

I'll be back tomorrow to provide you with more accurate numbers. These are off the top of my head, and may be off by some tens of thousands or more.

[rodalembs]

[*] MIS/IT7 (1.7 mil / year) - ICT Manager. Whereas an IT6 person would focus on a specific technology, an IT7 incumbent would need to have both IT and Management skills. IT7 people are hired on contract - usually lasting anywhere from 1 to 3 years. This person would oversee the operation of an entire IT department or division. They are not only responsible for implementation, but for budgeting, consultancy etc. The incumbent is quite literally a manager with an IT background.

Boy this is just not good, definite review needed, I know guys tuning down engineer jobs at this price.. And the govt say the serious about ICT ?

[Overkill]

Just one thing.. to make clear.. that although .. .Government uses this scale.. not all government institution will employ it.. as some are limited to the highest scale being MIS/IT3 even though duty and reponsiblities with be that or MIS/IT7 ..

so do think.. that although the scale exist .. it not use by all government institute

[keroed1]

[*] MIS/IT6 (1.2 - 1.5 mil / year) - Reserved for MIS officers who specialize in strategic ICT development, deployment and support. This can include a Network Admin or Software Engineer who determines how ICT is applied within the organisation. Management is limited to technologies and policy implementation. B.Sc. is an absolute requirement.

[*] MIS/IT7 (1.5 - 1.8 mil / year) - ICT Manager. Whereas an IT6 person would focus on a specific technology, an IT7 incumbent would need to have both IT and Management skills. IT7 people are hired on contract - usually lasting anywhere from 1 to 3 years. This person would oversee the operation of an entire IT department or division. They are not only responsible for implementation, but for budgeting, consultancy etc. The incumbent is quite literally a manager with an IT background.

[*] MIS/IT8 (1.9 - 2.3 mil/year) - Reserved for heads of departments or consultants employed temporarily to work on a specific project. This person does not belong to the civil establishment and is usually employed on a contract arrangement. There's no strict policy for those who occupy this position. People in IT7 positions can also fill IT8 positions, depending on their job classification and responsibilities.[/list]
I'll be back tomorrow to provide you with more accurate numbers. These are off the top of my head, and may be off by some tens of thousands or more.

i guess i would qualify for it6 since i have my BSc but i was thinking of doing a masters but wasn't sure in what but from reading ur pos i am guessing a master in business would be much more fruitfull than a masters in it? since i inted to continue moving up the ladder

[Xenocrates]

Boy this is just not good, definite review needed, I know guys tuning down engineer jobs at this price.. And the govt say the serious about ICT ?

- Indeed. In fact, the biggest problem facing government is their current high level managers. They do not understand the significance of a well integrated IT structure. IT people and Managers today, for the most part, are speaking two different languages. Managers today in Gov't are only looking at the investment dollar-value of IT upgrades to their infrastructure, but not the long term savings it will incur. That's why it is imperative that IT staff learn how to convey ideas from the point of view of a manager.

This is why most IT students leaving universities today are beelining for management positions. The idea is very simple:

1. Replace existing managers with those who are more IT savvy.
   
   
2. Overhaul the current grading scheme to be more competitive with Private Sector positions.

With that said, these are the new grades effective April 1st, 2007:

• MIS/IT2: 570 - 680,000 / year
• MIS/IT3: 690 - 819,000 / year
• MIS/IT4: 1.1 - 1.3 million / year
• MIS/IT5: 1.2 - 1.4 million / year
• MIS/IT6: 1.3 - 1.6 million / year
• MIS/IT7: 1.7 - 2.0 million / year
• MIS/IT8: 2.1 - 2.5 million / year

But any way you look at it, until Gov't starts paying degreed positions starting from 1.5 million / year (2.0 next year), then the private sector will always pose a threat to it's staff.

[Xenocrates]

although the scale exist .. it not use by all government institute

- I've seen this. However, if you are degreed, it is imperative that your post be upgraded. You should request this through your current manager if it was not done automatically. The restructured post would go to the Corporate Managemet Development branch (located in the JamPro building on Trafalgar road) as a request to have your post reclassified. It is not guaranteed to be reclassified as such, because again, there are only more old dinosaurs in that divison who undervalue IT positions. Here's where force of argument comes into play:

Step 1. - Speak Layman, not Techie

What you have to do my friend, is make a comparison between your job and an equivalent position in the private sector with people who have the same qualifications and responsibilities. This always seems to work best, because talking IT jargon to old fogies is the same thing as speaking to them in Japanese. You should also (tactfully) include that you are your organisation's only ICT support officer (if this is the case - which seems to be prevalent across the board). This is how I had my current staff upgraded from IT3 to IT5 and IT6 positions. Your boss must be MADE to understand the significance of your position. Avoid all the techie talk. It will just fly right over their heads.

Step 2. - Put it in writing, be tactfully forceful.

Put this down in writing as a memorandum to your boss and try to be as to the point and objective as possible. You must present your argument in a clear, flowing manner with facts and figures. Leave your opinion out of it. If they truly value your post, they will make the upgrades. I don't need to tell you how many times I've had my resignation rejected before I was bumped up. Sometimes you have to be tactfully forceful to make them understand.

The bottom line

In today's Jamaica, no matter how much you love to tinker with technology, if you plan to work with the Gov't or are already in the Gov't, there's no point in settling for a "Techie" position - unless you are quite comfortable where you are. Management is where it's at. But that's won't be the case forever. The old dinosaurs currently in the system will be replaced by newer managers who are more IT conscious than their predecessors. Eventually, we won't need CIO's (i.e. Chief Information Officers) anymore, because today's CIO's will be tomorrow's Senior Executive Managers. Then today's Network Engineers (IT4) will be tomorrows ICT Managers (IT7).

That's why I urge every IT university student who intends on becoming integrated with society's corporate structure, who also has leadership skills, to drive themselves toward manegerial positions; not just because of the payscale, but because it would provide an opportunity to effect this change in the IT sector right across the board.

[Xenocrates]

i guess i would qualify for it6 since i have my BSc but i was thinking of doing a masters but wasn't sure in what but from reading ur pos i am guessing a master in business would be much more fruitfull than a masters in it? since i inted to continue moving up the ladder

- If you do your M.Sc, you will never get dollar value for that degree in Jamaica. Why? An M.Sc. is 3 times as expensive (per year!) than an MBA. Nothing is wrong with doing an M.Sc., but here's the catch:

1. UWI Comp. Sci. M.Sc. = Glorified UTECH B.Sc. - An M.Sc. in Computer Science (there's no Scientific study in IT. It's either MIS or MBA) is a highly philosophical and mathematically oriented degree. If you did your B.Sc. at UTECH, it'd be like that on steroids. In fact, I've heard many UWI lecturers say that a UTECH B.Sc = a UWI M.Sc. - because you do EXACTLY THE SAME THING to get the degree (i.e. A Thesis + Research Viva, which is not done for the UWI B.Sc.!). It's just 6 times more expensive than a UTECH B.Sc. So what's the point?
   
   
2. Field of Study is too Narrow - An M.Sc. degree in Comp. Sci. forces you to focus on a very specific field of Computer Science. You pick the field of course (or if you're genius enough, invent your own). However, your study is so tightly concentrated on that one topic, that there is effectively NO practical application for such a study in Jamaica, unless you go back to teach at a local university. So your M.Sc. degree will read something like: M.Sc. in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence), or M.Sc. in Computer Science (Management Information Systems), etc. etc. All of that is nice. But unless you plan to start your own company, or leave the country and apply your knowledge in industries overseas that capitalize on the use of this study, it's a terrible, terrible waste of 1.odd million / year.
   
   
3. Not Cost Effective. - As I said before, unless you go back to teach at one of the local universities for $300,000 / month, start your own consulting agency, or get hired in a highly specialized IT consulting firm, you won't get your return on investment for that degree. Even though a teaching job at a university is easy to get with a M.Sc., you can't teach higher than 3rd year without a Ph.D. This is the ONLY way to guarantee that you can pay off the mortgage you'd have to take out to pay for an M.Sc. degree. Furthermore, no manager in his right mind is going to pay you 4 mil / year, even with an M.Sc., fresh out of school, right off the bat - unless you get lucky. All of this is moot however, if you just happen to have 2.4 million lying around somewhere that you're not using.
   
   
4. MBA Provides Better Opportunities, QUICKER - An MBA is a degree that prepares you to become an integrated corporate manager. With the technical skill you've derived from your B.Sc., you can now learn how to use that skill to facilitate the building and development of corporate Jamaica. An MBA deals with Business Management. You can use your B.Sc. in IT to specialize on IT Management or something even broader. Either way, you are not limited to any specific field with an MBA. You can drop into any high level management position with an MBA. While the same could be said about a M.Sc., the MBA graduate will have a much smaller loan to pay off, at the same salary grade.

Therefore, I Recommend:

If you already have a B.Sc., skip the M.Sc. and beeline for the MBA. You'll be making 2.1 million / year right out of school and you have a smaller loan to pay off. This is especially the case with people who started with UTECH B.Sc. degrees. I've noted many times before that people with UTECH B.Sc. degrees are highly rated in Government. Remember that salary that Ghetto_Nerd posted sometime ago? That's living proof of what I'm talking about and I can bear witness to that. With the right opportunities, a UTECH B.Sc. can take you places. Why? Because UTECH people can take up positions that allow them to shape the IT infrastructure of the organisation, both as a business analyst and an IT infrastructure engineer. These are skills you learn at UTECH. THAT's the clincher. So why become even more tightly specialized with an M.Sc.? You'll only learn more and more about less and less. That's no good for today's business.

Practically speaking, an M.Sc. is more useful for people who are in finance. If you love IT, the MBA would be far more useful (and far cheaper too!) This doesn't mean that you shouldn't do your M.Sc. I'm merely showing you a more cost effective way to get the same result. If you really want to do your M.Sc., then go for it. It's just that you won't get your return on investment as quickly as with an MBA, and you'd have killed off millions more brain cells for no practical purpose.

This is the scale you get employed in Gov't with B.Sc. + MBA, irrespective of your field of specialization:

Senior Executive Group

• SEG 3 (1.6 - 1.9 Million / year) Minimum requirement: UTECH B.Sc.
• SEG 4 (2.0 - 2.38 Million / year) MBA starts you here.
• SEG 5 (2.36 - 2.81 Million / year) Proven track record + experience
• SEG 6 (2.75 - 3.28 Million / year) Reserved for senior managers, heads of departments etc. Senior = you've been in the service for some time.