Your pay Composite of the well-paid net exec New jobs, here and abroad Criteria for happy workers 25 factors named “most critical” for job satisfaction Seeking new jobs vs. staying put Salary by region Show me the benefits package Influences on your pay Salary calculator

Your check stub should give you reason to smile. Despite an economy that is only now crawling out of its years-long doldrums, network professionals' pay has continued to grow far faster than the rate of inflation. Top this off with a broadening set of long-term career options (with more C-level IT positions created every year), and you can count on networking as a good living for years to come.

Network executives, those with senior-level titles (senior vice president/vice president of MIS/IT/IS/DP), fared particularly well when it came to pay raises, finds the 2004 Network World Salary Survey of 3,575 respondents, conducted by researchers King, Brown & Partners. Network executives reported an average base pay of $111,020 - a 5.6% increase over 2003 and well above the 2003 inflation rate of 2.3% that InflationData.com reported. Bonuses, too, look good, with network executives indicating they anticipate a 1.6% increase this year. While that might not sound like much, as senior managers, network executives already are at the top of the IT bonus scale. They estimate their average 2004 bonus will be a hefty $19,460.

Total compensation (which includes bonuses, stock options and other income) for network executives rose to $136,380, only 3.7%. The "other income" category is to blame for the meager increase. Respondents expect other income to dip 42% compared to what it yielded in 2003. Other income includes items such as car allowances, pay premiums (for overseas work, for example), and income earned outside their corporate jobs, such as consulting fees.

For middle IT management - those with network manager or director titles - base pay rose 4.3% to $74,890, and total compensation gained 4.6%, to $79,840. Within that group, e-commerce managers did particularly well in total compensation increases, seeing 5.3% raises to $88,250. However, they received a comparatively anemic 3.9% base-pay raise, to $79,820.

Among staff-level positions, network operations workers snagged a notable 4.7% increase in total compensation, to $58,160, and a competitive 4.3% base-pay raise to $55,500. The average total compensation for all staff-level personnel grew 4.2% to $67,640, with base pay rising 4% to $64,200. Perhaps that doesn't make entry-level network professionals Jaguar material, but it certainly lets them afford a starter-home mortgage in most areas.