Times, they are a-changin' for network professionals. Pay, which has always been good, is rising - though perhaps not fast enough for the IT workforce's taste. But the trade-off for those cushy paychecks - brutal hours and inflexible schedules - has also begun to fade, according to Network World's 2006 Salary Survey of 1,841 respondents conducted with researchers King Brown Partners.

The workaholic pressure so common for IT workers over the last decade is on the decline, as network professionals report higher satisfaction rates for family friendliness and work/life balance issues than previous survey respondents. Respondents also claimed higher satisfaction with job security - rated the No. 1 priority - than they had previously. It all points to an increasingly vibrant IT job market in which employers are appreciating their IT workers and working harder to keep them happy.

"People are at more of a comfort level," explains Marshall Curtis, IT director for the Carlisle Walker Group, a Madison, Wis., holding company for diversified manufacturing divisions. "They don't foresee a lot of changes in their companies and are feeling more satisfied. They are not as worried about downsizing or outsourcing as they were three or four years ago."

As IT rises in corporate importance while experienced workers remain hard to find, companies are offering employees better rewards. Overall, base pay increased 5.4% with bonuses up a healthy 14.2%.Base pay for the highest-ranking network professionals (those in CIO, CTO or senior vice president-level positions) rose 6.5% for 2006 to $132,560. Network professionals with middle-management jobs (LAN/WAN/telecom directors/managers responsible for technology and people) saw an increase of 5.2% to $84,510. Staff positions (those who manage technology but not people) jumped 5.3% to $66,190 (see "What you earn").

Raises are not outrageously high, but they do beat the pants off the cost-of-living increases. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 3.7%, according to Inflation data.com. When adding in bonuses, stock and other benefits (such as car allowances), network executives reported an 8% leap in total compensation, landing at $162,580. Middle managers saw total compensation increase 5.5%, to $95,310, and staffers reported gains of 5.4%, to $71,790.

Still, respondents surprisingly reported that they aren't all that happy with their pay packages. They ranked overall compensation as their No. 2 priority (after job security) yet placed it last, at No. 20, when asked how satisfied they were with it. Benefits ranked No. 3 in importance but lagged in satisfaction, landing at No. 15. Base salary rated No. 4 in importance and ranked No. 11 in satisfaction (see "Satisfaction ratings").

Such dissatisfaction may be caused in part by wildly uneven stock-based compensation - once the star benefit for IT workers at every career level. Average stock-based compensation declined 3.5%. Middle management was particularly hard hit, tallying a 26.1% decline. Staff saw a 4.8% decline. Only senior management did well with stock perks - in fact, network executives raked in a whopping 49.8% increase in their stock-based pay.

Except for the highest-ranking IT executives, companies have switched from stock-based rewards to bonuses, offering sizable bonus increases for 2006. The 14.2% average bonus hike amounts to $5,790. Those in staff-level positions expect an average 16.3% increase, to $2,920, with those doing training, help desk and technical support work reporting the biggest percentage hike, a hefty 46.7%, to $2,230. Meanwhile, network executives expect a 10.2% increase, to $23,240, while middle managers expect a 13.2% increase, to $6,840.

Network executives attribute the emphasis on bonuses to the economy, which is cranking along well enough to be productive and stable but isn't so predictable that employers want to commit to permanent base-pay increases.

"Bonuses are important because they work for both sides. They reward employees for what they've done but are not long-term commitments for management," says Scott Williams, CIO for Longview Capital, a financial holding company in Newman, Ill.

Carlisle Walker's Curtis adds that bonus increases are high this year, because IT is finally catching up to the compensation schemes offered for other business units. Within the last couple of years, IT has lost its reputation as a straight overhead expense, and IT workers are now getting bonuses based on overall company performance at similar rates to, say, the marketing or production employees. "For myself - and other IT senior management - bonus programs are the same as they are for any other business manager. It is not IT-specific," he says.