FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Users wanting to call home form abroad are
increasingly turning to Skype's Internet telephony service to the
detriment of international carriers, new data showed.
Tech salaries
nearly flat, frustration rises
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. technology professionals are more frustrated with
their pay than they have been in years as their salaries stagnate, according to
an annual survey of about 17,000 visitors to the Dice.com website.
Dice Holdings Inc's (DHX.N) Dice.com, a career site for technology and
engineering professionals, found the average pay for U.S. tech jobs rose 1
percent last year to $78,845, compared to a 4.6 percent pay increase the year
before.
That modest pay increase is fueling dissatisfaction. Only 46 percent said they
are satisfied with the pay, compared to at least 53 percent who said so in each
of the previous three years. About half the workers say employers are doing
nothing to keep them motivated, according to the survey, and more than
three-quarters say they received no bonus in 2009.
The results suggest employers may have trouble keeping technology staff, leading
to a "retentionless recovery," said Tom Silver, Dice's senior vice president in
North America.
"The new war for technology talent is coming and the battle is retention," he
said.
While 47 percent of those surveyed said employers were doing nothing to motivate
them, a smaller number said they were getting more interesting assignments and
14 percent reported getting flexible work hours.
The survey also showed about 70 percent of respondents identified themselves as
Caucasian, and about 7 percent each said they were either African American or
Asian Indian. The average salary among those who identified themselves as Asian
Indian was about $86,000 a year, the highest of any ethnic group.
Workers in California's Silicon Valley do a little better than their peers
elsewhere in the United States. The average tech salary there was $96,299. In
Washington DC, where salaries are rising faster than the national average,
information technology (IT) professionals earned more than $89,000 a year.
Technology job titles that command six-figure salaries include project managers,
information architecture specialists, and advanced business application
programmers. IT managers earn about $115,000 a year, Dice said.
Meanwhile, more tech workers are working as independent consultants rather than
taking staff positions, according to Dice. About 48 percent of the positions
posted on the site are contractor jobs, up 8 percentage points from January
2009.
On average, technology consultants earn about $99,000 annually.
Black Inventors/Innovators in Science
Granville T. Woods
Electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, inventor. Born in Columbus,
Ohio, he mastered the trades of machinist and blacksmith, and after
working as a railroad fireman and engineer, Woods took college courses in
electrical and rnechanical engineering from 1876 to 1878. He served as
engineer on the British steamer Ironsides in 1878, and later settled in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
His first
patent was for a steam boiler furnace in 1884. He patented a telephone
transmitter in 1885, which was bought by Bell Telephone, and Woods then
founded the Woods Electric Company in New York City, which manufactured
and sold telephone, telegraph, and electrical Instruments.
His most
important invention was the induction telegraph system in 1887, a method
of informing an engineer of trains immediately in front of and behind him,
thus ensuring safer rail travel. Woods was challenged in court by the
Edison and Phelps companies, who claimed priority for Thomas Edison.
However, Woods eventually won the patent rights. Of the more than 60
patents that he registered, the majority were concerned with railroad
telegraphs, electrical brakes, and electrical railway systems. Some
referring to him as "The Black Edison" for his prolific inventive skills,
he was widely known for his ingenious contributions.
Some of
his better known contributions were in developing the "third rail" concept
in mass-transit subway systems and developing the "trolley" system for
trolley cars.
Darnell
Smith
Darnell Smith is the founder and CEO of Business In The Black, a
CMS web development and technology company founded in 1999 that
specializes in customized database driven Content Management
System websites and managing multimedia data over the Internet. He
is also the inventor of many software and hardware systems with
over 11 shared patents with companies such as Black & Decker US,
Bell Labs, Tyco Electronics, Lucent Technologies and Synqore
Electronics to name a few.
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JC Lamkin
J. C.
Lamkin, Certified Novell Administrator and Certified Project
Manager, is President of Gypsy Lane Technologies, Inc. and
Technically Speaking Radio in Philadelphia, Pa. Her work includes
technology and project management solutions for small businesses
and organizations.
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Dr. Peter J.
Delfyett
Dr.
Peter J. Delfyett is the President of the National Society of
Black Physicists. NSBP is 600-member professional association that
promotes the professional well-being of African American
physicists and physics students within the international
scientific community and within society at large.
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Debra Dixon
Debra Dixon is the principal and founder of Light of Gold PR and
Marketing. She has over 16 years of Technology and PR experience,
having worked as a consultant, trainer, public speaker, publicist,
promoter, marketer, writer, and media relations executive at
various corporations and companies in both Atlanta and New York.
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Jimmy J. Davies
Jimmy Davies is the founder and CEO of MacMasters Computer
Services, a computer training and technology company founded in
1988 that specializes in customized database development and
managing data over the Internet.
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Warren Holyfield
Warren Holyfield is the founder and CEO of A-Advantage Networking,
an information technology firm based in Long Beach, CA. He has his
FCC license in broadcasting communications amongst other
certifications, and is known in the industry for his knowledge in
communication arts.
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Dr. Jomo W. Mutegi
Jomo W. Mutegi, Ph.D. is Executive Director of Sankoré Institute.
Sankoré Institute is a non-profit African-centered science and
education research organization, which supports a staff of African
Americans who conduct research in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM).
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Diane Griffin
Diane began her career in Security Administration at military
contractor Northrup Grumman. Taking up this position came as
almost an afterthought as Diane was assigned from the Human
Resources area to Security Administration simply to maximize her
time; however, she quickly recognized an aptitude and inclination
for the field and pursued it vigorously from that time forward.
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David Steward
World Wide Technology CEO and prominent businessman David Lloyd
Steward was born on July 2, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois. His
parents, Navy veteran, Harold Lloyd Steward and Dorothy Elizabeth
Massingale Steward moved back to his mother's hometown, Clinton,
Missouri two months after Steward's birth.
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Gregory D. Evans
Gregory D. Evans, innovator, publisher, and industry leader, is a
recognized expert in computer security and hi-tech crimes. Mr.
Evans is the founder of LIGATT Security and the Technology Crimes
Institute (TCI). Through TCI, Mr. Evans currently teaches over
twelve hi-tech crime courses.
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