IF you are an information technology (IT) worker, then you'd better hurry and get that security certificate, fast.Your co-workers certainly are. With companies finally getting around to realising that network security is a business critical issue, more and more are paying an additional premium for IT staff with a security qualification.

According to a survey by Foote Partners salary premiums for security certifications are increasing. In fact the qualified IT security category was the only one that qualified for a pay rise over the past year.

The company surveyed 33,800 US and Canadian IT workers who receive a base pay plus premiums for their qualifications, such as the Certified Information Systems Security Profession (CISSP).

The survey shows that certified security professionals on average earn salaries about 10 per cent to 15 per cent higher than non-certified staff doing comparable jobs. Pay for a person with an IT security qualification rose by 1.7 per cent over the six months to the end of May. By comparison average pay for 141 certified IT skills fell by 1.1 per cent over the six months to the end of May and by 2.1 per cent over the year.

Meanwhile pay for 149 leading non-certified IT skills grew by 4.1 per cent over the six months to the end of May and 9.1 per cent over the past year, according to the survey.

The company explains that salaries and skills pay for IT security professions went flat following a wave of hiring in the wake of US legislation requiring companies to take tougher measures.

As workers beefed up their skills, an oversupply of talent developed compared to demand, which drove prices down. Companies also did not have the same interest in hiring those with security qualifications compared to other skills sets they require.

Now, customers are becoming nervous and are demand more security in products and services, says Foote Partners.

"Business have by no means been ignoring security, but many companies are seriously understaffed and under skilled in their IT security departments and they know it," Foote stated.

With security, the emphasis is on knowledge of the technology, rather than having specific business, process or customer skills, Foote says. If you are a business expect to pay out more for the talent. If you are an IT security professional, better renegotiate upwards.

Meanwhile check out Computerworld's annual survey gives you an in-depth look at the top employers in IT. The top 100 list by rank is available at the "Careers" section of www.computerworld.com.

For the record the top five places for a propeller head to work is at Quicken Loans, the University of Miami, Sharp HealthCare, the Capital Group and Mitre Corp.

In a separate section the journal also rates the top 12 IT skills that employers are currently hunting for and paying top dollar.

The first is "machine learning", people with the skills needed to design and develop algorithms and techniques to improve computers' performance. Other skills in demand include the ability to extend applications such as ERP, procurement and expense approval to mobile devices such as Blackberries and Treos.

Wireless networking skills, those who can design human-computer interfaces, know project management techniques, networking, open-source programming, business intelligence systems, and how to embedded security are also in high demand.

***

I CAN'T finish this column without giving praise to those in the project who have developed a laptop costing $100. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was started by Nicholas Negroponte with a core of Media Lab veterans.

"It's an education project, not a laptop project," Negroponte has said in the past, underscoring the drive to get computers into the hands of children from the poorer parts of the world.

The OLPC developers now say the design is ready to go and that companies will now start producing the first machines, which should be ready in October 2007. The laptop has no hard drive and a stripped-down operating system with 1GB of memory.

It uses open source software to remain cheap.

The XO machine, as it is called, is built tough and simple, to stand up to harsh environments found in the remoter parts of the world. It also has a waterproof case.

It is built to be powered by solar chargers or by foot-pump.

What a project and what a design. See it all at www.laptop.org.

Send any comments to Ahmed at elamin.ahmed@gmail.com.