Next Year, You Might Actually Get a Raise

Unsurprisingly, 2009 was a grim year for many an employee’s wallet, with 85% of big companies doing away with across-the-board merit pay, but 2010 already looks a lot brighter. More than half the companies who froze salaries this year tell Fortune they plan to defrost them next year. Here’s a list of the people most likely to take home some extra dough, from the fields of IT and finance:

• Compliance director: New regulations are barreling down the pipe, so even small companies will want experts. Salary: $83,750 to $108,500.
• Credit manager: Managing risk and delinquent accounts is a skill more appreciated than ever. $42,500 to $57,500.
• Network administrator: Loads of companies want to take advantage of cloud computing, VoIP, SaaS, and more, making this a more complicated job than ever. $54,500 to $80,250.
• Information systems security manager: Because data protection is a job requiring an ever-higher skill level. $96,500 to $130,750.

(More salary stories.)