After two straight years of flat wages, tech pros finally got a bump in 2011.

Despite some hopeful fits and starts, the U.S. economy didn't escape the doldrums in 2011. Unemployment remained stubbornly high, the U.S. debt-ceiling crisis and budget scuffles spurred more economic uncertainty, and Europe's ongoing financial problems threatened global markets. If there's an upside, at least it's familiar territory.

Tips on implementing the latest in technology, how-tos for finding employment or contentment in a current job, analyses of "what's on the horizon" -- it's one thing to keep up with all the information out there. It's quite another to put it all into practice.

If you have tech skills and experience, odds are you're going to get a call from an IT recruiter in 2012. That's because IT departments are ramping up hiring at the same time that more IT professionals are ready to leave behind employers offering flat salaries, limited flexibility and aging technology.

Here is good news for college seniors with technology skills: The entry-level job market for IT workers looks solid in 2012.

Are you underpaid, underappreciated and overworked in your IT department? Cheer up, because 2012 looks like an opportune time for IT professionals to look for new, higher-paying jobs.

It's not a myth. The technology industry is in the midst of a hiring surge stronger than any we've seen since the days of the dot-com boom. InfoWorld's interviews with economists, technology executives, job seekers, and hiring board managers indicate that employment in the tech sector is up a solid 10 percent this year -- by some bullish estimates, closer to 20 percent. And despite the tendency of the media to fixate on California's Silicon Valley, the hottest job markets are in places like New York and Washington, D.C., where firms in financial services and the federal government hire droves of IT hands.

Too many projects, too little time: That's the sad lament of many IT professionals who must constantly balance the needs of the enterprise against the desires of business users -- all while keeping a close eye on the newest technologies coming at them from every direction.

Spend enough time in the tech industry, and you'll eventually find yourself in IT hell -- one not unlike the underworld described by Dante in his "Divine Comedy."

When it comes to job stability and pay, storage administrators had it made in 2009.

Demand for IT professionals has grown in the last quarter. Our guide to the jobs that are in demand, what they pay, and the skills you need to get them.