IT professionals in the UK say the current economic downturn is hurting smaller firms more than larger ones, but that’s not affecting their choice of where to work, according to a survey by the The IT Job Board.

The survey found 60 percent of IT workers believe the recession is hitting small businesses the hardest, although 53 percent said that hasn’t affected their employment preferences.

For those that do factor in the size of the company they’d prefer to work for, those surveyed expressed different reasons for choosing a large or a small organisation. Professionals choosing large companies said they did so because of salary considerations (65 percent) or training opportunities (64 percent). Those preferring small firms gave their reasons as larger scope of responsibilities (65 percent) and visibility with top management (56 percent).

“Bigger companies seem to have more draw when it comes to training and salary benefits,” said Alex Farrell, managing director of The IT Job Board. “But, small organisations still have their place, and it is encouraging to see that techies relish jobs in IT that offer more challenging work.”

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