You may be asking yourself, "Is it time for a job change, or should I hold strong at the company I am currently with?" It's a candidate's market for tech workers like we've never seen before, and the time to see how your market value has increased is now!
The U.S. is suffering from a tremendous labor shortage that doesn't seem to have an end date in sight—leaving many Americans' asking themselves what they want from work and whether it may be time for a new job.
It's no secret what spurred about the current labor shortage, the global pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic brought about a greater need for businesses across all industries to adopt more tech. Companies learned to work remotely and connect virtually with their customers—advancing the tech age and the need for tech workers.
We must also consider that long before Covid-19 swept through our lives, advancements in technology and new ways of working were paving the future for how businesses sourced and hired their talent—the demand for new skill sets, talent diversity, and inclusion were emerging.
So, it goes without saying that the pandemic amplified the dire need for tech workers and the necessity for a rapid digital transformation.
What is proving difficult for most companies is acquiring the high-level talent they need to meet this new tech age—ergo, the labor shortage.
Companies are competing for top-tier talent, leaving many needing to re-think their hiring strategies and what they are now willing to offer.
In the hopes of winning over top-tier talent, companies are offering flexible hours, sign-on bonuses, remote work, higher salaries, support for childcare, training programs, and even transportation.
According to a survey by TalentLMS and Workable, 72% of tech workers debate a job change due to limited career progression, lack of flexibility in working hours, and toxic work environments.
In response to "The Great Resignation," employers are offering retention bonuses in the hopes of getting the upper hand on employee retention in the short term, but these initiatives are temporary.
According to a TalentLMS survey conducted, 75% of tech workers agree that their companies focus more on attracting new employees than investing in their existing ones—76% of tech workers stated their top criteria when selecting a company to work for is salary and benefits.
Adrienne Altman, Managing Director and North American Head of Rewards at Willis Towers Watson, stated, "Employers are in the middle of an intense war for talent that's not likely to let up anytime soon,…to compete, it's imperative for employers to take strategic actions and find ways to differentiate the value propositions they offer to current and prospective workers.”
Where does this leave tech workers today?
You may be asking yourself, "Is it time for a job change, or should I hold strong at the company I am currently with?"
It's a candidate's market for tech workers like we've never seen before, and the time to see how your market value has increased is now!
What is the correlation between a candidate's market and higher salaries?
The push for technology and digital transformation skills is at an all-time high. Covid—19 fast-forwarded digital skills adoption by almost a decade, with most organizations reporting a shift toward tech in terms of a necessity.
In an interview with Crain's New York earlier this year, ingenium's CEO & President, Rick Dionisio, said the technology salaries are a product of supply and demand.
“The average candidate—not even the whiz kid coming out of a top school—is going to have multiple offers,” Dionisio shared.
Companies have found different approaches and expanded budgets due to such high demand and the inability to fill their most dire tech roles.
According to a Forbes article, “developers and engineers, especially those with experience and in-demand skill sets, mainly have to decide which job to take as opposed to trying to find a job.”
The Dice Tech Salary Report for 2021 showed that tech salaries in the U.S. increased 3.6% from 2019 to 2020, reaching $97,859, despite the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The average tech salary in New York City rose 11.6% within the same time frame to a whopping $114,274.
With 150 million new tech jobs projected in the next five years—it goes without saying that Christopher Mims' infamous 2018 proclamation in the Wall Street Journal, "Every company is now a tech company," has rapidly become a dire reality.
A report conducted by iHire found that 77% of the companies surveyed anticipate the candidate shortage will continue well into 2022. Monster's Future of Work: 2021 Global Outlook report stated that the top challenge for employers today is finding candidates with the right skills sets.
Inflation surged to 6.2% in October of 2021 and will remain around 5% well into 2022, bringing about a tremendous increase in the cost of living—companies have to raise wages across the board, especially for tech roles they so desperately need to fill.
According to the Palmer Group's 2022 Salary Guide, 69% of all companies surveyed plan on increasing their staff in 2022—a 13% increase from 2021. Compared to 2021, plans for a 5% or more increase in compensation have doubled from 11% to 22%.
The current candidate market is paving the way for tech workers to demand higher salaries and benefits on their terms.
So, how does your tech salary currently stack up to industry averages?
Before you plunge into the search for a new job, it may be beneficial to understand just how much your current tech or product role is making on the average and higher end.
If you know you can get a better job that will pay more and give you the flexibility to demand where you want to work, you may have found yourself thinking, 'I can't let this pass me by, so why not see what's out there."
We've compiled a list of average tech salaries and currently available job postings broken down by roles—making getting to know your current market value that much easier. Please note that these salary ranges exclusively represent base salary compensation. All forms of variable pay (such as an annual bonus or equity compensation) are excluded from this aggregate.
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Cloud Engineer: $110k to as high as $190k+
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Data Architect: $110k for junior to as high as $200k for Senior/Staff/Principal/Lead
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Product Manager: $110k for junior to as high as $225k for Director level and up
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Data Engineer: $110k for junior to as high as $200k for Senior/Staff/Principal/Lead
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DevOps Engineer: $110k for junior to as high as $200k for Senior/Staff/Principal/Lead
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UX/UI Designer: $110k for junior to as high as $175k for Senior/Staff/Principal/Lead
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Product Designer: $110k for junior to as high as $175k for Senior/Staff/Principal/Lead
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Network Engineer: $110k for junior to as high as $175k for Senior
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Systems Engineer: $110k for junior to as high as $175k for Senior/Staff/Principal/Lead
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Software Developer: $110k for junior to as high as $200k for Senior/Staff/Principal/Lead
High-level tech roles often require various programming language skills, and according to Stack Overflow's 2020 Developer Survey, JavaScript currently stands as the most commonly used language worldwide at 69.7%.
Having programming skill sets may help you land those higher-paying roles that companies are struggling to fill. So how exactly do these programming skill sets measure up salary-wise?
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Python: $100k to as high as $185k
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Java: $110k to as high as $225k for Principal
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Node: $125k to as high as $180k for Senior/Lead.
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React: $100k to as high as $180k for Senior/Lead.
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Typescript: $120k to as high as $160k for Senior.
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Ruby: $130k to as high as $180k for Senior/Lead
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C#: $135k to as high as $200k for Lead
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Scala: $125k to as high as $180k for Senior/Lead
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Go: $125k to as high as $180k for Senior/Lead
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Swift/iOS : $125k to as high as $180k for Senior/Lead
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JavaScript: $125k to as high as $180k for Senior/Lead
What are the pros and cons of taking a look at the current job market?
You're ready to see what your current market value and salary look like and may even be prepared to start a conversation with a recruiter, but you've got some skepticism.
The next step on your to-do list may be to weigh some pros and cons, and you're correct in doing so—to help expedite your pondering, we've compiled some pros and cons for you.
Pros:
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You can get a higher-paying job.
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You can find a company that is offering better career advancements.
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You'll get the confidence to approach your current employer and request a raise and more favorable benefits and perks.
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You'll have the flexibility to apply to jobs that match your lifestyle needs.
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You can choose a job with more flexible hours.
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You get a job that offers a sign-on bonus.
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You can find a company with a better work environment—a better culture fit and an inclusive company where you'll feel represented.
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Many companies are offering learning and development opportunities that can aid you in advancing your career.
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You can live just about anywhere and apply to remote work with no geographic barriers, paying for transportation, or increased living costs in major cities.
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You can land your dream job much faster than ever before with hiring now down to 30 days—down 25% on average from previous years.
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You'll have the flexibility to choose which company you work for versus having to take what you get.
Cons:
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You'll miss your opportunity to be fought over by major companies in what is being called the hottest job market for tech workers since the 90's dot-com era.
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On average, staying with the same company for over two years can lead to fewer earnings over your lifetime by 50% or more.
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You could miss the opportunity to get better health and well-being benefits that many companies are now offering as incentives.
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You may be hurting your career by staying too long with the same company—three to five years at the same job without promotion is the optimal tenure to establish a track record of success without negatively impacting future job possibilities.
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You'll never honestly know if you could have landed a higher-paying job unless you look.
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You can experience significant burnout by continuing at the same stagnant job.
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Getting a raise at your current company or even a retention bonus will only increase your total lifetime earnings, and many of the current incentives are temporary.
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The current candidate market and labor shortage of qualified tech workers have left many companies offering significant sign-on bonuses to land the top-tier tech talent—you could miss this tremendous opportunity.
Where ingenium comes into the equation
There are a lot of companies out there who claim to be the best recruitment agency, but what makes us different? Perhaps it’s the fact you don’t have to take our word for it...
I was happy to work with Jim Clifford and Daniel Meara from ingenium. They are true professionals and helped me a lot to find my dream job! They really care about their candidates, constantly keep posted regarding interview process status, very responsive. I wish all tech recruiters were like Jim and Dan!- Dmitry, Java Software Engineer
ingenium reached out to me about several wonderful opportunities. They were transparent about the salary range upfront, and were super communicative throughout the entire interview experience. Thanks to them, I now work for an amazing company that I probably wouldn’t have known about otherwise!- Carly, Product Designer
I have dealt with several recruiting firms over the past 4 years. ingenium was definitely one of the best. I would recommend Ingenium to any job seeker, as well as an employer.- Gene, Director of Engineering
ingenium was a fantastic recruiting experience, they were professional, prompt and I highly recommend using them.- Brian, Head of Product
Very thankful for the help ingenium provided in my job search. Rick helped prep me throughout the interview process, and went above and beyond during negotiations to help me land meaningful equity and a highly competitive salary.- Matt, Backend Engineer
These guys found me a new position in less than two weeks and negotiated out the best offer I could get. I was in a great company and I did not want to leave. But these guys challenged that and said here you go... well get you there! I loved the whole experience!- Robert, SRE
A recruiter from ingenium reached out about a role they were representing in video gaming/entertainment. I must admit: 99/100 I ignore recruiter messages, but this role sounded pretty neat. They were courteous, kind, and responsive every step of the way. I went through the interview process at said company, and was successfully accepted into the company at a role HIGHER than what both the recruiter and myself applied for. Seems like a win-win for everybody here.- Leo, Senior Engineering Manager