How much can we hope to earn in tech in this time of health crisis? This is the question asked by talent.io, a platform specializing in the recruitment of tech profiles in Europe. As part of this study, she sifted through more than 100,000 interview requests for a CDI or freelance assignments. Jobs offered in London, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Toulouse.

This report covers five professional paths: development (back-end, front-end, full stack, lead developers, etc.), the product (product managers, product owners, UX / UI designers), data (data analysts, data engineers, data scientists), DevOps and management positions (CTOs, engineering managers).

Wages offered to juniors are declining

For juniors with less than a year of experience, the median gross annual salary in London in 2021 fluctuates between 35,000 Pounds for UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) designers, and 42,000 Pounds for product managers.

With the health crisis, companies have put young graduates on a diet. In London, the median salary offered to developers who had less than a year of experience decreased by 3% compared to 2021 (from 39,000 Pounds gross per year to 38,000 Pounds). That offered to developers who had two or three years of experience declined by 2% (from 45,000 to 44,000 Pounds). And it's even worse in the regions, with a drop of 5% for candidates with 4 to 6 years of experience (from 42,000 to 40,000 Pounds). Conversely, the salaries of candidates with more than four years of experience have remained stable in London.

In the data and DevOps sectors, the salaries of juniors with less than three years of experience have also fallen across the country (up to -5%). The product sector is the only one to record an increase. The juniors see their remuneration rise by 10%. A figure which is explained in particular by a catching up of wages in this sector. “These positions had much lower salaries than those in other professional streams. We can assume that this sharp increase is simply due to a leveling of wages in the tech sector ”, specifies the study.

Disparities between London and the region

In the maintenance requests proposed on the platform, “There is a difference in salary of around 15% between London and the rest of London”, explains Nicolas Meunier, co-founder of talent.io. But that could change. At the start of the year, the start-up noticed a clear increase in job offers open to 100% teleworking in tech professions. Many Londonian companies are starting to recruit elsewhere than in the capital. “This will possibly reduce the wage gap that we see between London and the provinces”, considers the entrepreneur.

Some trades offer more prospects than others

“At the start of a career, salaries are very close, whatever the professional path. However, the more the experience increases, the greater the difference. The differences between the salaries of candidates with more than seven years of experience are much greater, ranging from 55,000 Pounds (development professions) to 75,000 Pounds (for management roles) in London ”, says the study. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and engineering manager, with a median annual salary of 70,000 Pounds gross, are the highest paying positions for seniors in the capital.

What about freelance salaries?

On the freelance side, junior developers of mobile applications have the lowest median daily rate, at 257 Pounds. Among the youngest, engineers are the best, with a median daily rate of 350 Pounds. After seven years of experience, independent CTOs have the highest median daily rate, at 700 Pounds, followed by data engineers and product managers (650 Pounds).

“In 2021, despite the health crisis, the recruitment of freelancers continued to grow strongly, indicates Nicolas Meunier. Two reasons: on the one hand, developers want greater flexibility and often earn a better living as a freelance; on the other hand, companies find it difficult to recruit on permanent contracts or want to accelerate their pace of innovation by providing additional expertise to their teams. “

The number of interviews in sharp decline

On talent.io, companies can offer job interviews to profiles that interest them. Since the pandemic, maintenance requests have fallen by 57% on the platform.

Here again, there are great disparities depending on the territory. Despite the crisis, developers looking for work in London receive on average more than five interview requests on the platform, compared to two for their counterparts in the region. “This is a finding that we make on all trades relating to tech because of the concentration of companies in the sector in London”, specifies Nicolas Meunier.