Salary
Guide
2013
Welcome to GCS Technology’s Salary Guide for 2013. The statistics within this report have been compiled through a combination of observing market patterns for several months and ongoing discussion with GCS’ market-specialist consultants who, I believe, represent some of the country’s leading technology recruiters. I’m sure you will find it interesting and I hope that, in many cases, it will paint a better picture of what salaries and rates will be needed to acquire key talent over the next year. We have also provided a commentary on market changes over the last year and how we believe each market will continue to evolve.
An increase in demand for experienced IT professionals across Europe has, in some cases led to more opportunities for the UK’s technology professionals to seek work abroad and achieve faster career progression and pay. This has been most evident within the contracting industry but it has also affected the permanent recruitment market. If this trend continues, British businesses may well have to increase salaries and rates across the board to avoid a technical shortfall in our national IT industry.
Perhaps the most interesting change in the market has been the value of soft skills. Where previously, strong communicative and interpersonal skills have led to management receiving notably higher payment than technical workers, top line earnings of project managers are now rivalled and, in certain situations, surpassed by the earnings of those they manage. Meanwhile, junior and mid level workers who boast strong soft skills find work more readily and at higher rates and salaries than others who are less adept at professional communication.
A note I should make is that, even though the contract statistics are presented in the form of professional daily rates, many contractors at the lower-level of the market are still paid per hour. Given the comparatively high rates of senior candidates, general feeling is that a per-day payment is acceptable for the expertise irrespective of whether a seven or nine hour day is undertaken. At the lower end of the earning spectrum, many feel anything other than a per-hour arrangement could lead to an exploitation of workers.
I trust this document will be of interest to you and your business – should you wish to discuss any aspect of this guide, please do not hesitate to contact me.
ChriS devonShire head of GCS TeChnoloGy e: [email protected] T: 07917 128 852
inTroduCTion
ConTenTS
03 Introduction04 Thames Valley Contract rates 05 Thames Valley Permanent salaries 06 London Contract rates
07 London Permanent salaries 10 Development 11 Testing
12 Support & Infrastructure 13 Database
14 Management & Analysis 15 About us
ThameS valley
Contract rates
04 | 05
ThameS valley
Junior Mid-Level Senior
developmenT .Net Developer £200 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £450 Web Developer £200 - £250 £250 - £350 £350 - £400 iOS Developer £200 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £500 Java Developer £250 - £300 £300 - £380 £380 - £500 TeSTinG Website Tester £120 - £170 £200 - £250 £275 - £330 Test Analyst £120 - £170 £200 - £250 £275 - £330 Automation Tester £175 - £225 £250 - £300 £350 - £400
SupporT & infraSTruCTure
Service Desk Analyst £120 - £150 £150 - £170 £170 - £200 Desktop Support £150 - £170 £170 - £200 £200 - £250 Server Support Engineer £200 - £250 £250 - £300 £300 - £350 Network Engineer £200 - £250 £250 - £300 £300 - £400
daTabaSe
Database Developer £230 - £260 £260 - £320 £320 - £400 Business Intelligence (BI)
Developer £250 - £300 £300 - £350 £350 - £450 Database Administrator (DBA) £225 - £275 £275 - £350 £350 - £450 OBIEE Developer £250 - £325 £325 - £375 £375 - £500
manaGemenT
Business Analyst £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £550 Project Manager £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £600
ThameS valley
Junior Mid-Level Senior
developmenT .Net Developer £24,000 £35,000 £47,500 Web Developer £23,000 £35,000 £45,000 iOS Developer £25,000 £40,000 £60,000 Java Developer £25,000 £40,000 £55,000 TeSTinG Website Tester £20,000 £27,500 £32,500 Test Analyst £25,000 £35,000 £40,000 Automation Tester £35,000 £45,000 £50,000
SupporT & infraSTruCTure
Service Desk Analyst £18,000 £23,000 £25,000 Desktop Support £25,000 £28,000 £32,000 Server Support Engineer £28,000 £35,000 £45,000 Network Engineer £30,000 £38,000 £45,000
daTabaSe
Database Developer £30,000 £40,000 £50,000 Business Intelligence (BI)
Developer £30,000 £40,000 £60,000
Database Administrator (DBA) £30,000 £40,000 £50,000 OBIEE Developer £30,000 £40,000 £60,000
manaGemenT
Business Analyst £30,000 £35,000 £45,000 Project Manager £30,000 £40,000 £60,000
ThameS valley
london
Contract rates
london
Junior Mid-Level Senior
developmenT .Net Developer £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £500 Web Developer £225 - £280 £280 - £350 £350 - £400 iOS Developer £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £550 Java Developer £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £500 TeSTinG Website Tester £150 - £200 £220 - £300 £350 - £400 Test Analyst £150 - £200 £240 - £300 £300 - £400 Automation Tester £220 - £280 £280 - £370 £370 - £500
SupporT & infraSTruCTure
Service Desk Analyst £140 - £170 £170 - £200 £200 - £250 Desktop Support £160 - £220 £220 - £250 £250 - £275 Server Support Engineer £220 - £300 £300 - £350 £350 - £450 Network Engineer £250 - £325 £325 - £400 £400 - £500
daTabaSe
Database Developer £250 - £280 £280 - £350 £350 - £450 Business Intelligence (BI)
Developer £280 - £320 £320 - £380 £380 - £500 Database Administrator (DBA) £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £500 OBIEE Developer £300 - £350 £350 - £400 £400 - £550 manaGemenT Business Analyst £250 - £300 £300 - £450 £450 - £600 Project Manager £250 - £300 £300 - £450 £450 - £650 06 | 07 london
Junior Mid-Level Senior
developmenT .Net Developer £27,500 £40,000 £55,000 Web Developer £25,000 £40,000 £50,000 iOS Developer £30,000 £50,000 £75,000 Java Developer £30,000 £45,000 £55,000 TeSTinG Website Tester £20,000 £30,000 £35,000 Test Analyst £25,000 £35,000 £40,000 Automation Tester £40,000 £50,000 £55,000
SupporT & infraSTruCTure
Service Desk Analyst £23,000 £27,000 £30,000 Desktop Support £25,000 £30,000 £35,000 Server Support Engineer £35,000 £45,000 £55,000 Network Engineer £32,000 £45,000 £55,000
daTabaSe
Database Developer £38,000 £45,000 £60,000 Business Intelligence (BI)
Developer £40,000 £48,000 £60,000
Database Administrator (DBA) £35,000 £45,000 £55,000 OBIEE Developer £40,000 £50,000 £60,000
manaGemenT
Business Analyst £30,000 £45,000 £60,000 Project Manager £35,000 £50,000 £65,000
london
“perhapS The
moST inTereSTinG
ChanGe in The
markeT haS
been The value
of SofT SkillS.”
Whilst demand for established front-end technologies has remained stable, the emergence of iOS and Android as two of the most prominent platforms has seen salary and rate increases by approximately 10%. As a result, many developers have begun to focus their expertise towards the newer technologies.
As more businesses look to harness iOS/ Android, a huge increase in demand for these skills far outweighs the number of senior developers who have been specialising in this area for several years. This lack of senior talent has led to some businesses offering contracts to less experienced workers who are self-taught in iOS/Android development. Whilst many ‘bedroom developers’ may struggle to get a contract from the word go, most permanent entry-level positions can be more than capably filled by those with self-taught iOS or Android skills. Due to this, there is now more money overall in development at the junior to early-mid level, irrespective of whether candidates work in London or the Thames Valley. This is likely to continue for the next five years until the quantity of candidates within the market catches up with the exponentially increasing demand for these skills.
Despite lower-level salaries having been increased by around 5 – 10%, a similar increase has not been visible for mid to senior level salaries.
Due to the lure of high rates, many professionals are leaving permanent work for contract opportunities. If employers wish to retain their mid-level staff and see them become senior level developers, they may need to reconsider senior salary levels. Java rates will continue to stabilise for the foreseeable future, although progress within other sectors could threaten this. Much like Ada and Cobol, failure to evolve could see Java become antiquated towards the end of the decade. Rates at the top end of the market have increased slightly over the last year – capable Java developers switching markets to ‘hotter’ sectors has led to those who remain being able to command higher rates.
There has been increased demand for some skills within the .Net and PHP markets, most notably Drupal, Magento and WordPress. Rates may change in these markets over the next year as the cost of living in London and demand for IT professionals in Europe combine with unfavourable exchange rates to deprive our capital of much of its talent – this lack of resource may lead to mid and senior level talent increasing their rates.
developmenT
10 | 11
“aS more buSineSSeS
look To harneSS ioS/
android, a huGe inCreaSe
in demand for TheSe
SkillS far ouTweiGhS
The number of Senior
developerS who have
been SpeCialiSinG in ThiS
area for Several yearS.”
TeSTinG
Of every market GCS covers, Testing has been the sole sector in which a decrease in rates has been evident. This drop is strictly amongst the lower level of workers and due to an abundance of testers on the market at any given time. Our concern is that the sheer volume of available lower cost testers may mislead some clients; a proficient tester, especially one with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, will not be on the market for long before finding work at an appealing rate.
The biggest change in the Testing industry has been the move towards Automation Testing wherein hiring a top-line contractor can be hugely cost-effective, even at the increased rates that we have observed over the last year. Many businesses are not offering high enough rates to attract testers at a senior level as there is a marked shortage of talent.
The difficulty is that obtaining work within Automation Testing can prove extremely difficult unless you have existing experience in the practice - a “Catch 22” situation which has seen developers with testing experience moving into senior Automation testing roles – those who can code in Java and C++ are eminently qualified to shift markets in this fashion. Hiring managers seeking Selenium Automation skills in particular can expect to pay extra for acquiring testers with this in-demand aptitude.
As popular as it has become over the last few years, Automation Testing is not for every company and some businesses will continue to prioritise Manual Testing. However, if the general market shift towards Automation continues, Manual Testers who cannot transition into Automation Testing will have more competition for fewer jobs, leading to a need to reduce rates further in order to secure ongoing work.
The changes in the Testing market are uniform – location does not really matter. London and Thames Valley salaries and rates are comparable; this would suggest that the demand and supply are equable across all locations, with perhaps even more candidates in London – hence no visible ‘London weighting’ financially.
“The biGGeST ChanGe in
The TeSTinG induSTry haS
been The move TowardS
auTomaTion TeSTinG
wherein hirinG a Top-line
ConTraCTor Can be huGely
CoST-effeCTive, even aT
The inCreaSed raTeS ThaT
we have obServed over
The laST year.”
Whilst junior and mid-level professionals have not become noticeably more expensive to engage over the last few years, the cost of senior support and infrastructure professionals has markedly increased – particularly for those with Network and Server Support expertise. Server Support, in particular, is going to see continued rate increases due to skills shortfalls in Citrix, Exchange and Lync. Network Engineers, meanwhile, are finding themselves in substantial demand within London as opposed to anywhere else. Demand within the capital has far outstripped the available senior talent and has resulted in increased remuneration available.
As with the Testing market, there is a very noticeable glut of less impressive workers who have been unable to find work for a considerable amount of time. Unfortunately, such individuals give the impression to some businesses that there are always support contractors available as required. This may be accurate but it creates a false sense of security in hiring managers. Whilst there certainly would seem to be a large pool of readily available contractors, the standard of ability within this group is less impressive than is often required.
As demand for support professionals with excellent communication skills increases in line with outsourcing arrangements failing, higher quality support workers actually find themselves on the market for an incredibly brief amount of time and, often, with multiple job offers within days of becoming available. The market is more buoyant now than it was five years ago and confidence in it has increased; as a result, many candidates – contract and permanent – are tentatively job seeking only to find that they receive progressive offers within days. It is most obvious within the Server Support area but will likely soon be evident elsewhere as well. Good support candidates with strong soft skills will not only be able to achieve better career prospects, they will be offered substantial salary increases.
Companies that do not wish to lose their existing support staff should pay particular attention to the engagement of their department’s workers – if dissatisfaction leads to job seeking, even passively, the rising demand for the best candidates and a fast industry turnaround could see these disengaged employees and contractors quickly finding new workplaces.
SupporT &
infraSTruCTure
12 | 13
daTabaSe
More than in any other sector, rates and salaries for Database professionals have stabilised. The only notable increase has been the demand for SQL Server experts, which has pushed up the cost of skilled professionals. This demand has come due to Microsoft’s BI stack presenting new capabilities that mean SQL Server can be used for both BI and RDBMS. As a result, we expect demand for such candidates to continue increasing for at least the next 18 months. The Oracle market is likely to remain stable for the foreseeable future due to the company continually releasing new technology, add-ons for existing products and growing through mergers and acquisitions. Junior and mid-level candidates are paid more within London than elsewhere in the country due to increased demand in the capital for DBAs and developers across a spectrum of experience but, once you reach senior level, demand is equable across the country, especially since companies outside of London eschew lower-level workers to engage only top level Database personnel. The best database professionals will go to those companies that present the best earning and progression opportunity, irrespective of the location of the business. The greatest issue within this market is that there has not been the natural replenishment of candidates that there has been within other disciplines – there does not seem to be enough newcomers to change the landscape of the market and, as such, the
pool of candidates within the UK Database sector tends to be the same people in recirculation. For rates to either rise or fall in the short term, the market would need a shake-up that could be caused only by an influx or exodus of talent and this does not seem like a imminent prospect.
A more likely situation that will affect rates over the next five years is that professionals who have been staples within the industry for much of the last decade will either take high level management positions or retire, leaving the market depleted of top level talent. Since there have been increasingly fewer newcomers to the market, there will be less options for clients with vacancies so as the existing generation of database professionals diminishes, replacements will become harder to find. Where the next generation of Database workers might come from is unclear; what is certain, however, is that if this situation comes to pass, rates and salaries within the sector will soar.
“The GreaTeST iSSue
wiThin ThiS markeT iS
ThaT There haS noT
been The naTural
repleniShmenT of
CandidaTeS ThaT There
haS been wiThin oTher
diSCiplineS.”
“...hiGher qualiTy
SupporT workerS
aCTually find ThemSelveS
on The markeT for an
inCredibly brief amounT
of Time and, ofTen,
wiTh mulTiple job
offerS wiThin dayS of
beCominG available.”
We understand that finding and retaining individuals with the relevant skills and experience is what every organisation aspires to do. At GCS, we have been helping organisations to do just that since 1991.
Whether you need contract solutions or permanent results, require one individual or a whole project team, we have the level of expertise to help secure the best people for your organisation. Quite simply, we recruit and inspire the best to ensure that our customers recruit and engage with the best.
manaGemenT &
analySiS
readinG: T: +44 (0)118 956 3900 e: [email protected] 2 Wesley Gate 70-74 Queens Road Reading RG1 4AP london: T: +44 (0)20 7710 4141 e: [email protected] 2nd Floor 9 King Street London EC2V 8EA dublin: T: +353 (0)1 447 5262 e:[email protected]Camden Business Centre 12 Camden Row
Dublin 8
abouT uS
It is difficult to analyse trends within the Business Analysis and Project Management area, if for no other reason than it varies hugely by sector. There is currently a clear £10k - 15k disparity, for example, between those working within the higher paid banking or professional services sectors to those within the public sector.
In the past, Project Managers have traditionally earned considerably more than those they oversee. Whilst they are still usually the highest paid member of a team, the gulf between project management earnings and that of senior staff has
significantly decreased. It is now not unheard of for top developers and analysts to achieve comparable - and sometimes greater - earnings to those to whom they report. There is a gulf in earnings between those in London and those elsewhere. Senior Business Analysts, in particular, can achieve considerably higher earnings if they ply their trade in the capital. This is down to the fact that most Business Analysts are very city-focused and, as such, competition for the best of the best has driven rates up.
Elsewhere, rates and salaries have been static due to the sheer number of available PMs. At present, most technically-driven disciplines have fewer top quality candidates than there are vacancies. The same cannot be said for management vacancies, where there are less roles and a high volume of qualified yet underemployed PMs. It is not as feasible for a dedicated Management professional to turn his or her skillset to another discipline as it might be in the hands-on technical arena.
The fallout from this has been that
organisations looking for Business Analysts or Project Managers have felt it feasible to expect top candidates at mid-level budgets. This, we believe, has been a mistake and led to certain companies either settling for cheaper but sub-skilled workers or, in many cases, having a key position unfilled for an extended period. Either way, this can be a very costly situation.
This all said, even if a market appears to have an overabundance of prospects, the best candidates will always be able to find work and command appropriate financial reward. We always advise clients that if they demand top talent, they should be prepared to pay market-leading rates. If they do not, the candidate will find another opportunity which will.
