Were Tech Salaries Affected By The Covid-19 Pandemic?
PAGE Magazine
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted virtually all industries and sectors of economic activity across the globe. The educational sector was hit hard when schools closed and the economy took a dive. On the other hand, tech companies reported higher demand for tech professionals during this time.
The demand for full stack development experts and software developers is high and this will still keep salaries competitive. If there is a drop in wages for tech staff, it will not be higher than 10%. This figure still leaves tech salaries higher, on average, than those in other sectors.
Tech Salaries Have Been on the Rise
The average salaries for tech roles have climbed up from the numbers seen last year. DevOps engineering is one position that has seen a massive rise in remuneration around the world. Since last year, the average salary has increased by 13%. Two years ago, this same role led the salary rankings in India, UK, US, and Germany. Around the world, job listing platforms have seen a slight increase in the salary rates for DevOps engineers.
Australia Reports Unrivaled Resilience in the Tech Industry
The Australian Information Industry reports that wages have risen in the tech sector as it appears unfazed by the turbulence Covid-19 presented. The tech industry has shown continued resilience and keeps growing despite the pandemic. The report revealed that 85% of tech companies were able to keep their heads above water and not let go of employees. The salary reduction has also not been substantial and this is a remarkable feat considering the damaging impact of the virus.
The report also revealed that there was a 1.7% increase in the base salary in the last year. The average base salary for tech was around $121,825. Some other tech jobs that have seen an increase are those in the risk and fraud research, product, and development departments.
The tech industry requires greater technology as well as digital skillsets to claim the title of the most lucrative business in the world. This gives tech employees an edge knowing that there is always a place for their skills. Now, many students are considering online coding bootcamps to get themselves acquainted with these important skills.
The Tech Sector is Important for Growth
The pandemic has unsettled working people around the world and disrupted working conditions as well. In countries like Australia, a third of companies have reviewed salaries and reduced budgets. It has experienced the lowest increase in about five years, but the tech sector remains on the rise. This is proof of how vital the sector is for economic growth in the future.
In Silicon Valley, some big tech firms announced that they will implement remote work and reduce salaries due to the disruption caused by the virus. In the end, many settled for a 10% reduction and the option to work from home. Just like Australia, this resulted in minimal staff reduction and an increase in the focus of workplace wellbeing.
The benefits of these initiatives are focused on employee wellbeing. Some companies have offered initiatives like home wellness programs and mental health apps to help staff stay in good shape while working from home.
Some staff even received extra leave. The pandemic has motivated various organizations to embed wellbeing in all aspects of the delivery and design of work. Such organizations have found a true balance between employee wellbeing, work output, and mental health.
Data Analytics is Thriving
One other field that has increased in popularity and demand is data science and data analytics. Data related roles represented 16% of the available positions in the second quarter of the year. These professionals have led salary rankings recently and the demand for business intelligence professionals and data analysts is also on the rise.
Conclusion
Digital acceleration as well as the rise of remote work have created a massive demand for tech employees who can develop remote access systems and more. This digital transformation has brought about a demand for techies who are skilled in different branches of tech like cloud computing, back end technologies, and data science. Even though coronavirus impacted many industries, the tech sector managed to stay afloat and tech salaries didn't take a dive like many other industries. Employees were subjected to a 10% reduction which still put them way above their counterparts in other industries.
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