Pay for these four tech jobs is rocketing. Cloud computing is the cause
Project managers, business analysts, and security and testing experts are seeing a big bump in salaries as the rise of cloud computing changes the skills that companies are seeking.
According to analysis by recruitment firm Harvey Nash, the fastest-growing salaries included business analysts (average £66,596), up by 28% in the last 12 months, security specialists (average £94,673, up 22%), project managers (average £64,910, up 16%) and testing engineers (average £51,114, up 11%).
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Unsurprisingly, CIO, CTO and VP of IT roles still attract the highest salaries, with pay ranging between £85,000 and £150,000 per year, and averaging £119,443.
The competitive edge for organisations in a cloud world is coming more from how systems are deployed, and less from what the underlying technology is, said Rob Grimsey, a director at Harvey Nash.
SEE: How to build a successful developer career (free PDF)
"The growth in demand, and salaries, for business analysts and project managers reflects a need by organisations to get this 'how' piece right," he said.
Grimsey said the demand for security specialists has been increasing pretty much in line with the increase in threat that has occurred in the past decade, but noted that the rise in salaries for testing is perhaps the most surprising development.
"This area has been the most susceptible to automation, and certainly in the past salaries have remained fairly flat. That said, in recent years as systems have got more complex, and testing has had to extend to a remit much wider than before, such as privacy, security and even customer experience, we are seeing a bit of re-emergence of testing as a key skill."
Developers are paid an average of £47,000 according to the report, which surveyed 1,200 UK workers. But while the lowest paid developers made around £23,00, the best paid could be taking home more like £65,000 Harvey Nash said. Programme managers earned an average of £89,000, with the top earners making £110,000 -- ahead of some CIOs.
The report identified three areas where tech companies can improve staff retention:
- Provide meaningful work: only 40% of workers for 'high social purpose' organisations expect to move in a year, compared to 56% elsewhere.
- Offer training: almost a quarter of tech professionals stated that they left their last job for greater opportunities for training and personal development elsewhere. A similar proportion expect their current skills to be out of date within three years.
- Good bosses: the second most common reason cited by staff for leaving a job is problems with their manager. "Clearly, having good line management and a boss that an individual respects/gets on with can make a significant difference to retention," Harvey Nash said.