After COVID-19: Should I Be Worried About My Salary?
With the Coronavirus pandemic predicted to wane throughout 2021, some IT professionals now worry about their salary. After all, many companies took a significant financial hit due to COVID-19. Isn’t it reasonable to think these firms are planning on cutting costs?
However, the technology world generally stays immune to economic downturns, even those caused by a pandemic. Additionally, many companies discovered remote working in 2020 as an option to cut costs, while maintaining high productivity levels. With that in mind, let’s look more closely at IT salary trends for 2021.
Working From Home Becomes a New Normal
Many tech employers implemented work from home policies due to the pandemic; expect this trend to influence salaries moving forward. In fact, some large companies no longer plan on paying a premium for employees located in areas with a high cost of living, like Silicon Valley. In the future, companies are likely to offer salaries based on their office location, the employee location, or the national average for the job role.
Make sure you keep this fact in mind when negotiating salary during the hiring process. Try to find out the company’s approach for salary offers in the wake of the pandemic. Consider asking this question during an interview, but get advice from your recruiter on their recommended strategy.
Technology Salaries Remain Lucrative
According to a 2021 IT Salary survey, technology positions continue to provide lucrative opportunities. This is especially the case for experienced professionals, but recent college graduates can also earn great salaries early in their career. As noted earlier, expect some companies to take remote working into account with their offers.
Of course, technology executives boast the highest pay, with CIOs earning nearly $210,000 per year. Software development managers earn an annual average salary of $139,000. Scrum Masters come in with a smaller annual salary of close to $100,000. Information systems security managers are in high-demand, as illustrated by their average annual salary of $149,000.
Software engineers earn an annual salary of close to $123,000, while application architects are paid $144,000 per year on average. Web developers typically earn around $106,000 per year. In the database realm, DBAs enjoy an average annual salary close to $101,000, while data scientists boast an average salary of $129,000 per year.
In short, technology salaries continue to trend upwards, despite COVID-19. So don’t worry about your IT salary. However, be sure to research your potential employer’s salary policy for remote workers.
If you need help building your tech career, speak with the knowledgeable recruiters at Digital Prospectors. As one of the top IT staffing agencies in Boston, we know the companies looking for talented candidates. Connect with us soon!