Which are the best paying contracting jobs?

In its latest study, Emolument.com analysed compensation data from 3,694 UK contractors. Results show that the best paying contracting jobs are mostly in the finance, change and IT sectors, with an additional premium for contractors with strong technical skills (quant, modeling) or experience (programme management, IT senior management).



Rank Job family Job Daily rate
1 Finance Risk Modeling / Quant £760
2 Change Management Risk Change £730
3 Management Programme Management £640
4 Finance Model Validation £610
5 Change Management Finance Change £570
6 IT IT Senior Management £570
7 Consulting Strategy Consulting £570
8 Finance Credit Risk Management £520
9 Data Business Analysis £505
10 IT Enterprise Architecture £505
11 Finance Operational Risk Management & Risk Analytics £505
12 Management Project Management £500
13 Finance Corporate & M&A Strategy £495
14 IT IT Service Delivery £485
15 Change Management Operational Change £475
16 Product Product Manager £475
17 IT IT Security £450
18 Outsourcing Procurement & Purchasing £445
19 IT Software development £430
20 Data Data Analysis £425


Highly skilled, highly paid: Risk modelers/quants combine both advanced mathematical knowledge and a high paying industry such as banking. Thanks to this winning combination, they are some of the highest paid contractors, at up to £760/day.


Seniority pays off in IT after all : Despite the headlines about technology 'wonderkids' being offered eye-watering pay packages, the highest paid IT contractors are still the ones with substantial experience (IT Senior Management, at £570/day & Enterprise Architecture, at £505/day)


Change management : High stakes, short time: Change management jobs are well-represented among the best paying contracting jobs (Risk change, Operational change, Finance Change). While stakes are high, as change projects can dramatically impact a company's bottom line, these jobs are temporary by nature.


Alice Leguay, Co-Founder & CMO at Emolument.com said: 'More and more, companies require specific skills and competencies at a given point in time which make the contractor model particularly attractive for employers, prepared to pay up for a targeted solution. Contractors also enjoy the freedom and job variety afforded by a consulting model, though rates vary widely, with some specialism affording much more financial security and visibility than others as our study shows.' 

 

Emolument provides bonus and salary statistics based on data submitted directly by professionals like you. It is free, anonymous, and already a trusted tool for thousands of professionals worldwide. Are you paid enough? Click here to find out now.


Are you an employer?

Hire and retain the best talent with accurate and reliable data

Benchmark Your Teams

 


Know what you're worth

Compare your compensation with peers in your industry

 





Back to Top